NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - Christopher Newport Volleyball dominated Averett 25-15, 25-12, 25-13 but fell in five sets to Virginia Wesleyan, 25-19, 20-25, 26-24, 9-25, 15-10.

All-Tournament Team
MVP - Amber Matalus, Virginia Wesleyan
Elizabeth Britton, Virginia Wesleyan
Meghan Wood, Virginia Wesleyan
Riley Garrison, CNU
Sammy Carroll, CNU
Sarah Shropshire, Averett
Hailey Dougherty, Salisbury

Against Averett in the second match, the first set was competitive in the early going with Averett trailing just three at 11-8, but six of the next seven points went to the Captains as they built a 17-9 lead. They would lead by no fewer than seven for the remainder of the set. CNU established their superiority from the outset in the second frame. Ahead 14-8, eight of the next nine points were in the Captains' favor to build an insurmountable 22-9 advantage. The final set went much the same as the second, ahead 12-7, CNU rattled off 11 consecutive points to jump ahead 23-7.

Katie Piper and Abby Oren led all players with nine kills apiece while Piper added on an ace. Megan O'Hara tallied five kills, two aces, and two blocks while Riley Garrison contributed five kills and three solo blocks. Sammy Carroll distributed 30 assists to go with seven digs, three aces, and three kills. Rebecca Frey added 10 digs and three aces while Katie Crofford had nine digs and two aces.

The Captains posted an attack percentage of .294 compared to a -.012 rate for the Cougars. CNU led 36-19 in kills, 12-1 in aces, 8-3 in blocks, 33-16 in assist, and 39-35 in digs.

The day's first matchup was a fiercely contested battle of regionally ranked teams. VWU held a one-point lead at 7-6 but reeled off five straight points to surge ahead 12-6. The Captains responded with four straight points to get back within two at 12-10. With the score 14-13 in the advantage of the Marlins, they picked up eight of the next 10 points to go up 22-15. The Captains couldn't get the deficit below five as the Marlins went up 1-0.

The second set was dead even after 26 points, 13-13, but a three-point spurt for the Captains was enough momentum for them to gradually build a five-point lead at 22-17. VWU picked up the next three points all off CNU attack errors, but Christopher Newport finished off the set with kills from Megan O'Hara and Katie Crofford along with a Kayleigh Reagan-Smith ace.

The momentum from the second set carried over into the third as the Captains build up a 15-11 lead, but the lead evaporated eight points later and an attack error would give VWU an 18-17 lead. The Captains battled back several times to tie the game with the last at 24-24, but a block error followed by a Marlins kill gave Virginia Wesleyan the set to go up 2-1.

The Captains followed the disappointment of the third frame with one of their most impressive sets of the year as they dominated the fourth from start to finish. With the score even at 3-3, CNU scored eight straight points to go ahead 11-3 and never looked back as they demolished the Marlins 25-9 to even the match at 2-2.

Christopher Newport looked poised to roll in the fifth frame when they went up 3-1, but a trio of points from VWU put them ahead 4-3. CNU tied it at 5-5, but four of the following five points went to the Marlins and put them up 9-6 to force a CNU timeout. The timeout proved beneficial as CNU responded with winning the next three points to tie it at 9-9, resulting in a Virginia Wesleyan timeout. That breather would end up flipping the script of the match as they scored the next three points and six of the last seven to win the match.

Sammy Carroll posted a career-high 53 assists along with 10 digs, two aces, and five kills. Riley Garrison and Katie Piper each slammed 17 kills. Garrison hit .500 for the match with four blocks while Piper had 16 digs. Megan O'Hara contributed nine kills to go with three blocks and five digs. Mackenzie Wright also had nine kills and a block. Katie Crofford tallied seven kills, 13 digs, and two aces. Rebecca Frey racked up 11 digs, two aces, and five assists. Kayleigh Regan-Smith totaled 11 digs.