Newport News, Va. - The Christopher Newport University women's volleyball team heads into their weekend invitational hoping to remain undefeated.
"We never plan to lose a match - to play in this program you have to be able to play under pressure," Coach Lindsay Birch said.
Ranked third in the country, the Captains certainly have to be prepared to defend their rank and record.
"It gives other teams a reason to always give us their best which is really great for us i love a challenge so trying to get to that number one is a great challenge," player Maddie McCann said.
CNU was ranked sixth in their preseason poll after going on an impressive 34 to 4 run in 2014.
"I've been optimistic since day one," McCann said. "I think we have great chemistry as a team, which I didn't think we had in years before, which is the biggest part, really. You can have all the talent in the world and if you don't have chemistry, you can't really put things together."
"What we didn't have last year was experience and confidence and we have that now. We've had talent in years past, but our experience and talent paired with confidence will lead to a really special year," Birch said
They've got the talent, the chemistry, the experience, and the teamwork
"Volleyball is such a mental sport and such a team sport. Every single person matters," team member Rachel Conway said.
With a lot of depth on their roster, the Captains can confidently look ahead to the rest of their schedule.
"Not sure i like the target of number 3 on our back, but its exciting and it adds some hype to this weekend with another great match up with another great team," Birch said.
They have their captain invitational this weekend, where they'll host another top five team as their feature match.
