HUNTINGDON, Pa. -- The Christopher Newport volleyball team dropped its opening match of the Juniata / ASICS Invitational on Friday night as the Captains fell to the 15th-ranked Juniata Eagles, 3-0 (25-15, 25-18, 25-15), at the Memorial Gymnasium.

Facing its second straight nationally-ranked opponent, CNU could not quite keep pace with the high-flying Eagles. Despite six kills from Katie Piper and five from Megan O'Hara, the Captains were limited to a -.023 hitting percentage during the three-set affair.

With the setback, Christopher Newport falls to 3-2 on the season. Juniata improves to 2-2.

Piper paced CNU with six kills on just 17 swings while compiling a .294 hitting percentage. The junior also contributed six digs on the defensive side. Meanwhile, Josie Lucernoni pocketed a team-high 12 digs and converted 18 of her 19 reception attempts against the Eagles, and Mackenzie Wright tormented the JC attack with three solo blocks.

Along with the defensive standouts, Hope Webb dished out seven assists, and Ashley Burgess handed out six. Webb and Lucernoni also clocked aces during the match, while Katie Crofford laced a pair of winners to go along with four digs. The junior was also tested on serve-receive throughout the match and eventually converted 35 of her 38 attempts.

Christopher Newport will return to action tomorrow with two more battles against nationally-ranked competition. The Captains will face No. 24 Carnegie Mellon at 2 p.m. before squaring off with No. 3 Wittenberg at 4 p.m.

---CNU---