RALEIGH, N.C. - Christopher Newport head volleyball coach Lindsay Birch won her 600th career match on Saturday afternoon with a win over Southern Virginia. The Captains won their fifth and sixth straight matches with wins over Southern Virginia and William Peace.

Christopher Newport 3, Southern Virginia 1 | (25-13, 25-17, 21-25, 25-20)

First Set

The Captains held Southern Virginia to a .100 hitting percentage in two sets on Saturday, including the first set. CNU took a two point lead and grew it to 10 points with eight straight points. Macy Burk contributed two kills and Megan James served an ace as the Captains quickly took control of the first set. Alyssa Dozier and Simara Alexander helped wrap up the first set for CNU.

Second Set

Samantha Dorn hit four kills as part of six straight CNU points that helped the Captains open up the second set on the right foot. It was more of the same later with Kyla McIntyre, Sammy Carroll, Alyssa Dozier, and Macy Burk teaming up to score five points in a row. Burk notched another kill at the end of the set head of Dorn's service ace that brought up a set point that was won on a Southern Virginia attacking error.

Third Set

Going for another three set victory, the Captains needed kills from Dorn and Burk to get even with the Knights at 18-18. Two kills from McIntyre kept them in the third set, but Southern Virginia was able to string a few points together and extend the match into a fourth set.

Fourth Set

Southern Virginia jumped out to a 6-1 lead, but the Captains drew back even with back-to-back kills from Macy Burk. Alyssa Dozier added five kills in the fourth set including one that put CNU ahead 23-19. A missed attack from Southern Virginia set up match point, and Dozier finished off the match with another kill.

Christopher Newport 3, William Peace 0 | (25-21, 25-12, 27-20)

First Set

Tied at 17, Christopher Newport took control of the first set by winning the next seven straight points to bring up set point. Kyla McIntyre had three of her team-leading 14 kills as part of the run while Samantha Dorn contributed a kill and an ace. Peace missed a serve after winning a few points to claim the first set for the Captains.

Second Set

CNU held William Peace to a negative hitting percentage in the second set as the Pacers registered a hitting percentage of -.097 and just four kills. The Captains won the first three points and went on to win three straight points four more times in the second set. The fifth such run saw Samatha Dorn, Kyla McIntyre, and Sammy Carroll hit kills as the Captains took a 24-11 lead before Macy Burk finished off the set.

Third Set

After Peace scored the first two points, CNU scored four of the next six to even the score at four each. From there, the Captains worked to extend their lead and did so with kills from Dorn, McIntyre, and Simara Alexander. Kills from McIntyre and Dozier helped close out the third set and the second win of the day for Christopher Newport.

News & Notes

• Head Coach Lindsay Birch now ranks seventh on the D3 active coaches leaderboard with 601 wins. She's one of just eight active coaches to achieve 600 career wins.
• Four Captains finished with double-digit kills against Southern Virginia: Alyssa Dozier, Macy Burk, Kyla McIntyre, and Samantha Dorn. 
• The Captains totaled 61 kills, their second-best mark of the season and their second-best hitting percentage of .353. The team also finished with 13 attacking errors, which is tied for their lowest total this year.
• McIntyre posted her third highest total in kills (14) since she reached 16 freshman year in her freshman year (2021).

Next Up

Christopher Newport travels to face Randolph-Macon on Tuesday for a 7:00 p.m. match.