Christopher Newport Downs SUNY Cortland 3-1 in NCAA Division III Quarterfinals on Friday

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St. Louis, Mo., November 18, 2011 – After dropping the first set, Christopher Newport University won three-straight sets to advance to the NCAA Division III Women’s Volleyball Semifinal round with a 20-25, 25-16, 25-10, 25-18 win over SUNY Cortland Friday afternoon at the WU Field House.

Christopher Newport (37-4) improved their all-time NCAA Tournament record to 11-8, and advanced to the NCAA Division III semifinal for the first time in school history with the win. SUNY Cortland ended its season with a 42-2 record overall. Christopher Newport will face the winner of the Springfield College vs. Carthage College quarterfinal match at 3:30 p.m. Saturday in the semifinal round.

In the first set, Christopher Newport built a 16-11 lead, before Suny Cortland went on a 10-2 run to push their lead to 21-18 after back-to-back ace serves by sophomore defensive specialist Krissy Silk. A block by junior setter Kristen Guercio gave the Red Dragons the 25-20 win in set one.

The second set started much like the first, with Christopher Newport jumping out to a 17-11 lead. The Captains hammered seven kills on their final eight points, including three kills by junior outside hitter Cory Harris, to win the second set 25-16. In the set-two win for Christopher Newport, the Captains hit .238, while holding SUNY Cortland to just .029 hitting.

Christopher Newport controlled throughout the third set to take a 2-1 lead in the match. The Captains built an 11-6 lead early, before scoring 10 straight points to make it 21-6. SUNY Cortland got to within 23-10, but back-to-back kills by Harris and junior right-side hitter Christie Fellows gave Christopher Newport the 25-10 win. The Captains hit .500 (14-2-24) in the third-set, while SUNY Cortland hit -.129 (5-9-31).

The two teams played back-and-forth to open the fourth set to a tie at 14-14 before Christopher Newport took control. The Captains went on an 8-1 run, including three service aces, to open up a 22-15 lead. The Red Dragons cut the lead to 23-18 before kills by junior middle blocker Bailey Jensen and senior middle blocker Chelsea McClure gave Christopher Newport the 25-18 win in set four and moved the Captains into Saturday’s semifinal round.

Christopher Newport hit .255 in the match as a team, while SUNY Corland hit .089 in the match. The Captains also had seven service aces. Jensen and Harris led Christopher Newport with 16 and 12 kills, respectively. Harris also recorded 11 digs in the match, while Jensen finished with a team-high five blocks. Senior setter Jessie Heavenrich tallied 48 assists for the Captains. Junior defensive specialist Abby Hogge led Christopher Newport defensively with 18 digs, while junior outside hitter Kara Elder finished with 12 digs and three service aces.

SUNY Cortland was led by Kaitlyn Cooper with eight kills and six blocks. Guercio finished with 30 assists. Senior outside-hitter Ashley Coyle had a match-high 21 digs, while senior libero Jaclyn Lawrence added 12.