Newport News, Va. - The St. Mary's College of Maryland volleyball team found itself Thursday night on the doorstep of advancing to the Capital Athletic Conference championship game for the first time since 2008. However, the two-time defending CAC champion, No. 6 Christopher Newport University, had other plans and held on for the 3-2 victory.

Tonight's semifinal action between fourth-seeded St. Mary's (17-13) and No. 1 seed Christopher Newport (28-2) was a rematch of last year's CAC Volleyball Championship Tournament semifinal match. CNU won last year's matchup in five as well and went on to capture its second straight CAC title.

"We played CNU to the wire and we battled with one of the top teams in the country," stated second-year head coach Jeremy Sands. "We should be proud of all we have accomplished this season, this team is full of fighters that know how to play. I want to thank all of our seniors for making this team what it is today. They have set a high standard and will be remembered as one of the best classes to play Seahawk volleyball."

St. Mary's owned an early lead in the fifth set, 5-4, on a kill by junior outside hitter Alli Graf (Annapolis, Md./Broadneck). The Captains responded with a 3-0 run to reclaim their first lead since 1-0. Teams switched sides as CNU led 8-6. The Seahawks regained the advantage at 10-9 with a 4-1 run for their last lead of the set. Christopher Newport buckled down and closed out the set with six straight points, including three consecutive kills by senior outside hitter Abby McIntyre (Hillsboro, Va./Loudoun Valley) to end the set, for the 3-2 match victory.

Four Seahawks finished with double-digit kills and senior middle hitter Mandy Goodspeed (Columbia, Md./Atholton) led the way with 14. Senior middle hitter Karlee Vaillant (Arnold, Md./Broadneck) and junior Mimi Graf (Annapolis, Md./Broadneck) each tallied 11 kills while senior outside hitter Autumn Fisher (Hagerstown, Md./North Hagerstown) added 10.

Fisher and A. Graf combined for six of the team's eight service aces with three each while at the net, Goodspeed (3 BA) and Vaillant (2 BS, 1 BA) collected three blocks apiece. M. Graf (24 assists) and senior setter Grace Chao (Ellicott City, Md./Centennial) combined for 47 assists in helping the Seahawk offense run smoothly.

Defensively, junior libero Carissa Hill (Lanham, Md./Pallotti) and M. Graf each contributed 18 digs, giving M. Graf her fourth triple-double of the season.

The first set went to the hosts, 25-18, as the Captains never trailed again after 1-0. McIntyre notched the set-winning kill. St. Mary's answered with a 25-19 win in the second set which was sealed by a M. Graf kill. The Seahawks led by two early in the set before a CNU block gave the Captains an 11-10 advantage. However, an 8-0 run returned the lead to St. Mary's for good.

Christopher Newport staked a 2-1 lead in the match after a 25-19 win in the third set. The Captains posted an 8-3 lead before St. Mary's first timeout and then stretched their lead to 15-6. The match was evened at 2-2 following a hard-fought 29-27 triumph by the Seahawks.

McIntyre paced CNU in the win with a double-double on a match-best 23 kills and 10 digs while senior setter Rachel Conway (Fairfax, Va./W.T. Woodson) also picked up a double-double with 48 assists and 14 digs.

Facebook: StMarysAthletics

Twitter: @smcseahawks, @SMCMVB, #HawksFlyTogether

Instagram: @smcseahawks