ROME, Ga. - The Christopher Newport University Volleyball team dropped a pair of contests to top-ten ranked teams in #1 Emory University, 3-0, and #9 Berry College, 3-1, in the Berry National Invitational.

The Captains fall to 2-3 on the year while Berry improves to 5-0 and Emory 4-0.

While Emory is ranked #1 and is the defending national champion, the #14 Captains gave the Eagles a strong fight throughout the night despite falling in three by the scoreline of 25-22, 25-22, 25-19.

CNU trailed just 6-5 in the first set before the Eagles won seven of the next 10 points to jump ahead 13-8. The Captains kept battling back only to find the Eagles rebuild the lead to 18-14. 

CNU flipped the script from there and had a block party. The run started with a Katie Piper kill, then Abby Oren and Mackenzie Wright rejected a Leah Saunders attack attempt. CNU would win the next point but only to find Oren and Wright blocking another Saunders kill attempt. Leading 19-17, the Eagles Morgan McKnight picked up a kill, but Katie Crofford negated it on the next play to keep it a two-point deficit at 20-18. Saunders, rattled from getting stuffed on her two previous attacks, sent her attack out of bounds. CNU then tied it at 20-20 when Oren and Riley Garrison teamed to send back a McKnight spike.

However, the momentum stalled from there and Cassie Srb and McKnight combined to win four of the next five Eagles points while the Captains scored only two to finish off the set 25-20.

Christopher Newport was rolling throughout much of the first set before Emory mounted a late comeback. CNU boasted leads of 6-10, 12-8, and 15-10, but the Eagles gradually began to chip away at the deficit. 

With the score at 18-14, Emory took four of the next five points to be down only 19-18. Piper tried to stop the momentum swing with a kill to push the advantage back up to two at 20-18, but Emory reeled off the next five points to jump out in front 23-20. Oren stepped up with the next two points, both assisted by Sammy Carroll, to make it a one-point game, but Srb would feed McKnight for two consecutive kills to pick up a 25-22 win.

The Captains once again started off the third game as the aggressor, leading 9-6, but the lead proved short-lived as the Eagles picked up six of the next eight markers to go ahead 12-11. It stayed within a one or fewer point margin up thru 14-14, but Emory took control of the match set for good by securing six of the next seven points to go out in front 20-15. CNU continued to fight to try to force a fourth set but could draw no closer than three.

Sammy Carroll led Christopher Newport with 15 assists, an ace, and three digs. Abby Oren posted six kills and three blocks for 7.5 points. Katie Crofford added five kills, nine digs, and four blocks (two solo), and one ace for 9.0 points. Riley Garrison posted team-highs of nine kills and 10.5 points to go with three blocks. Katie Piper recorded five kills, one ace, and 10 digs. Hope Webb contributed 10 assists and four digs. Rebecca Frey totaled 10 digs and an ace.

In the second match of the day, Christopher Newport split the first two sets only to se the #9 Berry Vikings win the next too comfortably for a line score of 25-20, 22-25, 25-14, 25-18.

Berry got off to a blistering start as they went up 10-1, 17-6, and 20-10, but the Captains staged a furious comeback, cutting it down to just a four-point deficit at 21-17. However, the Vikings were able to answer every CNU point the remainder of the set to take a 25-20 win.

The second stanza proved to be tight throughout with neither team leading by more than four at any point. It was played within a margin of one or fewer through the first 19 points with Berry ahead 10-9. 

The Vikings would go on to push their advantage to 18-14, but the Captains tallied the next four points to tie the set at 18-18, highlighted by two kills from Mackenzie Wright, and eight of the next nine as Katie Piper finished the run with three consecutive service aces to go up 22-19. Berry picked up the next two points to get within one at 22-21, but the Captains finished it off with three of the following four points, one via a Katie Crofford kill and the other via blocks from Riley Garrison, Abby Oren, and Sammy Carroll.

The third set did not start well for the Captains. After scoring the first point on a Wright kill, Berry registered the next 13 points. The closest CNU would get would be within seven as the Vikings rolled to a 25-14 win.

The 4th game was tightly contested thru 16 points with the Captains trailing only 9-7, but Berry went on a massive 10-1 run to jump ahead 19-8. CNU clawed back into the match with five consecutive points, courtesy of a Piper Ace, a Crofford kill, and three Berry errors. The rally ended there as they would trail by at least six for the rest of the set.

Crofford posted a team-best 10 kills to go with two blocks, seven digs, and an ace for 12.0 points. Piper tied for the team-high in points with 12 courtesy of eight kills and four aces. She also tacked on nine digs. Carroll contributed 26 assists along with team-highs in digs (13) and blocks (3). Wright added seven kills and two blocks while Abby Oren totaled six kills and five digs.

The Captains return to the court on Saturday with an 11 am match vs. Endicott and a 1 pm contest with #20 Mary Hardin-Baylor.