Milwaukee, Wis. -- Trailing 2-1 after three sets, No. 2 seeded Christopher Newport won the fourth and fifth sets to take down No. 3 seeded Mary Washington in Friday night's Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference tournament semi final match.

First Set (Captains 25-20)

The Captains were able to take a close first set thanks to a strong finish. CNU led 22-20 late in the set after leading most of the set by a couple of points. An attack error by the Eagles gave the Captains another point before Macy Burk drove home her third kill of the set. Burk led the Captains with three kills and four total points through the first set, but it was Kyla McIntyre who delivered the final blow that captured an important first set for CNU.

Second Set (Eagles 25-14)

Mary Washington got on a bit of a roll in the second set. After the score was tied at 8, the Eagles closed out the set on a 17-6 run. UMW took advantage of the Captains hitting in the negative, which allowed them to close out the second set and even the match score at 1.

Third Set (Eagles 25-17)

After rallying to take the second set, the Eagles set the pace for much of the third set. The Eagles tallied five service aces in the third set, four as part of a 7-0 run that gave them momentum. Their fifth ace gave them a 24-16 lead and was later followed by an attack error that put them ahead 2-1 in the match.

Fourth Set (Captains 25-18)

With the season on the line, the Captains rose to the occasion in the fourth set. After a service error by UMW got CNU their first serve of the set, Noelle Starr delivered an ace. With kills from Mackenzie Wright, Kyle McIntyre, and Macy Burk, the Captains began to expand their lead. Then, Maddie Carter strung together four kills as part of a 4-2 run for the Captains, who now led 13-8. CNU maintained the lead throughout the set and scored four of the last five points in the set to force the deciding fifth set. 

Fifth Set (Captains 15-11)

The Captains were able to carry over the momentum from their fourth set into the fifth, which became evident with Maddie Carter's kill that started off the set. But it was the Captains' other senior attacker, Mackenzie Wright, who took control of the set and match for CNU. Wright finished with six kills and a block in a crucial fifth set. With a 10-9 advantage, Wright put together back-to-back kills to give CNU some breathing room. Mary Washington responded by taking the next point, but Wright teamed up with Kyla McIntyre to turn back the next UMW attack and reestablish the three point lead. Wright responded to the next Eagle point with her sixth kill, and Anna Dean swung the match-winning kill soon after to send the Captains to the C2C Championship.

News & Notes
 

• Wright finished the match with a career-high 18.5 points.
• CNU compiled 10 total blocks in the win, which is tied for the third-best performance this season.
• The Captains forced Mary Washington to commit 32 errors, the most by any opponent this season.

Next Up

Christopher Newport will play for the Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference Championship on Saturday afternoon. They'll face a familiar foe in Salisbury, a team they're 1-1 against this season, at 2:00pm ET.