Newport News, Va. - Christopher Newport University is set to play host to seven matches and eight total volleyball teams this weekend in an NCAA Tournament Regional. All seven games will be webcasted along with live stats. Access to links for each match, in addition to a box score, a post-match press conference, and the Regional All-Tournament team, will be made available on the CNU Athletics website.

Tickets are $8 for adults and $6 for children and can be purchased via cash only. Tickets will go on sale one hour before the start of the first match each day.

Christopher Newport will play in the nightcap on Friday at 8 p.m. vs. Stevenson. The winner will face the winner of the Randolph-Macon vs. Marymount match, who play Friday at 5:30 p.m. The other half of the regional pits Juniata against Virginia Wesleyan at 12:30 p.m. Friday and Trinity (Texas) vs. Hunter at 3 p.m. on Friday.

CNU defeated Juniata 3-2 on August 30, dropped a 3-2 decision to Virginia Wesleyan on November 2, and twice defeated Marymount by scores of 3-0 and 3-1 respectively on August 31 and September 28.

Christopher Newport boasts a 26-8 record and a 10-0 mark in the Capital Athletic Conference. The Captains won the CAC Tournament to earn an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament. After starting the year dropping six of their first eight matches, CNU has gone 24-2 in its last 26 outings. CNU lost just two sets in the CAC in the regular season and won all but one set in the conference tournament.

The Captains are led by a trio of All-Region players and another All-CAC student-athlete. Sammy Carroll was named to the AVCA All-Region team while also being tabbed the CAC Player and Freshman of the Year. She is averaging 9.74 assists per set and adds 0.61 kills 0.49 aces, 1.99 digs, and 0.29 blocks.

Katie Piper was picked All-Region and All-CAC after leading the Captains in kills at 2.93 per set with a .197 hitting percentage, 0.41 aces, 2.42 digs, and 0.31 blocks. Riley Garrison was additionally selected All-Region and All-CAC as she registered 0.84 blocks with 2.30 kills and a team-high .323 hitting percentage. Katie Crofford picked up All-CAC honors as she ranked top three on the team in kills (2.53), aces (0.45), and digs (2.65) in addition to 0.28 blocks.

Other valuable players in the rotation include Kayleigh Reagan-Smith, Abby Oren, Tiaralyn McBride, Mackenzie Wright, Megan O'Hara, and Rebecca Frey. Reagan-Smith and Frey have established themselves as the top two defensive specialists on the team and two of the top servers as well. Regan-Smith has contributed 1.95 digs per set in addition to 0.40 aces while Frey checks in at 3.35 digs and 0.49 aces.

Mackenzie Wright is the top blocker on the team at 0.86 rejections per set but also tacks on 1.73 kills with a .287 hitting percentage. Abby Oren contributes 1.94 kills with a .222 hitting percentage and 0.45 blocks. Megan O'Hara adds 1.85 kills on a .216 hitting percentage to go with 0.59 blocks. Tiaralyn McBride has continued to display her marksmanship on services with 0.40 aces per set.

Stevenson enters the tournament with a 29-2 record and an 8-0 mark in the MAC Commonwealth Conference and they recently won their eighth consecutive conference championship to clinch an NCAA Tournament appearance. The Mustangs' lone two losses are a couple of 3-1 losses to Johns Hopkins and Marymount. They have wins over CAC foes in York (3-0), Salisbury (3-2), St. Mary's (3-0) in addition to a win over common opponent Catholic (3-1) but lost to Marymount (3-1). CNU went a combined 11-0 against those schools, losing only two sets.

Katie Leftridge was named All-Region and MAC Commonwealth Player of the Year. Simone Gest was tabbed conference Rookie of the Year and third-team all-conference. Victoria Prokic was additionally picked to the All-Region and first-team all-conference teams. Leftridge has contributed 3.44 kills per set with a .262 hitting percentage along with 2.80 digs and 0.51 blocks. Simone Gest adds 2.26 kills and a .293 hitting percentage. Prokic has averaged 2.21 kills and 096 blocks with an attack percentage of .391.

Randolph-Macon was a Pool C selection, also known as an at-large selection, to the NCAA Tournament after losing 3-1 to Virginia Wesleyan in an upset in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) Championship. They went 25-8 overall with a 12-0 mark in the ODAC.

The Yellow Jackets previously defeated their first-round opponent in Marymount by a 3-1 score on September 6. R-MC also shares several other common foes with the Captains as they went 8-3 against those teams - St. Mary's (W 3-0), Mary Washington (W 3-2), Salisbury (L 3-2), Averett (W 3-0), Washington and Lee (W 3-1, W 3-1), Virginia Wesleyan (W 3-1, L 3-1), Juniata (W 3-2), Berry (L 3-1). Conversely, the Captains went 9-3 with losses to Washington and Lee, Virginia Wesleyan, and Berry.

Sydney Koch headlines the Yellow Jacket contingent as an All-Region and First-Team All-ODAC player while Alexia Wolfe was also a first-teamer. Grace Parker was the ODAC Rookie of the Year and a second-team selection. Other all-conference honorees include Bailey Jones, Miranda Hall, Angela Tender, and Madison Warlick.  Koch posted averages of 2.08 kills and 0.83 blocks with a .382 hitting percentage. Wolfe notched 2.10 kills, a .219 hitting percentage, and 0.56 blocks. Grace Parker added 2.65 kills, a .151 hitting percentage, 2.58 digs, 0.42 aces, and 0.30 blocks.

Marymount is 24-10 and went 6-0 in the Atlantic East and won the Atlantic East Conference. Playing in a non-automatic bid conference, Marymount secured a Pool B bid, which is at large bids slotted for teams from non-automatic bid conferences.

Marymount has two losses to the Captains by scores of 3-0 and 3-1. The Saints additionally have common opponents in Wisconsin-Eau Claire (L 3-0), Juniata (L 3-1), Averett (W 3-0), Salisbury (L 3-2), Mary Washington (L 3-0), and Virginia Wesleyan (W 3-1). The Captains are 8-1 against those teams compared to a 2-4 performance from Marymount with the Captains loss coming to Virginia Wesleyan.

Mykael Johnson and Maggie Viniard lead the Saint as All-Region selections. Both were also named First-Team All-Atlantic East with Johnson being tabbed the Player of the Year and Viniard the Specialty Player of the Year. Elissa Munsterman was picked as the conference Rookie of the Year while Myah Cordrey and Theresa Buscemi were picked to the second-team. Johnson averages 4.15 kills per set with a .190 hitting percentage, 0.42 aces, 2.68 digs, and 0.31 blocks. Viniard checks in with 10.00 assists in addition to 0.49 kills, 0.43 aces, and 2.52 digs. Munsterman posts 202 kills, a .163 hitting percentage, and 0.36 blocks.

Juniata, ranked #19 by the AVCA, sports a 22-8 record and is 5-1 in the Landmark Conference as they won their 39th consecutive Landmark Conference Championship as they upset top-seeded Susquehanna 3-0 in the championship to secure a berth to the NCAA Tournament

They previously lost 3-2 to Christopher Newport to open the season. They have also faced several CNU opponents in Wisconsin-Eau Claire (W 3-0), Marymount (W 3-1), Emory (L 3-0), Catholic (W 3-0), and Cabrini (W 3-0) for a 4-1 performance. The Captains went 5-2, falling to Wisconsin-Eau Claire and Emory.

Emma Davis was named the AVCA Region Freshman of the Year while Moira Folan, Victoria Taylor, Dejia Danhi, Morgan Edwards, and Davis were All-Region selections. The five were also All-Landmark picks with all but Morgan Edwards earning first-team as Edwards was a second-teamer. Davis averages 2.40 kills with a .306 hitting percentage, and 0.96 blocks. Folan adds 9.59 assists and 2.24 digs. Taylor contributes 3.11 kills and a .245 hitting percentage. Danhi checks in with 1.38 kills, a .303 hitting percentage, and 1.30 blocks. Morgan Edwards adds 2.68 kills, a .221 hitting percentage, and 0.73 blocks.

Virginia Wesleyan is 28-7 and 10-2 in the ODAC and won their first-ever ODAC Championship after unseating top-seeded Randolph-Macon 3-1 in the title match to advance to the NCAA Tournament.

The Marlins own a 3-2 win against the Captains and the cross-town rivals unsurprisingly have a slew of similar opponents with the Captains. They have wins over St. Mary's (3-0), Averett (3-0) and Salisbury (3-1), and losses to Washington and Lee (3-0, 3-1), Mary Washington (3-0), Southern Virginia (3-2), and Marymount (3-1) for a 3-5 mark. Conversely, the Captains went 12-1 against those teams, only dropping a 3-2 match to Washington and Lee.

Amber Matalus is the top Marlin as an All-Region and ODAC First-Team honoree. Also earning second-team ODAC honors was Greta Coss and third-team accolades went to Haley Sutton, Alyssa Taylor, and Lauren Topper. Matalus has record 2.94 kills, a .343 hitting percentage, and 0.80 blocks while Coss contributes 2.35 kills, a .253 hitting percentage, and 0.75 blocks.

Trinity (Texas) enters the regional as the highest-ranked team of the eight at #7. They boast a 33-4 record and went 17-1 in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC). They won the SCAC Championship and an NCAA Tournament appearance by defeating #8 Colorado College 3-1. They played only three games against common CNU foes in Mary Hardin-Baylor and Juniata. They defeated MHB twice, both times 3-1, and also possess a 3-1 victory over Juniata. The Captains split against those schools, falling to MHB but toppling Juniata.

Avery Tuggle was named SCAC Player of the year while Annie Rose Leggett and Emily Ellis were first-team selections. Tuggle and Leggett were also All-Region selections while Ellis was an honorable mention pick.  Tuggle averages 3.17 kills on a .242 hitting percentage in addition to 0.31 aces, 3.28 digs, and 0.42 blocks. Leggett has tallied 2.58 kills on a .182 hitting percentage and add 0.39 aces and 3.79 digs. Ellis is averaging 2.38 kills with a .407 hitting percentage along with 1.05 blocks.

Hunter enters the tournament with a 15-17 record but went 7-0 in the City University of New York (CUNY) Athletic Conference. They won the conference championship for the sixth straight time, defeating Brooklyn College 3-0 to punch their ticket to the big dance.

They lost to Cabrini and Stockton 3-0 while Christopher Newport beat Cabrini 3-0 but lost to Stockton 3-2.

First-Team All-Conference selections for Hunter include Kylie Hurst, Justine Smith, Isabelle Lawrence, and Kendra Moore. Sunghee Choo was a second-team honoree and named Libero of the Year. Hurst averages 2.91 kills on a .153 hitting percentage with 0.30 aces and 3.13 digs. Justine Smith contributes 7.85 assists, 0.32 aces, 1.76 digs, and 0.32 blocks. Isabella Lawrence has totaled 2.02 kills, a .273 hitting percentage, and 0.75 blocks. Moore adds 1.87 kills, a .240 hitting percentage, and 0.63 blocks. Choo posts 4.13 digs.