NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - Freshman sensation Sammy Carroll was named the Capital Athletic Conference Player and Rookie of the Year while the CNU coaching staff led by Lindsay Birch was named the CAC Coaching Staff of the Year. Additionally, Carroll, Riley Garrison, and Katie Piper were named All-CAC First Team while Katie Crofford was named to the Second Team.

Carroll becomes just the third player in CAC Volleyball history to be named both Player and Rookie of the Year in the same season and the first since CNU's Briana Sutton did it in 2013. Carroll led the CAC in assists per set at 9.78 and she upped the average to 10.22 against CAC teams. Carroll ranks 41st in Division III in assists per set and 25th in total assists. She also ranks fourth in total aces and fifth in aces per set. She recently posted a career-high 53 assists in a five-set effort against regionally ranked Virginia Wesleyan and she has topped the 40-assist plateau seven total times. Carroll has additionally proven valuable on the defensive end with eight games with double-digit digs and she has 29 total blocks to her name.

Garrison was named All-CAC for the fourth time and is a repeat selection to the first team. Se slammed 2.32 kills per set to rank ninth in the league and also boasts the conference's third-best hitting percentage at .323. Additionally, she is second in solo blocks, third in total blocks, and eighth in blocks per set. She posted a season-high of 17 kills against Virginia Wesleyan and also added 14 against then #3 Juniata. Garrison has tallied at least one block in 15 straight matches and rejected a season-high of seven against then #2 Calvin.

Piper is also a repeat selection to the first team and this marks her third straight year on the All-CAC team. She ranks fifth in the CAC in kills per set (2.93) while bumping the average to 3.23 to place second in league competition. She also placed 11th in digs and third in points per set at 3.5, increasing it to 4.0 for second in conference matches. Piper has recorded six kill-dig double-doubles. She notched a season-high of 21 digs against William Peace and posted 18 kills and 17 digs against Washington and Lee.

This is Crofford's first selection to the All-CAC team and she is currently experiencing a career-ear. She placed eighth in the conference in kills per set (2.49), fourth in aces per set (0.47), 10th in digs per set (2.57), and sixth in points per set (3.1). Against conference competition, she also ranks top ten in hitting percentage at .254. Crofford has recorded four double-doubles with her best statistical effort being a 14-kill, 13-dig performance against #3 Juniata. She added a season-high of 16 kills in two contests, 20 digs against Stockton, and four aces on three occasions.

This is Coach Birch's fifth time being honored by the league as the Captains went 24-8 with a perfect 10-0 mark in the CAC, dropping just two sets out of 32 to league foes. Christopher Newport also ranks fourth in the NCAA Mid Atlantic regional rankings and is receiving votes in the AVCA Coaches Top 25 poll. A win in the CAC semifinals vs. Southern Virginia would give them 25 wins for the 16th consecutive season.