ATLANTA, Ga. -- Fourth-seeded Washington and Lee defeated fifth-seeded Christopher Newport, 30-19, 30-27, 28-30, 30-20 in the opening round of the NCAA Division III Volleyball Tournament on Thursday evening at Emory University.

The Generals (32-7) advance to the South Region semifinal where they will face top-seeded Trinity (Texas) University on Friday at 4:30 pm.

"Obviously, this is a huge win for us," said Washington and Lee Head Coach Bryan Snyder. "Any win at this time of the year is great. Going up two games to none was important because it put us in control of the match."

Leading the way for W&L was sophomore outside hitter Emily Wolfing (Mt. Airy, Md./South Carroll), who totaled team-highs in kills (15) and digs (20). Sophomore outside hitter Michelle Chastain (Phoenix, Ariz./Xavier Prep) notched 12 kills and 14 digs, while freshman setter Christine Gladysz (Palm Harbor, Fla./Berkeley Prep) tallied a team-high 34 assists and four aces.

"Christine's main thing today was her serving," noted Snyder. "She just started jump-serving on Monday and it was really impressive tonight. She switched positions mid-season and as she continues to improve, so do we as a team."

The loss ended Christopher Newport's season at 24-8 overall. The Captains had defeated W&L, 3-2, in the teams' two prior meetings this season.

-- GENERALS --