NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - Christopher Newport, entering the Capital Athletic Conference Volleyball Tournament as the #1 seed, will host #4 seeded Southern Virginia on Thursday at 7 p.m. Tickets will be $5 for adults and $3 for children. The winner will advance to the championship on Saturday where they would face the winner of the #2 Mary Washington vs. #3 Salisbury match. The highest-seeded team remaining will host the championship with a time to be determined.

A win in the semifinals would put the Captains in the CAC title game for the seventh consecutive season with five championships in the last six seasons.

The Captains earned the #1 seed after sweeping through the CAC with a 10-0 record, 24-8 overall, as they surrendered just two sets along the way, one to York and one to Mary Washington. In league play, CNU ranked first or second in kills, kills per set, hitting percentage, assists, assists per set, service aces, service aces per set, solo blocks, total blocks, blocks per set, points, and points per set. Additionally, the Captains had numerous individuals ranked highly among the league leaders in conference competition, most notably Sammy Carroll lead the league in assists and Mackenzie Wright led the conference in blocks per set.

Southern Virginia enters the match sporting a 16-12 record with a 4-6 mark in the CAC. Their four CAC wins came against St. Mary's twice (3-0, 3-0), York (3-0), Salisbury (3-0). The Knights rank second in service aces per set and digs per set while ranking in the bottom half of the league in everything else. LaRee Crocket boasts a league-high 0.67 aces per set in CAC competition.

They topped fifth-seeded York on Tuesday 3-1 (25-22, 20-25, 25-16, 25-16) in the Quarterfinals. Kaely Rath led one of three Knights in double-digit kills with 12 while McKaye Cunningham had 11 and Courtney Singleton 10. LaRee Crockett added 27 assists and nine digs. The team amassed 8.5 total blocks, led by five from Taryn Warner, and 11 aces, including four from Emma Steiger.

Head-to-head, the Captains went 2-0 against the Knights, winning both by 3-0 scores. The first match came on October 2 in Buena Vista with CNU prevailing 25-22, 25-17, 25-20. Katie Piper led the team in kills (9) and digs (11) while Mackenzie Wright blocked three shots and Sammy Carroll handed out 28 assists. Taryn Warner paced the Knights in kills with seven while Mykynli Knight had 17 digs and Elle Warnick 21 assists.

Two weeks later for the rematch in Newport News, CNU topped them 28-26, 25-23, 25-15. Riley Garrison recorded 12 kills while Rebecca Frey had 15 digs, Mackenzie Wright four blocks, and Sammy Carroll 33 assists. Courtney Singleton led SCU with 10 kills, LaRee Crocket contributed eight digs, Taryn Warner three blocks, and Elle Warnick 10 assists.