DOVER, Del. -- The 24th-ranked Christopher Newport volleyball team capitalized on a well-balanced effort to race past Wesley, 3-0 (25-10, 25-16, 25-18), during a Capital Athletic Conference match on Saturday afternoon at the Wentworth Gymnasium.
 
During the contest, 11 different Captains recorded a kill as CNU took advantage of its depth to post the three-set sweep. Katie Piper led the attack with 13 kills while hitting at a .321 clip. Megan O'Hara also had five blasts on 10 swings, while Katelyn Newsome was incredibly efficient with four kills on five attempts. The senior also assisted on two of the team's eight blocks.
 
Along with the standouts up front, Ashley Burgess dished out 15 assists, while Hope Webb had nine helpers and two aces. Meanwhile, Josie Lucernoni collected 14 digs, and Katie Crofford pocketed 11.
 
With the victory, Christopher Newport improves to 17-3 on the season, including 4-0 in league action. The setback drops Wesley to 13-8 overall and 0-4 in CAC play.
 
In the first set, the Captains set the tone early as the visitors held Wesley to a flat .000 hitting percentage. Newsome, Crofford, and Riley Garrison all played a role in a pair of blocks, while Lucernoni worked her magic with seven digs. CNU vaulted out to a commanding 19-7 lead behind aces from Lucernoni and Tiaralyn McBride as well three kills by Piper. Later, after a timeout, the squad came back with two more rejections, including the clincher by Crofford and Garrison, to seal the 25-10 win.
 
Regrouping, Wesley managed to slip out to a modest 11-9 lead in the second stanza before Christopher Newport retaliated.  Abby Oren led the mid-set surge as the freshman laced a kill before taking over at the service line. She eventually won seven straight serves, including an ace, to snatch a 17-11 lead. Still rolling, Webb unleashed an ace of her own before Sam Plesce added the final punctuation mark with a kill off a feed from Burgess to lock up the 25-16 triumph.
 
The third frame played much like the first as the visitors grabbed a fast lead and never looked back. Burgess and Garrison each clocked early aces, while Piper had a pair of kills during a seven-point streak that gave CNU a 15-6 edge. Although the Wolverines managed to cut their deficit back down to four, Kellyn DeChirico responded with a block and blast, Allie Plumlee punched an ace, and Garrison came through with the clinching kill to lock up the 25-18 victory.
 
Overall, Christopher Newport posted a .317 hitting percentage during the match after clubbing 41 kills on 101 attempts.
 
The Captains will return to action on Tuesday at 7 p.m. when the squad hosts William Peace in a non-conference bout at the Freeman Center.
 
---CNU---