NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- In becoming one of the premier women's volleyball programs in Division III, the NCAA's largest classification with more than 400 members, Christopher Newport University challenged itself — early and often — in scheduling.
 
That will be no different this season as five of the Captains' first 10 opponents, in a span of 22 days, are ranked in the top 25 of the AVCA preseason poll. This is how Lindsay Birch, in her 23^rd season as CNU's head coach, does things.
 
"We're going into the season with the hope that being battle tested will prepare us for playing our best at the end of the year," said Birch, whose team is ranked No. 21 in the preseason poll. "That's been our formula, and my team has always been up to the challenge.
 
"We're playing a bunch of great teams, not just as a measuring stick but because we think we are one of the great teams and should be playing a schedule like this. Our team has to be ready to play at the highest level — not in a couple of weeks, but this weekend."
 
In this opening weekend, CNU will host No. 2 Wisconsin-Whitewater in the Captains Classic. The following week, it'll be No. 10 Trinity University in the Captains Challenge. The week after that, a trip to the Big Apple to take on No. 23 NYU.
 
And then, the third weekend of September, No. 1 and three-time defending national champion Junaita College and No. 4 Johns Hopkins in Huntingdon, Pa.
 
"There's a bunch of other really good teams we have to play — Bridgewater, William Paterson we played in the NCAAs, Coast Guard, Montclair State," Birch said.  "We have a lot of really good games and not just the featured ranked teams."
 
CNU had a similar schedule last fall when it played No. 1 Juniata College, No. 4 Johns Hopkins, No.17 Calvin University and No. 10 MIT in the first three weekends.
 
The Captains went 1-3 in those matches, defeating Calvin and losing to MIT in five sets. But CNU finished 26-10 and made the NCAA tournament for the 17^th consecutive season, the third-longest active streak in D-III.
 
CNU has plenty of talent returning led by senior middle blocker Alyssa Dozier, who last season led her team in kills (386, 2.99 per set) and blocks (147 total, 53 solo). If you're thinking that's rare, you're right.
 
Dozier goes into her final season with career totals of 962 kills (13^th all time) and 361 blocks (sixth). She's also sixth all-time with an attack percentage of .296.
 
"I've gotten so used to watching Alyssa do absolutely jaw-dropping things on the volleyball court," Birch said. "She can take over a match, which is extremely hard to do at her position.
 
"Her talent is on another level. But what separates her is how she combines her elite physical abilities with an intense work ethic and a 'motor' that refuses to slow down."
 
Also back are outside hitters Samantha Dorn (344 kills), Megan James (255 kills, 352 digs) and Avery Hanly (170 kills, 117 digs) along with middle blocker Alli Pratt (109 kills, 64 blocks).
 
The question is, who will run the offense. The Captains lost their top three assist leaders in setters Alyssa Vitale (992) and Kensie Price (244) and libero Noelle Starr (145).
 
Birch will be relying on three newcomers: true freshmen Fielding Croft and Lauren Hobbs and sophomore Elena Gonzales, a transfer who played 14 sets last season at Virginia Wesleyan.
 
"This season presents such a unique opportunity for our setters as we have no returning players in this position," she said. "I've been so pleased with how Elena, Lauren and Fielding have trained and competed so far this preseason. 
 
"We'll be young, but there is no lack of talent and desire with this group.  We're in good hands." 
 
For the third consecutive season, the entire coaching staff will be CNU volleyball alums. In addition to Birch '02 and assistant Katie Crofford '20, Starr '25 has joined the staff.
 
Only Juniata (43) and Emory University (28) have longer current runs of NCAA D-III tournament appearances than CNU's 17. Birch calls that run impressive but adds the program has bigger aspirations.
 
"Obviously, I want to do more than just get into the tournament — I want to advance as far as we can," she said. "But I definitely take a lot of pride in keeping that streak going as long as we can.
 
"I think it's something to be proud of because success is awfully hard to attain. But to sustain this level of success is even harder."