HUNTINGDON, Pa. -- The Christopher Newport volleyball team will face three nationally-ranked opponents at the Juniata / ASICS Invitational this week as the Captains will battle the 15th-ranked Juniata Eagles on Friday at 7 p.m. before facing a doubleheader against No. 24 Carnegie Mellon and No. 3 Wittenberg on Saturday beginning at 2 p.m.

CNU enters the tournament with a 3-1 record, including a victory over nationally-ranked Stevenson last week. Meanwhile, Juniata is 1-2, Carnegie Mellon is 2-2, and Wittenberg is 3-0.

Christopher Newport is coming off of a grueling opening weekend, which saw the squad register a pair of five-set victories during the Captains Classic. During the four matches, Megan O'Hara led CNU with 41 kills and a .364 hitting percentage, while Katie Crofford roped 27 blasts and pocketed 45 digs. Both standouts secured All-Tournament honors for their efforts.

Along with the decorated performers, Katie Piper unleashed 30 kills during the Captains Classic, including 13 against No. 24 Stevenson. Riley Garrison also made her mark along the net with 14 blocks. Freshman Mackenzie Wright also notched eight rejections and chipped in with 16 kills during the tournament as well.

On the back row, Josie Lucernoni averaged 4.12 digs per set, while Crofford converted 112 of her 117 reception attempts last week. Piper also contributed a .962 reception percentage during the Captains Classic.

Juniata comes into the weekend after suffering back-to-back five-set losses to No. 2 Calvin and No. 8 Ithaca on Saturday. The Eagles opened the year with a 3-1 triumph over Stevens. So far this season, Morgan Edwards leads the squad with 44 kills while hitting at a .340 clip. Victoria Taylor has also unloaded 42 kills, and senior Katie Byrne is leading the defense with a 4.29 digs-per-set average. Dejiah Danhi has chipped in with a team-high 12 blocks as well.

Carnegie Mellon most recently defeated Washington & Jefferson on Wednesday after opening the season with a 1-2 mark during the Ohio Northern Invitational. In four matches this season, Sarah Jurgens is averaging 3.50 kills per set, while Erika Foose sports a .327 hitting percentage. Maia So-Holloway has helped keep the hitters happy with a 9.57 assists-per-set mark, and Kayla Yew has 73 total digs so far this season.

Wittenberg, who advanced to the national championship match last year, opened 2018 with three straight sweeps to claim the Otterbein Challenge Title. Boasting a well-balanced attack, Haley Horner and Kennedey Schmidt are both averaging over three kills per set, while Schmidt and Aubrey Cox are both hitting over .400 this season. Meanwhile, Karen Wildemann is averaging 10.45 assists per frame, and Taylor Yontz is leading the back row with a 4.33 digs-per-set mark.

In 13 all-time meetings between the two programs, Juniata holds a 9-4 edge against CNU. Wittenberg is also 4-0 all-time against Christopher Newport, while Carnegie Mellon won the only previous meeting with the Captains in 2016.

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