Box Score
The No. 4-ranked Emory volleyball team saw it season come to an end this afternoon, coming out on the end of a hotly contested match at host Christopher Newport in the finals of the Newport News, Virginia, NCAA Regional. CNU captured its 31st straight match and upped its overall record 39-2 after rallying for a 3-2 (14-25, 26-24, 24-26, 25-12, 15-11) over the Eagles who closed out their year at 33-6.
Christopher Newport, ranked No. 5 nationally, recorded a .230 attack percentage (70-26—191), including a .403 effort over (26-5—52) over the final two sets, compared to Emory's .200 effort (57-22—175). The Captains posted a slight 86-83 edge in digs while the Eagles held a 10-8 advantage in total blocks.
The setback negated an exceptional effort by Emory senior Breanah Bourque who led all players with 19 kills while registering a.381 hitting mark. Bourque captured a spot on the Regional All-Tournament Team after averaging 4.25 kills and 0.92 blocks per set while finishing with a .447 attack percentage (51-9—94) over the three matches. Her outing this afternoon represented her 29th match of double-figure kills and she closed out the campaign with 511 terminations, tying the second-highest seasonal mark in school annals. Senior Alex Duhl chipped in 11 terminations and four blocks (2-2) while sophomore Cami Silverman rounded out the squad's double-digit terminators with 10 successful attack attempts and 14 digs, her sixth straight and 13th double-double on the year. Freshman setter Sydney Miles dished out 50 assists, upping her season total to 1,385, good for the No. 8 spot on the Eagles' list.
In the decisive fifth set, a 4-0 CNU spurt pushed it to a 9-4 lead. After the teams split the next four points, a kill by Silverman followed by a service ace by freshman Taylor Erwin, her second of the match, drew the Eagles to within 11-8. The Captains inched to closer to the victory by securing three of the next four points to take a 14-9 lead. The Eagles stayed alive thanks to a CNU service error and a Bourque kill, but the Captains earned the right to advance to next weekend's quarterfinals in Holland, Michigan, when Jessie Kolden recorded a kill to end the match. The Captains hit .478 (12-1—23) in the final game compared to Emory's .240 (8-2—25).
Using three kills apiece by Bourque, Duhl and sophomore Hannah Everett, Emory claimed the first set with a dominating 25-14 score. The Eagles held the Captains to just a .060 attack percentage and used a 15-3 blitz in one stretch to take a 23-13 lead.
CNU regrouped quickly and used a 6-0 sprint that wiped out a three-point deficit and gave it a 10-7 lead in the second set. The Eagles stayed within striking distance and finally knotted the game at 16-16 following a service ace by sophomore Olivia Volarich. After a termination by Duhl tied things up at 19-19, back-to-back kills by the Captains' Cory Harris, followed by a block by Bailey Jensen, gave the home team a 22-19 cushion. After each team recorded a point, Emory rattled off four straight points, keyed by a pair of kills by Silverman and a block by Bourque, that put it just one point from taking a 2-0 lead in the match. However, CNU closed out the game with a 3-0 run to tie the contest up.
Bourque was dominant in the third set, pounding out eight kills in helping the Eagles to a .286 hitting percentage. Emory never trailed in the game, bolting out to a 5-0 lead before stretching it into a 10-4 advantage following a put-away by Bourque. Holding a 16-14 lead, the Eagles were the beneficiaries of back-to-back kills by Bourque that pushed its lead to 18-14. A Duhl kill gave Emory a 21-18 margin but a CNU 4-1 charge deadlocked the score at 22-22. The Eagles accounted for the game's next two points only to see CNU answer with a pair of their own. Kills by Bourque and sophomore Leah Jacobs then closed out the set for Emory.
The Captains bounced back with a strong effort in the fourth set, holding Emory to a
-.037 hitting percentage. An early 8-0 barrage gave CNU a 10-2 lead and it built upon that into a 19-7 bulge. The closest that Emory would the rest of the way in that game was 10 points.
In addition to Bourque, Duhl was the other Emory representative on the All-Regional Team. She averaged 2.67 kills and 0.83 blocks per set and ended the weekend with a .338 hitting percentage (32-8—71).