Volleyball sails past Averett

Mark Graziano/The Captain's Log

As seniors, not many athletes can say that their team went undefeated in their conference all four years they attended CNU. For Caitlyn Jansen and Mary Horner, they can do just that.

Coming into their final regular season game on Saturday, middle backer Jansen and defensive specialist Horner knew what was on the line as they showed their leadership styles, defeating Averett three games to one.

Earlier in the day, the Captains took on Ferrum College, who they were able to sweep 3-0. The team knew what was at stake, and knew that if they wanted to keep their undefeated conference title, that they would have to shut down Averett.

CNU utilized only 10 players due to injuries, but still managed to come out on top in the victory.

Soon after the first serve, the Captains started off in grand style with a clever tap at the net by sophomore outside hitter Kara Elder to give the Captains a 3-1 lead. The Captains continued to maximize their play off of Averett’s mistakes.

The contest at this point was very back-and-forth, which highlighted beautiful service aces by sophomore defensive specialist Abby Hogge, as well as Elder.

Averett kept the game close, but a string of plays put together by sophomore middle backer Bailey Jensen, which gave the Captains great momentum to give them the lead. Jensen showed veteran-like awareness, blocking multiple kill attempts by Averett at the net.

One of Jensen’s blocks lead her to an unbelievable kill to put CNU ahead for good as the Captains closed out the first game 25-16.

The second game started off with traditional CNU attacks and aggressiveness on defense. The Captains jumped out to a 2-0 lead with back-to-back kills by Jansen.

Averett began to play better offensively but the Captains put on a defensive clinic that stunned the visitors. Jansen showed her talents by giving two steel wall blocks at the net, which resulted in points for CNU.

The entire team showed movement, communication and poise during this contest. Sophomore striker Christie Fellows provided a highlight kill to put the Captains ahead, 17-12. After the play the team was energized and closed the game on an 8-3 run to win the second game 25-15.

The third game in this match-up gave the Captains a true test. Averett jumped ahead early to a 5-1 lead and the Captains could not put any offense together. Despite being down in this game, the Captains remained cheerful by constantly encouraging each other and working hard to get this game back under control. The Captains started to finally click together their offense and closed in after trailing 16 to 18. The Captains showed heart by battling back, but Averett won the third game 25-19.

Game four showed why the Captains are strong willed team that always finds a way to bounce back. There was an instant attitude change from the third game. The Captains looked very loose and jumped out to a 4-1 lead.

Sophomore outside hitter Cory Harris provided the offense spark by delivering two kills, including one that froze the entire Averett team. Harris continued to find holes in the Averett defense and became relentless in attacking the net. The Captains cruised to victory and won the final game 25-19.

Horner was very humble after the game saying, “It’s been a long time coming, Caitlyn and I have been through a lot together and we are proud to be a part of this team. We just want to continue to play our best and get healthy. Our focus is one point, one game at a time.”

Fellow senior Jansen was just as proud, “This is such an exciting night and I’m proud to be saying that we haven’t lost a conference in the four years I have been here. I’m just glad to be a part of a great team, great coaches and a great staff,” she said.

Head Coach Lindsay Birch was proud of the heart and characters her team showed during the game. “This was a good game for us. Averett gave us a true test of adversity, and this was good for us. We need to go through storms and challenges for us to get better. It’s always great to honor our seniors and give them a win on senior night. Heading into the playoffs we will continue to prepare for different attacks and work on our defense,” she said.

Another night, another win for the Captains.

Posted by Chris Brooks on Nov 3 2010. Filed under Sports, Volleyball. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.