Box Score (Averett) | Box Score (Christopher Newport)

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - The University of Scranton volleyball team fell in their final two matches at the Christopher Newport Invitational on Saturday, falling in a five-set thriller to Averett in their first match of the day, then dropping a three-set decision to host CNU in the final match of the Invite.

With the losses, the Royals are now 7-8 on the season.

To open the day, Scranton and Averett battled for five sets for the second straight day, but it was Averett who came out on top (19-25, 22-25, 25-23, 25-13, 10-15) after dropping the match to Scranton on Friday.

It appeared early in the match that Averett would roll to a win, as they took a six-point win over the Royals in the first set, then held off a rally by Scranton in the second set to take a three-point win to go up 2-0 in the match.

But, Scranton attacked back in the third and fourth sets to force a fifth game, holding off Averett in the third set by two points, then rolling to a 12-point win in the fourth set.

However, in the final set, Averett took control early with an 10-4 lead and never looked back, taking the final game by five to knock off the Royals.

In the loss, sophomore attacker Kristin Kirwan (Park Ridge, N.J./Immaculate Heart Academy) was a force on the attack yet again, finishing with a match-high 27 kills. Kirwan has now gone over 20 kills in six matches on the season, hitting the 27 kill mark three times.

Many of Kirwan's kills were set up by senior Brittany Cafiero (Merrick, N.Y./Kellenberg Memorial), who finished with 48 assists. On the defensive end, senior Danielle Cafiero (Merrick, N.Y./Kellenberg Memorial) had a team-high 20 digs, while Kirwan ended the match with 18 digs of her own.

In the Christopher Newport match, the hosts made quick work of the Royals in a three-set win (9-25, 18-25, 22-25).

Sophomore Megan Monastra (West Chester, Pa./Villa Maria Academy) led the Royal attack in the loss with 10 kills, while junior Bailey Woods (Wallingford, Pa./Strath Haven) had 11 digs on the defensive end in the defeat.

The University of Scranton volleyball team returns to action on Thursday, as they host Marywood and Wilkes in a tri-match at the John Long Center. First serve for the Marywood match is set for 5 p.m., while the Wilkes match will start at 9 p.m.

--ROYALS--