NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- The Christopher Newport Captains will hit the road for the first of three Tuesday night competitions this season. The Captains are as hot as they come right now, winning their last seven matches and posting a 10-2 record this season.
Match Details
The Captains square off with the Royals at 6:30pm in Harrisonburg, Va. The match will be streamed live on the ODAC Sports Network and live stats will be available on
EMURoyals.com.
Last Time Out
The Captains have won seven matches in-a-row, and none of those matches have been particularly close. Through this stretch, CNU has only lost four of the 25 sets they've played. It's been an impressive run that's been anchored by freshman libero Noelle Starr. Starr was named Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference defensive player of the week for the second straight week. Her service reception was perfect in two of the week's three matches, something she's done in seven matches this season. Meanwhile, the CNU attack continues to show off its depth as Mackenzie Wright became the third Captain to cross the 100 kill mark this season. She joins Maddie Carter and Kyla McIntyre to make up a dangerous CNU front line that also includes Macy Burk with her own 74 kills.
By The Numbers
11.27
Sammy Carroll continues to rank as one of the nation's top setters. In just her second collegiate season, Carroll is averaging over 11 assists per set, the highest average in the country. Her total of 496 assists this season is the second-highest total, with the leader having played four more sets than Carroll.
Series History
The Captains haven't met the Royals since 2001, but the two sides have faced each other eight times in their respective histories. Eastern Mennonite holds a 5-3 advantage, but Christopher Newport has one the last two meetings.
Scouting the Royals
Eastern Mennonite is 3-4 this season, but won two of their three matches last week. The Royals topped Mary Baldwin and Shenandoah before falling to Gallaudet. Sophomore Lizzy Kirkton is 15th nationally and leads the Old Dominion Athletic Conference in points per set, averaging 4.83. She's accomplished this with both attacks and serves. Kirkton ranks in the national top 50 and the conference's top 5 in kills per set (4.00) and aces per set (0.75).
