Courtesy of CNU Athletic Communications

Newport News, Va. - Marymount overcame a 2-1 deficit to defeat Christopher Newport Volleyball 3-2 (17-25, 25-23, 18-25, 25-22, 15-10) in the NCAA Tournament Regional Semifinals. The Saints will face Trinity (Texas), who defeated Juniata 3-0 in the other semifinal matchup, in the Regional Championship game on Sunday at 1 p.m. Christopher Newport's season ends with a 27-9 overall record while Marymount improved to 26-10.

The Captains established control of the opening set from the outset, going ahead 5-1 and 8-2. With the Captains ahead four, 9-5, they scored the next five points and eight of the following 11 to jump ahead by eight, 17-8. Marymount would trail by six the remainder of the set as the Captains went up 1-0.

The second set was tightly contested throughout. Tied at 8-8, Marymount went on a 5-1 run to go up 13-9. With the Saints ahead 16-13, the Captains picked up three straight points to tie at 16-16. The momentum was short-lived though as the Saints answered with a 4-0 run to lead 20-16. They pushed the lead to 24-19, but a Megan O'Hara kill followed by a trio of Riley Garrison spikes got the Captains within one point, 24-23. However, the Saints would earn set point on the following serve do to a CNU service error.

With Christopher Newport holding a narrow 7-6 lead in the third frame, they picked up five points in a row to burst ahead 12-6. The lead remained six at 18-12, but a trifecta of Saints points halved the deficit to three, 18-15. With the score 19-16, the Captains got five points via kills from Abby Oren, Garrison, and Katie Piper to go up eight, 24-16. The Saints fought off defeat with a kill and an attack error, but Garrison slammed home set points at 25-18 to go ahead 2-1.

Christopher Newport took an early five-point lead at 6-1, but the Saints went on a 7-1 run to take the lead at 8-7. The rest of the set was filled with numerous lead changes and ties with both teams struggling to maintain control of the match as one team's run would be answered with a run from the other. With the Captains ahead 17-14 after winning four straight points, the Saints utilized a 6-1 spurt to go up 20-18. CNU fought back with a 4-1 run to go out in front 22-21, but a Myah Cordrey kill was followed by a Captains' attack error and back-to-back Saints blocks for the comeback win at 25-22 to tie the match at 2-2.

In the decisive fifth set, Marymount took an early 2-0 lead only to find CNU erase the deficit with back-to-back kills from Piper and Katie Crofford. Cordrey regained the lead for Marymount with a kill on the next play, then Mykael Johnson erupted for a trio of kills, and Cordrey finished off the 5-0 with an ace to take a commanding 7-2 edge. CNU got back within three at 8-5, but the next two points went to Marymount to go ahead by five. The deficit would prove insurmountable as Christopher Newport could not mount together multiple points in a row. With the score at 14-10, Johnson recorded set point with a kill to end the match 15-10.

Katie Piper posted a massive double-doubled with 23 kills, 19 digs, and three blocks. Allie Plumlee recorded 26 digs with seven aces. Sammy Carroll handed out 57 assists. Riley Garrison added 14 kills with six blocks. Megan O'Hara tacked on 10 kills, six blocks, and six digs. Mackenzie Wright totaled six kills with five rejections. Katie Crofford contributed 11 digs with five aces. Kayleigh Reagan-Smith had 12 digs with two aces.

Mykael Johnson led Marymount with 22 kills and 16 digs. Elissa Munsterman added 16 kills and two blocks and Alexa Marcum 10 kills and two blocks. Maggie Viniard distributed 49 assists with 18 digs. Jasmine Roy and Theresa Buscemi combined for 39 digs.

CNU led 87-73 in points, 62-59 in kills, 13-5 in aces, 12-9 in blocks, and 61-58 in assists while MU had a 95-87 advantage in digs. The Captains hit .210 for the match compared to Marymount's .186, but CNU hit just .155 over the last two sets while the Saints hit .360 in the fifth set as they recorded zero errors in the final frame.