NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - Christopher Newport won their third straight Capital Athletic Conference Tournament Championship, and its sixth in the last seven years, on Saturday afternoon as they defeated the University of Mary Washington 3-1 (21-25, 25-21, 25-17, 25-21).

The Captains receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, and the selection show will be streamed on NCAA.com at 12:30 p.m. on Monday, November 11. The tournament will start with regionals on November 15-17.

Sammy Carroll was named the Most Valuable Player while Katie Piper and Katie Crofford joined her on the All-Tournament Team.

CNU held the lead nearly the entirety of the first 27 points of the first set up 14-13, but the back half of the set would have numerous ties and lead changes. Mary Washington would twice take a two-point lead over the next few points only to see the Captains battle back to tie it. At 19-19, Savannah Powers responded with the next three points, two via kill and an assisted block with Lexie Hendricks to surge ahead 22-19. Katie Piper and Mackenzie Wright would blast home kills on the next two plays to get within one, but Tenley Hares and Powers finished off the set with three consecutive spikes to take a 1-0 lead at 25-21.

The second frame proved to be just as competitive with neither team able to string together any momentum for a sustained period until the end. With the scored tied at 19-19, a Piper kill followed by a Wright and Piper combo block put CNU up two, and then a Wren Berry ball handling error provided the Captains a 22-19 advantage. Hares answered with a kill to get the Eagles back within two, but Piper stepped up again with a kill and teamed up with Wright again for another block to push the lead to 24-20. Hares once again registered a kill, but Katie Crofford ended the set with a kill. Piper finished the set with 10 points on nine kills and two assisted blocks.

Christopher Newport established control early in the third frame jumping out to a four-point lead after just 12 points, 8-4. Mary Washingon halved the deficit four points later at 9-7, but the Captains rattled off the next six points to go up 15-7, with Sammy Carroll contributing two assists and two blocks during the run. The spurt proved to be a backbreaker for the Eagles as they would trail by at least five the remainder of the set.

Mary Washington bounced back in the fourth set and stayed in the lead or tied throughout the first 26 points, up 14-12, but three straight points for the Captains gave them a 15-14 edge, their first led in the game since it was 3-2. The teams traded points back and forth to tie it at 18-18, but the Captains went on another mini-run as they secured four of the following five points to go ahead 22-19 as Piper, Wright, and Megan O'Hara each picked up a point. A CNU attack error followed by a Makenna Santinga ace put the Eagles down just one at 22-21, but Piper, Wright, and Crofford spiked home the last three points of the match to get the win.

Sammy Carroll posted an all-around line with 33 assists, four kills, three aces, four blocks (one solo), eight digs, and 9.5 points. Katie Piper topped all CNU scorers with 17 points as she contributed 14 kills, an ace, four blocks, and six digs. Katie Crofford double-doubled with 17 digs and 11 kills while also adding on two blocks. Riley Garrison recorded eight kills and five blocks, and Mackenzie Wright posted six kills and five blocks. Megan O'Hara totaled eight kills and a block. Kayleigh Reagan-Smith tallied 13 digs, four assists, and an ace and Rebecca Frey had 11 digs with four assists

Savannah Powers paced the Eagles with a match-high 21 points courtesy of 19 kills and three blocks along with nine digs. Tenley Hares added 12 kills, and Peyton Dunow notched seven kills and two blocks. Krista Rodgers led the Eagles with five blocks. Wren Berry handed out 40 assists with 12 digs, and Kendal Hall had a match-high 25 digs.

CNU led 96-84 in points, 51-48 in kills, .218 to .168 in hitting percentage, 5-4 in service aces, ad 13-9 in total blocks. UMW held advantages assists at 45-43 and digs, 62-60. The Eagles struggled to convert their attacks in the third and fourth frames as they hit at a combined rate of just .051, picking up 21 kills to 17 errors in 78 attempts.