While Christopher Newport looks forward to the return of intercollegiate competitions, our friends at TowneBank are partnering with CNUsports.com to spend some time throughout the fall semester looking back at a few of the more memorable moments in the storied history of the athletic department. Over the course of the next three months, the Captains will honor the anniversary of three dozen record-setting accomplishments, championship-clinching victories, and other historic events in order to celebrate the past while preparing for even more great moments in the future.
 
AT A GLANCE
 
As the old adage says, defense wins championships, so when head coach Lindsay Birch penciled in a starting lineup that included All-Americans on the front and back line known for their defense, the Captains looked as much like a championship caliber team than ever before. Playing in their junior seasons, libero Abby Hogge and middle blocker Bailey Jensen each earned All-American status alongside senior All-American setter Jessie Heavenrich to lead the Christopher Newport volleyball program to unprecedented success during the 2011 season. On November 19, 2011, the trio made a statement with a dominating victory in the NCAA National Semifinals, the likes of which had never before been seen in Division III volleyball, to celebrate the program's first ever trip to the national championship. The Captains dropped Carthage College in the team's most impressive defensive effort in NCAA Tournament play, 3-0, in St. Louis, Mo. (25-14, 25-22, 25-11).
 
BACKSTORY
As head coach Lindsay Birch meticulously built one of the top volleyball programs in Division III during the first ten years of her career, the Captains made strides toward a national championship seemingly each year. In her first four seasons, the CNU volleyball program reached the 30-win plateau for the first time and made it to the NCAA Tournament three times. Over the next six years, the win count continued to grow, and the postseason victories started to mount.
 
In 2009, Birch's squad captured the first regional championship and followed that up with another run to the final eight in 2010. Combined, Christopher Newport was 74-10 in those two seasons and in the midst of one of the most impressive conference winning streaks of all time. Heading into 2011, there was little doubt that the Captains could compete on the brightest stage, but sights were set on the ultimate prize with a veteran lineup poised to make history.
 
Over the course of the 2011 campaign, Birch eclipsed 300 career victories in just her 10^th season at the helm, went 18-0 against conference competition, and secured the program's fifth consecutive USA South Athletic Conference Championship. With just four losses during the regular season, including one being a five-set defeat playing without the services of All-American setter Jessie Heavenrich, the Captains were assuredly one of the favorites headed into the postseason tournament.
 
Living up to the hype, Christopher Newport hosted the 2011 regionals and made quick work, in order, of Maryville (25-21, 25-16, 25-22), Salisbury (25-19, 25-16, 25-21), and Emory (25-21, 25-19, 25-23). Then, facing the team with the best record in the nation during the first round of the NCAA Finals, SUNY Cortland, the Captains surrendered just a single set while advancing to the first ever national semifinal appearance with a 20-25, 25-16, 25-10, 25-18 win. That win already historic, brought on Carthage in the final four, ranked No. 9 in the nation.
 
ABOUT THE OPPOSITION
Winners in 14 of their last 15 matches, Carthage was riding momentum perhaps more than any other team in the 2011 postseason. The weekend prior, the Lady Reds were on the ropes, down 2-0 to host and second-ranked Washington University (Mo.) in the regional championship match before rallying back for a 3-2 victory to earn a trip to the Finals. That redemptive upset came after the Bears had defeated Carthage 3-0 in the second week of the season.
 
On the very same day back in early September, it was none other than Christopher Newport that handed the Lady Reds their first loss of the season and set up another potential revenge match in the national semifinals. Led by Michelle Madeja with over 500 kills and Drewann Pancratz's nearly 1,300 assists, Carthage posted a 34-6 overall record heading into the fateful matchup with Christopher Newport.
 
MATCH RECAP
In one of the most impressive defensive efforts in program and NCAA Tournament history, the sixth-ranked Christopher Newport volleyball team swept the ninth-ranked Carthage Lady Reds, 3-0, to earn the team's first ever trip to the NCAA Division III Women's Volleyball Championship.  
 
In what can only be described as a monolithic statistic, the Captains defense registered arguably the most dominant defensive showing in NCAA Division III Tournament history by holding the Lady Reds to a negative hitting percentage in the semifinals. Since Division III began sponsoring a women's volleyball championship in 1981, there have been well over 100 semifinal and championship matches – only once has a team been held to a negative hitting percentage on the largest stage. On November 19, 2011, the Captains made history by holding the Lady Reds to a -.023 mark. In the 30 years prior and in the near decade since, no one has come close to replicating the defensive masterpiece.
 
CNU had 12 blocks in the match, led by junior Bailey Jensen with two solo and six assisted; junior Christie Fellows added five assisted and seniors Jessie Heavenrich and Chelse McClure each had three apiece. On the back line, junior Abby Hogge had 21 of the Captains 63 digs in the match.  
 
The Captains improved to 38-4 after a 25-14, 25-22, 25-11 win that saw Christopher Newport set a program record for fewest points surrendered in an NCAA Tournament Match. With just 47 points allowed in the final four bout, the Captains set a mark that still stands today, over a total of 41 postseason matches.
 
Christopher Newport took an early 9-5 lead in the first set led by junior Cory Harris to force a Lady Reds timeout. Carthage showed some life and tied the first set at 14, but after a media timeout, rookie Brooke Moore stepped in and rattled off 11 straight points to secure the first for the Captains. In the opening stages of the second set, Jensen asserted herself with back-to-back blocks to give the Captains an 8-2 advantage. Again Carthage attempted a comeback and eventually tied the set at 22 points apiece, but fittingly it was defense that secured the set with a combo block by Fellows and McClure, an ace by Heavenrich, and another block from Jensen to put away the Lady Reds in the second.
 
In the third and decisive set, the Captains denied Carthage any idea of replicating their comeback success from the week prior against WashU and pulled away for a dominating wire-to-wire third set victory, 25-11. The victory propelled the Christopher Newport squad into the first ever national championship appearance the next day against Wittenberg.
 
POSTSCRIPT
The victory stands the test of time as the biggest win in program history as the Captains fell just short of the 2011 title despite another mind-boggling defensive performance against a nationally-ranked team. Wittenberg came into the title bout hitting .381 in postseason play and averaging a .277 mark over the course of the season; the Captains held the Tigers to just .250 hitting. Jensen added six blocks and coasted to a spot on the NCAA All-Championship Team after breaking the single season record for blocks with 150. She was joined on the All-Championship Team by defensive specialist Abby Hogge.
 
The match played much closer than the 3-0 sweep would indicate, as both teams battled through runs and held leads throughout the night. The Captains scored 67 points in the three-set loss, averaging over 22 points and 14 kills per set.
 
The loss would temporarily put a sour taste in the mouths of Captains players, coaches, and fans, but in hindsight, the accomplishments of the 2011 team will be celebrated for decades to come. Christopher Newport finished as 2011 NCAA National Runner-Up while tying the single season wins mark with 38 after securing the program's third consecutive NCAA Regional Championship. Led by three All-Americans, who would all go on to become CNU Athletics Hall of Famers, the Captains went undefeated in USA South action for the fifth straight year and captured the fifth consecutive league title.
 
Birch's 300^th win was a milestone that came faster than any other coach in CNU Athletics history, secured in just her 10^th season. She guided CNU past three teams ranked in the Top 20 during the postseason run, including the team's first-ever win over third-ranked Emory in the regional title match. CNU would wrap the year ranked No. 2 in the nation and graduated just two seniors.
 
Following the impressive campaign, assistant coach Randi Raff, integral in assembling the championship caliber roster through recruiting and training efforts, exited for a position with Division I Northern Kentucky. She then moved on to Georgia Tech as an assistant coach before garnering her first head coaching position with her alma mater, the University of Southern Indiana.
 
The 2011 campaign would also set up yet another run to the finals site in 2012 in a record-shattering 40-win season. Hogge and Jensen wrapped up Hall of Fame careers.
 
For a full listing of the fall 2020 features published to date, click here.