Volleyball powers through Juniata

Coming into the match on Friday night, Christopher Newport University had never beaten Juniata College. Six meetings, six CNU losses.

That streak ended in front of a raucous crowd of 1,200-plus at the Freeman Center, as the 6th-ranked Captains defeated the 11th-ranked Eagles 3-1 in four sets, all of which were decided by a mere two points.

The student section was filled to capacity 15 minutes before game time with fans clad in CNU blue. On the opposite side of the court, a full band was in tow, thundering out rhythms and playing “Hey Baby” by DJ Otzi. The student section joined in, swaying to the beat and shouting the lyrics through small, plastic megaphones.

Before the game officially got underway, 14 CNU volleyball alumni were recognized for their contributions to the program. They gathered in the middle of the court and the crowd welcomed them with a round of warm applause.

As the match began, the Captains, coming off their third loss of the season, jumped out to a quick 8-3 lead behind kills from Junior Abby Hogge and freshman Jessie Kolden. They stretched their lead to 13-7 before Juniata took a time out in an attempt to slow the Captains’ momentum. The strategy worked and the Eagles went on a five-point run to take a 15-14 lead.

From that point until the end of the set, no team held more than a one-point advantage.

With the score tied at 22, junior Christie Fellows delivered one of her signature left-handed hammers to give CNU a one-point lead. Juniata called another time out, and the band jumped back into “Hey Baby.” The student section rose to their feet and sang along in unison.

Several minutes later, CNU was one point away from clinching the set. The crowd stomped and wailed and worked itself into quite a frenzy, but Juniata’s Amanda Schmidt delivered a kill that tied the game and quieted the Freeman Center. With the score knotted at 30, CNU took control. The Captains scored a quick point on an attack error by Juniata’s Kelsey Fuller, and senior Chelsea McClure blocked a spike to give CNU a 32-30 victory.

The second set was nearly as competitive as the first. Juniata came out firing and grabbed a 10-3 lead, but the Captains came storming back, shrinking the deficit to 14-13 behind kills from McClure and Kolden. Both squads once again went point-for-point for the remainder of the set, but the Captains would eventually lose the set 25-23 behind a kill from Amy Miller.

With the match even at one set a piece, both teams retired to the locker room for a quick breather.

CNU would take the third set by the score of 25-23. No team held more than a three point lead at any point during the set. Kolden and McClure led the way with three kills a piece. Fellows ended the set with a thundering kill.

The Captains carried the momentum of the victory into the forth set and stormed ahead to a 12-8 lead.

The crowd’s enthusiasm reached its’ peak when Fellows stepped up to the service line and promptly delivered an ace that set up match point for the Captains. With nearly all of the 1,235 fans in attendance on their feet, Juniata committed an attacking error and the Captains came away with the victory. After the game, the Captains jogged around the perimeter of the court, high-fiving fans that had stayed to celebrate the big victory.

McClure and junior Bailey Jensen led the scoring for the CNU, notching 11 and 10 kills respectively. Hogge added 25 digs, a team high, and five other players had at least ten.

The Captains finished the CNU Invitational with victories over Salisbury and Mary Washington on Saturday. Fellows, McClure and Jensen received all-tournament honors. Jensen was named MVP.

CNU improved its record to 21-3 with the three wins, and solidified its standing among the most-accomplished teams in the league.

Posted by Mike Schoeffel on Oct 12 2011. Filed under Sports, Volleyball. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.