Christopher Newport topped ranked Johns Hopkins on Saturday afternoon before falling in five sets to Susquehanna in the Susquehanna Invitational.

Christopher Newport 3, No. 14 Johns Hopkins 1 | (25-16, 25-23, 11-25, 29-27)

First Set

Tied at 12, Rebecca Frey rattled off three aces in a row to start a 9-0 run for the Captains. Kills from Megan James, Lainie Putt, and Mackenzie Wright helped CNU close out the first set.

Second Set

Johns Hopkins lost their 16-12 lead after making three straight attacking errors, which gave way to back-to-back service aces from Megan James. The Blue Jays responded with two aces and retook the lead, but Christopher Newport took five of the next seven points with two kills from Maddie Carter and two aces from Macy Burk. Burk also delivered the final blow to give CNU a commanding 2-0 lead.

Third Set

Hopkins jumped out to a 10-3 lead in the third set. The Blue Jays held the lead through the third set and limited the Captains attack to just three kills. 

Fourth Set

The fourth set was the closest of the match as the two sides fought to a 25-25 tie. Megan James' kill tied the set at 25. Johns Hopkins scored on a kill but then tied the match up again with an attack error. Lainie Putt registered her seventh kill to put CNU ahead, but James' attack went wide to tie the set at 27. James scored the next point with team-leading 11th kill and a Blue Jay attack missed the mark to give the set and match to the Captains.

Susquehanna 3, Christopher Newport 2 | (22-25, 23-25, 25-17, 25-21, 11-15)

First Set

The Captains' trailing 24-18 late in the set, but began a furious comeback with back to back kills from Lainie Putt followed by back to back kills from Maddie Carter. They fell short in the first set though, with Susquehanna closing out the first set.

Second Set

CNU exhibited some spectacular serves in the second set, totaling four aces. Macy Burk served an ace early in the second set, and Sammy Carroll put up back to back aces to bring CNU within 2, 22-20. The River Hawks took the next two points, but a kill from Burk brought the serve back to CNU. Julia Gleason served up an ace to bring CNU within one, but Susquehanna found a way to finish the job and take the second set.

Third Set

Christopher Newport quickly got out to a 10-4 lead to start the third set. Mackenzie Wright had four of her 15 kills in the third set as the Captains hit .250 in the third set, their highest percentage of the match. Kills from Macy Burk and Abigail Draper helped CNU wrap up the third set.

Fourth Set

After trailing 19-15, a 6-0 run helped the Captains turn the tide of the fourth set. Four errors were a part of that run that gave the Captains a lead, and kills from Burk, Draper, and Lainie Putt worked together to capture the fourth set and force a fifth.

Fifth Set

CNU took the first point of the fifth set, but fell behind shortly after and were unable to keep pace with Susquehanna. The Captains got kills from Wright, Carter, Putt, and Sammy Carroll, but the River Hawks came through to take the fifth set.

News & Notes

• The Captains' 12 blocks against Johns Hopkins are the second most this season, and the most of a match of less than five sets.
• Lainie Putt contributed 7 kills in the win over Johns Hopkins, her career high.
• The Captains finished the Susquehanna match with the second-most blocks this season (13.5).
• CNU has played three of its last four matches to five sets.

Next Up

The Captains will be back in action next weekend in Cincinnati for the Mount St. Joseph tournament.