NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - The surging Christopher Newport Volleyball team, winners of 12 straight, will host the St. Mary's College (Md.) Seahawks on Wednesday night at 7 p.m. from the Freeman Center in Capital Athletic Conference (CAC) action.
The two teams are heading in different directions as the season progresses. CNU comes into the match 15-6, 3-0 in the conference while St. Mary's is 5-13, 0-3. While the Captains have won 12 straight, the Seahawks are just 2-8 in their last 10 matches. CNU has won nine out of 10 sets in conference contests while the Seahawks are still looking for their first set win against CAC competition.
Outside of the conference, each team has battled against Neumann and Cabrini. CNU defeated Cabrini 25-19, 29-27, 25-18 and topped Neumann 25-17, 23-25, 25-8, 25-18. St. Mary's also defeated Neumann by a score of 26-28, 25-20, 25-19, 23-25, 17-15 but fell to Cabrini 25-18, 25-19, 25-22.
The Captains have reaped the rewards during the win streak as they have taken home four CAC Player of the Week awards in the last three weeks with Sammy Carroll twice being named Offensive Player of the week in addition to Katie Crofford earning the offensive award and Riley Garrison earning Defensive Player of the Week.
The Captains as a team and individually rank high in numerous statistical categories in NCAA Division III. The team ranks second in the division in total aces at 211, trailing only NVU-Johnson's 252. Additionally, they are 26th in aces per set (2.93), 34th in hitting percentage (.230), 33rd in total kills (911), and 32nd in assists (843). Sammy Carroll places 20th in the nation in total assists with 671 while ranking 39th in assists per set (9.59). Katie Crofford ranks 50th in service aces with 39 while Riley Garrison is 54th in hitting percentage at .347.
CNU also ranks first or second in the CAC in the following per set categories: aces, assists, hitting percentage, and kills. Conversely, SMC ranks bottom two in the CAC in the following per set categories: aces, assists, blocks, digs, hitting percentage, and kills.
The difference between a win and a loss for the Captains this year can often be evidenced by how effective they are at hitting the ball and serving. In 15 wins, they are converting attack attempts at a .266 rate compared to .152 in six losses. Additionally, they are registering 3.28 per set in victories and only 2.05 in defeat.
Much the same can be said for the Seahawks. In 13 losses, they have hit just an abysmal .084 while posting a .200 rate in wins. They can be found averaging 2.10 aces per set in a win and only 1.12 in a loss. Additionally, they record nearly three more digs per set in a win (15.85) compared to a loss (12.93).
The Captains Katie Piper continues to show on the court that she is one of the premier all-around players in the CAC, placing fifth in kills per set (2.96), fifth in aces, 10th in digs, and fourth in points per set. She recently posted her season-high for kills with 17 this past Saturday against Mary Washington.
Katie Crofford is having every bit as good of a season as Piper, placing seventh in kills per set (2.64), second in service aces (0.56), 13th in digs (2.36), and sixth in points (3.4).
Riley Garrison rounds out the kills leaders on the team by ranking 10th in the league at .248 per set. She is one of the most efficient players at the net with a .347 hitting percentage while averaging 0.81 blocks per set.
Sammy Carroll, only a freshman, has established herself as one of the top setters in the nation from a statistical standpoint. As previously mentioned, she ranks in the top 40 in both total assists (680, 20th) and assists per set (9.71, 39th), both marks good for the league lead. She has displayed an all-around game, recording 0.53 kills, 0.40 aces, 1.96 digs, and 0.30 blocks.
The Captains have a fleet of weapons on serving that has enabled them to be statistically one of the best serving teams in the nation. Seven athletes in the rotation boast an average of between 0.56 and 0.34 aces per set - Crofford 0.56, Rebecca Frey 0.52, Tiaralyn McBride 0.50, Piper 0.46, Hope Webb 0.44, Carroll 0.40, and Kayleigh Reagan-Smith 0.34. CNU has five of the top nine in the CAC leaderboard and nine of the top 16.
Defensively, Frey leads in digs at 3.29 per set to place seventh in the league. Piper (2.68) and Crofford (2.36) place second and third. At the net, Garrison paces the team and is seventh in the Capital at 0.81 blocks per set. Mackenzie Wright checks in at 0.67 with Abby Oren at 0.55 and Megan O'Hara at 0.48.
For the Seahawks, Ellyse Sutliff tops the team in kills at 2.69 per set, good for sixth in the CAC. She racked up a season-best of 17 against Wilson in four sets and also had 16 in only three sets against Hood. Chanel Lucas checks in at 1.95 kills and Kyra Feinaeur 1.81. Lucas' high-water mark for the year is 17 against Eastern Mennonite while Feinaeur had 12 vs. Wilson.
Fatima Bouzid and Katie Agate pace the team in assists a 5.63 and 4.42 per set, respectively. Fatima handed out a season-high of 39 against Neumann while Agate picked up 36 against Hood.
Nicole Kreutzinger has a team-best o.30 aces per set followed by Bouzid at 0.25, Sutliff at 0.24, and Emily Benedict at 0.21.
Bennett is the team-leader in digs at 4.13 per set. Her season-high of 29 came on October 4 vs. Gallaudet.
Audrey McKay has a team-high 0.69 blocks per set but has been out of action since September 7. She rejected a season-high four shots on two occasions. Not far behind is Erin Krauss at 0.66 and Nancy Slaughter at 0.64. Krauss and Slaughter also each have a season-high of four blocks.
