MARSHALL, Texas -- The Christopher Newport volleyball team is headed to the Lone Star State for an appearance at the East Texas Baptist Tiger Invite this weekend with three matches scheduled over two days in Texas. The Captains (4-3) will face off against McMurry University on Friday at 11:30 a.m. before also taking on the host and 12th-ranked Tigers at 4:30 p.m. On Saturday, CNU will close out the trip with a 9:00 a.m. matchup against Hendrix College, receiving votes in the AVCA Top 25 poll.
Live stats and a live video webcast will be available for all three matches. Links can be found on the
tournament website or on the volleyball schedule at CNUsports.com.
Christopher Newport heads into the weekend with a 4-3 overall record after a 2-1 effort at the William Paterson tournament last weekend. CNU will face McMurry for the first time in program history after the War Hawks have started the year 2-4. CNU is 3-0 all-time against the nationally-ranked Tigers, who enter the weekend with a 3-3 overall record. Finally, the Captains will again take on a new foe in Hendrix College for the first ever matchup against the Warriors, who have started the year with a 4-1 mark.
The Captains have been led by sophomore setter
Fielding Croft as the All-American continues to climb the all-time charts at CNU in just her second year. Last weekend, Croft moved past Michelle Masco to take over 12th on the career assists list with 1,266 in her career. She has been passing to a bevy of offensive weapons this season for the Captains with four different players having recorded at least 47 kills already this year.
Leading that group is
Alli Pratt with 2.38 kills per set while hitting at a .331 clip while rookie Jasmie Williams has piled up 51 kills in her first seven career matches.
Simara Alexander, with 49, and
Avery Hanly, with 47, have added depth for the CNU setter.
McMurry has been led this season by Hanna Rubis with 70 kills in six matches for an average of 2.92 per set. ETBU features Lara Hornsby with 68 kills and 13.0 blocks through the first six matches while Hendrix boasts one of the most effective swingers in Division III so far this season with Ava Burns hitting at a .435 clip with 35 kills in five matches. Burns ranks seventh nationally heading into the weekend.
After the trip to Texas, Christopher Newport will return to the East Coast with six straight matches on the I-95 corridor. Starting with two matches at Stevenson University on the northwest side of Baltimore, the Captains will then trek South to Washington, D.C. for two at Catholic, one at Randolph-Macon, and two at Mary Washington over the next three weeks.
