NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - Captains Volleyball will seek to extend their winning streak starting on Friday at the Knights Invitational hosted by Neumann University in Aston, Pa. The Captains battle Hood College at 6 pm on Friday followed by Neumann at 8 pm. They get the day started early on Saturday with a 10 am match vs. Widener followed by a 12 pm contest against Catholic.

Live coverage of the weekend can be found at https://www.cnusports.com/sports/womens-volleyball/schedule

Christopher Newport enters the weekend at 5-6 overall, but the Captains have been heavily battle-tested by playing one of the toughest schedules in the country. While the wins haven't been aplenty, CNU has been competitive with some of the best teams in the nation, including defeating then #3 Juniata 3-2 in August. 

Do-it-all player Katie Piper ranks in the top three on the team in kills (2.66 per set), aces (0.39), and digs (2.50). Additionally, she has contributed 11 blocks. Katie Crofford is not far behind the kills department at 2.64 and boasts 0.51 aces per set, good for second on the team, to go with 2.18 digs and 12 total blocks. 

Riley Garrison has contributed 2.41 kills per set and leads the team in hitting percentage at .315 and blocks at 31 (0.84). Mackenzie Wright has bolstered the front line of the defense with 28 blocks (0.74) to go with 1.58 kills on offense and a .236 hitting percentage. Abby Oren has also proven formidable at the net on defense with 19 blocks (056) while adding 1.71 kills.

Sammy Carroll has made an impressive start to her collegiate career, leading the team in assists at 8.23 while also ranking second in aces at 17. She has proven to be skilled on the defensive side as well, sporting 2.15 digs per set to go with nine total blocks. Rebecca Frey has proven to be the team's top option at libber, record a team-best 3.54 digs per set along with 12 aces.

Hood's season has been defined by struggle with an 0-11 record, with six being by a 3-0 score. Their closest match was a 3-2 loss to Berea. The Captains and Blazers have one common opponent in Messiah. The Captains were victorious by a score of 25-18, 25-17, 25-21 on September 14 in what was their most decisive victory of the season up to that point. Hood fell 25-8, 25-17, 25-14 and managed just 12 kills for the entire match. 

As a team, they are hitting just .056. Individually, Tailyn Kite leads the way on offense with 1.92 kills per set followed by Carrington Ray at 1.88. Kite has a team-best .145 hitting percentage. Kameron Crawford is top on the team in assists at 3.72 followed by Ashley Williams at 2.58. Robyn Reus checks in with 3.95 digs while Shane Simms has recorded 0.63 blocks per set.

Neumann comes into the weekend with a 3-7 record but is riding a two-game win streak following a 3-1 W over Ursinus and a 3-0 decision against Penn State Berks. The Captains and Knights share one common foe in Mary Hardin-Baylor. CNU lost a competitive won 3-1 (25-19, 25-20, 16-25, 25-18) while UMHB rolled 25-13, 25-18, 25-15.

Melanie Malseed paces them in kills at 3.12 per set, is tied for the team lead in hitting percentage at .216, and leads the way in digs at 4.09. Rachel Cray is hading out 6.59 assists while Hayley Glah is second in digs at 3.36. Ariana Pena and Maria Brown form a strong duo at the net, posting 0.70 and 0.64 blocks per set, respectively, with the two combining for 19 total solo blocks.

Widener enters the weekend sporting a 3-9 mark and has won two out of their last three contests, boasting a 3-2 win over Rutgers-Camden and a 3-0 victory at Immaculata.

Shelby Motz is tops on the team in kills with 2.75 per set followed by Claire Kaufmann at 2.25. Kaufmann also has team-highs in hitting percentage of .366 and blocks at 0.45. Sydney Nichols has tallied 4.73 assists with Emma Wilcock totaling 3.06. Ashley McAfee has punched in 15 service aces and a squad-best 4.16 digs. Cary Venit is runner up for Widener in blocks with 0.41. 
 
Catholic is 8-4 on the year and recently had a seven-match win streak snapped by rival Mary Washington on Tuesday. In that seven-match streak, the Cardinals lost just three sets, two to McDaniel and one to Gettysburg.

Leading the charge on offense is Josephine Morrill at 3.82 kills per set flanked by Patricia Martinez at 3.07. Morrill has a team-high 21 aces. Maria Gonzalez has commanded the setter position to the tune of 8.91 assists while also placing second in services aces at 14. Caroline Kelly is boasting 5.02 digs per set as the libero while also ranking third in aces at 12. Isabelle Cooper has rejected a team-best 0.59 blocks per set followed by Joya Libbus at 0.45.