ST. LOUIS, Mo. – The Captains suffered a tough 3-2 loss to Emory University in the NCAA Tournament Quarterfinal. CNU played a stellar defensive match putting up 26 assisted blocks and one solo block. They held the AVCA National Player of the Year, Amelia McCall, to just 12 kills and a .100 hitting percentage. Caitlyn Jansen (Lorton, VA) and Abby Hogge (Clifton, Va.) led the team defensively with Jansen getting up for eight blocks and Hogge had a match-high 31 digs. Bailey Jensen (Ashburn, Va.) had the lone solo block for the Captains and also added five block assists.

The Captains came back from a 7-3 deficit in the first set to tie the score at 9-9 with a block from Jessie Heavenrich (Cambria, CA) and Jansen. CNU moved ahead by one point thanks to an Alexandra Wright hitting error, and took a two-point lead with a kill from Jensen, prompting Emory head coach Jenny McDowell to call a timeout. The Captains continued to hold on to the lead, moving ahead by as many as five points, 23-18, as Jensen and Heavenrich combined for a block once again, this time on a Jessica McAlvany swing.  

CNU went on to take the opening frame by a five-point margin, registering five team blocks while Emory committed seven attack errors.

The two top-five teams traded points to start the second set but a 9-1 run by the Eagles put them up 18-10. The Captains were able to get back within four at 20-16 off two kills by Christie Fellows (Vienna, Va.) and two errors from McCall. But the Eagles pulled away for a 25-20 win tying the match at one set apiece.

Breanah Bourque helped Emory jump out to a 10-5 lead in the fourth set, registering four kills to start the frame. Facing a 10-5 deficit, CNU called a timeout and quickly took five points in a row and came back and knot the score at 10-10 as Heavenrich dumped a ball behind her head into a gap in the Eagle defense.
        
Following an Emory timeout, the duo of Heavenrich and Jensen combined for yet another block, this time knocking back a McAlvaney attack, and the CNU lead was one. The Captains maintained a one to two point lead until late in the match when Hogge recorded an ace off the hands of Molly Landers to put her team ahead by three.

Emory made a late charge as McCall tipped a shot for a kill into the middle of the court, and Ransom pulled the Eagles within one just one play later.  But Heavenrich set up Jansen for the set clincher and her 14th kill, to force a fifth set. CNU had six team blocks in the fourth-set win, limiting Emory to just a .159 percentage on the attack.

Like the rest of the match preceding it, the fifth set began as a back and forth battle before Bourque and McCall helped Emory take an 8-6 lead at the switchover with two kills apiece. Emory stretched its lead to three points thanks to a CNU error and pulled ahead by four thanks to a kill from Wright. The Captains were able to pull to within three, 10-13, with a kill from Kara Elder (Charlottesville, Va.). But the Eagles came back with a kill from Borque to put the Eagles just one point away from the win. Elder put in another kill before a Schonefeld kill ended the match 15-11.

Hogge's 31 digs gives her 607 this season putting her in first place in program history for digs in a season. The previous record was set by Hogge in 2009 at 582.

Jansen played a great match to conclude an impressive career at CNU. She totaled 16 kills with a .484 hitting percentage. Her eight block assists in the match gives her 103 for the year moving her into second place in block assists in a season.

SET SCORES    1      2      3       4       5
CNU                   25    20    23    25    11
Emory                20    25    25    23    15

Box Score (PDF)