HUNTINGDON, Pa. -- The 24th-ranked Christopher Newport volleyball team saw its 2018 campaign come to an end on Saturday afternoon as the Captains fell to No. 7 Thomas More, 3-0 (25-21, 25-13, 25-19), in the NCAA Regional Semifinals at Juniata's Memorial Gymnasium.
 
After toppling Bethany in four sets to kick off the NCAA Tournament on Friday, the Captains were upended by the nationally-ranked Saints to close out the year. Punctuating their careers with starring efforts on Saturday, Kellyn DeChirico and Josie Lucernoni excelled for CNU. DeChirico came through with five blocks, including a career-high three solo stops. Meanwhile, Lucernoni added 16 digs and converted 24 of her 25 reception attempts.
 
The match put the finishing touches on the tenures of DeChirico, Lucernoni, and fellow team captain Cat Boyle. Together, the three seniors helped lead Christopher Newport to a 109-23 record over the past four seasons while capturing three conference championships.
 
In addition to the seniors, Hope Webb handed out 15 assists against Thomas More on Saturday, while Katie Crofford pumped two aces. The junior also converted all 31 of her reception attempts. Coupled with her work against Bethany, Crofford finished the NCAA Tournament with a sparkling 77-for-78 effort on serve-receive.
 
With the setback, Christopher Newport wraps up the season with a 26-6 record. Thomas More improves to 33-3.
 
Along with DeChirico's defensive efforts along the net, Riley Garrison also came through with five blocks, including a pair of solo stops. She concludes the year with 134 total rejections, which ranks as the fourth-highest single-season total by a Captain. Abby Oren also had a hand in three of the team's 11 total blocks on Saturday.
 
CNU's 11 rejections equaled the second-most in a three-set match this season.
 
On the offensive end, DeChirico and Garrison both landed six kills, while Katie Piper connected on five. In addition to Webb's helping hand, Ashley Burgess notched seven assists, and Lauren Tracy posted six. With her performance, Tracy bumped her season-total to 504 assists this year, becoming just the fourth Captain to eclipse 500 in her freshman campaign.
 
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