ASTON, Pa. - The Neumann University women's volleyball team opened the 2019 Knights Invitational by splitting a pair of matches, taking down Hood College by a score of 3-0 before falling to Christopher Newport University 3-0.

Neumann made quick work of Hood in the team's opening contest of the day. The Knights set the tone early in the match, dominating game one by a score of 25-14 to set the tone for a convincing victory. Game one was close early with the hosts holding a 16-14 lead before the team rallied off nine straight points to seal the win. Game two was the closest of the match at 25-18 in favor of the Knights and the third game saw Neumann win comfortably at 25-15. Melanie Malseed was the difference-maker in the win for the Knights, registering a team leading 10 kills and 14 digs. Rachel Cray also tallied 33 assists and five service aces, while Ariana Pena picked up 10 kills and three blocks.

Neumann's second match of the day would not go as planned, as the hosts fell 3-1 to visiting Christopher Newport. The Captains controlled the opening game from start to finish, taking an early 4-0 lead and holding on the rest of the way. The closest the Knights would get was 17-15 off a kill from Bre Hickey, but the visitors would answer back with eight of the game's final 10 points to take a 25-17 win.

Neumann responded in the second game of the match with some of its best play of the season on its way to a hard-fought 25-23 victory. The teams were never separated by more than three points in either direction throughout the game. With the game tied at 21-21 late in the contest, the Knights recorded four of the last six points of the game, led by two big kills by Hickey to take a 25-23 win.

Unfortunately the hosts could not keep the momentum in games three and four of the match. The Captains cruised to a comfortable 25-8 victory in game three, before picking up a match-deciding 25-18 win in game four. Christopher Newport never trailed in either of the final two games of the contest. Hickey was the star of the match for the Knights with 14 kills and 14 digs, while Cray recorded 23 assists.

Neumann (4-8) will get right back into action tomorrow with two more games to complete the Knights Invitational. The team will take on Rosemont College at 10:00 AM before closing out the tournament with Messiah College at 2:00 PM.