OWINGS MILLS, Md. -- Continuing a long stretch of games away from home, the Christopher Newport volleyball team will play four more this weekend with dates set at Stevenson University and Catholic University over the next two days. The Captains, receiving votes in the AVCA/Taraflex Top 25 poll, will first play against Stevenson and Notre Dame (Md.) on Friday before traveling to Catholic in Washington, D.C. to take on Lebanon Valley and the host Cardinals.
After opening the season at home on September 4-5, the Captains have embarked on a 14-match road trip including previous trips to New Jersey and Texas in which the team recorded a 4-2 record. Halfway through the streak of games away from the Freeman Center, the Captains will next play two at Stevenson University and two at Catholic University. CNU enters the weekend with a 6-4 record overall with wins in four of the last five matches.
CNU has never dropped a match to Stevenson and boasts a 5-0 record against the Mustangs. It will be the first matchup ever at Owings Mills Gymnasium on the campus of Stevenson University after the Captains won four straight at home and one on a neutral site in Arlington. It will be the first ever appearance for CNU against Notre Dame of Maryland University.
On Saturday, the Captains will take on Lebanon Valley for the second time after capturing a 1-0 win on a neutral floor in 2018. CNU will then face a Catholic squad they have encountered 28 times previously with an even split, 14-14, between the two teams.
Live stats and a live video webcast ($) will be available for all four matches. Links can be found on the volleyball schedule at CNUsports.com.
This season, a well-balanced offense ranks just outside of the top-50 nationally in hitting percentage with a .219 mark as a team. The Captains have turned to a bevy of options up front with
Alli Pratt (78) leading the team in kills just ahead of
Simara Alexander (77),
Jasmine Williams (74), and
Avery Hanly (68). Both
Fielding Croft and
Lauren Hobbs have been pivotal in facilitating the offense with Croft taking the lion's share of the work with 7.26 assists per set while Hobbs has added 86 assists including five straight double-digit performances.
Stevenson enters the weekend with a 7-2 overall record and a four-match winning streak. The Captains will take on the Mustangs at 3:30 p.m. on Friday before facing Notre Dame (Md.) at 5:30 p.m. Stevenson is led by Rachel Lenz, who has piled up 126 kills already this season while hitting .241. The Gators have won three in a row and are 5-5 overall this season while being led by Kaliyah Brown with 120 kills this season.
Lebanon Valley is 6-4 to start the year and will face Catholic before the Captains at 2:00 p.m. CNU will then take on the host Cardinals at 4:00 p.m. The Flying Dutchmen start junior setter Jasmine Sullivan and the veteran from Springfield, Pa. leads the team with 198 assists this year. Catholic also has a veteran setter out of St. Petersburg, Fla. named Anna Maria Carella and she has piled up 146 assists through the first 10 matches so far this season.
Following the road trip to Maryland and D.C., the Captains will stay on the road, but return closer to home to take on Randolph-Macon next Tuesday, September 29 at 7:00 p.m.
