NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – The William Paterson volleyball team (22-10, 7-1 NJAC) came up short in its first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance, falling 3-1 to host Christopher Newport (25-9) in the regional quarterfinals Nov. 21.
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HOW IT HAPPENED:
- William Paterson trailed by one (18-17) late in the first set before scoring four unanswered points to grab a three-point edge. The two sides were even at 23 apiece until sophomore Cecilia Miller (Virginia Beach, Va./First Colonial) delivered back-to-back kills to give WP the 25-23 victory.
- Four straight points by the Pioneers in the second set pulled WP within three (10-7). However, a 12-4 run by the Captains gave Christopher Newport a double-digit advantage (22-11). Despite a 7-2 WP run, CNU held on for the 25-19 win.
- The Captains jumped out to a 17-7 advantage in the third set and eventually were one point shy (24-13) of claiming the win, but the Pioneers posted five consecutive points to pull within six (24-18). That was as close as WP would get as CNU captured the 25-18 victory.
- A kill by Miller gave the Pioneers a five-point lead (12-7) during the fourth set before CNU went on a 12-4 run to go ahead by three (19-16). The Captains held onto the lead and secured the 25-21 win.
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INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Senior Paola Molina (Hatillo, Puerto Rico/Colegio San Felipe) had a match-high 31 digs and broke the WP record for career digs with 1,563.
- She additionally finishes her career as the program's all-time leader in digs per set.
- The Hatillo, Puerto Rico, native capped the season with 608 digs to become the first Pioneer in program history to eclipse 600 mark in a campaign.
- Miller totaled a team-high 16 kills to pair with 11 digs.
- Graduate student Hope Arce-Reed (New Carrollton, Md./College Park Academy) logged eight kills and six digs.
- Sophomore Abby Houpt (Garnet Valley, Pa./Garnet Valley) handed out a match-high 25 assists to go with nine digs.
- She became just the third Pioneer in program history to reach 2,000 career assists.
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