Christopher Newport University

Atlanta, Ga. -- The 2021 Christopher Newport Volleyball season came to a close on Thursday night as the Captains dropped their NCAA First Round matchup to UT Dallas 3-1. The Captains were unable to carry on the momentum from a first set victory as UT Dallas went on to win the next three sets.

First Set (Captains 25-22)

The Captains hit the ground running with a 6-2 start that included back-to-back service aces from Rebecca Frey. Maddie Carter totaled five kills in the first set as CNU maintained their lead. A kill from Kyla McIntyre followed by an ace from Macy Burk put the Captains up 22-18. Kills from Anna Dean and Mackenzie Wright forced set point and an error from the Comets helped CNU close out the first set.

Second Set (Comets 25-20)

UT Dallas bounced back after dropping the first set and responded with a different approach in the second set. "UT Dallas just really improved their serving and really put us in tough scenarios in serve receive to side out and they went on some long scoring runs," said Head Coach Lindsay Birch. The Comets finished the set with five aces, including the fifth that brought up set point for UT Dallas at 24-13. But the Captains didn't go down without a fight. CNU scored seven straight points, but the Comets eventually finished off the second set to even the match score.

Third Set (Comets 25-18)

A close set was opened up after a seven point run by UT Dallas. A kill from Macy Burk had the Captains within one at 8-7, but the subsequent run from the Comets put them out in front 15-7. Mackenzie Wright posted five kills in the set, but the Captains couldn't recover from the run and dropped the third set to fall behind, 2-1.

Fourth Set (Comets 25-23)

The fourth set was the closest set of the night as the teams traded runs for much of the set. Tied at 15, UT Dallas went up 19-16 before CNU was able to equalize with kills from Kyla McIntyre and Mackenzie Wright along with a Cassie McShaffrey ace. UTD went ahead again 23-20, but a kill from Maddie Carter and an ace from Rebecca Frey helped the Captains tie the score again. But after a timeout, the Comets were able to regroup and score the next two points to take the set and match.

News & Notes

• Sammy Carroll posted a career-high 17 digs and 37 assists in a double-double effort.
• Mackenzie Wright paced CNU in kills (12) and blocks (3) in this match.
• Kyla McIntyre led the Captains in hitting percentage (.421) while finishing second in kills (10)

Post-Game Comments

"We didn't play nearly our best and I think we give credit to Dallas for putting us in uncomfortable positions. But we fought, we stayed resilient in moments that were hard and difficult. We came out on top in the first set and then I thought Dallas really improved their serving and put us in tough scenarios in serve receive to side out and they went on some long scoring runs that made it hard and put a lot of pressure on us moving forward in each set to score right away. So it was a hard fought match, they've got a really nice team, but I'm really proud of the effort our team put into the match tonight" - Head Coach Lindsay Birch

"I think we were a really young team this year. I think right from the beginning, we came together as a team and the underclassmen really stepped up, because the majority of the people out on the court were underclassmen. I think that we played really well this year and as the matches went on, we continued to improve and I think that we won some really hard matches. We really do like to go five. I think that this team is a really strong team but we just fell short." - Junior Sammy Carroll
"I think we had a very good, young team this year. I think we also faced a lot of tough opponents. I think everything was kind of crazy after the 2020 season, when we didn't have a real season. We didn't really know what our team was going to look like and I think I was really impressed with how we all kind of just stepped up and decided to just love each other. I think the entire season we won and lost as a team. It was never an individual effort." - Junior Anna Dean