NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- Taking on one of the top teams in the nation at home on Saturday, the Christopher Newport volleyball team pieced together an historic defensive performance but ultimately suffered a 3-1 decision to Washington and Lee University (21-3). The Captains recorded the second-most digs in a match in program history with 116 and both teams reached triple digits in a hard-fought battle filled with lengthy rallies.
Five Captains finished in with 10 or more digs in the four-set match including a career-high 25 by junior
Avery Hanly in her second straight double-double as she paired her impressive defensive showing with a team-high 14 kills. Junior
Lanie Goff notched her second career 20-dig performance with an even 20 while
Lauren Hobbs (15),
Fielding Croft (14), and
Simara Alexander (11) each reached double figures.
As a team, the Captains set the four-set record with the first ever 100-dig performance in a match less that was played in less than five sets. The record was set in 2007 when CNU picked up 127 digs in a five-setter against the same team, W&L, on October 13. Adding to the historic overall performance was 64 kills, tied for the fourth most in a four-set match, coming on 208 attempts, setting a four-set program record for swings.
The match featured 91 points won by the Captains paired with 98 won by the Generals. Washington and Lee picked up the win by a final score of 20-25, 26-24, 27-25, 25-17 in the Halloween thriller.
In addition to Hanly's double-double, the Captains also got a double-double from
Lauren Hobbs with a career-high 38 assists paired with her 15 digs.
Simara Alexander also had a double-double with 12 kills and 11 digs. On attack,
Carley Coghill poured in 13 kills and second-year
Madison Rogers scored a career-high 10 kills to round out a group of four CNU players in with double-digit kills.
In the first set, the Captains trailed by one, 16-15, before putting together a big 8-1 run to open up a six-point lead, 23-17. The CNU offense was on display with Hobbs leading the charge, setting up kills by Alexander,
Samantha Dorn, Coghill, and a pair by Rogers. The Generals won three points in a row, but the Captains closed out the opening set when
Alli Pratt and Rogers went back-to-back to win by a score of 25-20.
The second set was an impressive feud between two of the region's top teams that saw neither team lead by more than three points. The longest run for either team was a four-point spurt in the middle of the stanza that saw Christopher Newport take a 10-7 lead before Washington and Lee answered to take a 13-11 advantage. From there, it was back and forth throughout until the Generals reached set point, 24-23. Denying the win with a kill by Dorn, the Captains forced extra points but it was not enough as W&L finished off the set with the next two points to win, 26-24.
W&L took a 2-1 lead with a come-from-behind win in the third after Christopher Newport led, 17-13, late in the third. The Generals mounted a 5-1 run that evened the score at 18-all and the teams traded points the rest of the way. CNU look poised to capture the set by going up 24-23 on a solo block by
Madison Rogers, but the visitors responded like CNU in the set prior to force extra points. The Captains got a kill by Coghill to get back to set point before W&L won three straight rallies to earn a momentum-shifting win, 27-25.
The Captains continued to battle through the final set and clawed to withing three points late, 19-16, but the Generals, receiving votes in the AVCA/Taraflex Division III poll this week, captured the road win with a 25-17 win in the fourth.
Falling in the penultimate game of the regular season, the Captains' record dropped to 19-8 overall. CNU will return to action for Senior Day on Saturday, November 7 against Bridgewater College at 3:00 p.m.
