Sept. 11, 2009

WELLESLEY, MA - In a marathon nightcap on the first day of the Wellesley Quad Invitational, Amherst outlasted Johns Hopkins to snag a 3-2 win. The victory gives Amherst a 1-0 record to start the season. The Blue Jays drop to 3-1.

Johns Hopkins took the opening set after jumping out to a 10-3 lead. The Blue Jays widened the gap to 23-14 and held off a late Amherst charge to take the set 25-23. Set two was all Amherst, as the Jeffs scored early and often to take a 17-4 advantage before cruising to a 25-8 win.

The Blue Jays rebounded in game three, 25-21, for a 2-1 lead in the match, but Amherst snagged a hard-fought fourth game, 26-24, tying the match at 2-2. In the fifth and deciding set, the Jeffs took a 7-3 lead. Johns Hopkins climbed back into the game, tying the score at 10-10 before edging to a 14-13 lead. Amherst then fought off five match points before scoring three straight to take the game 20-18.

Alex Zenoff (San Francisco, CA) led the Blue Jay attack with 13 kills. KC Stingl (Mission Viejo, CA) tallied 20 digs for Hopkins, while Becky Paynter (Columbia, MD) dished out 35 assists in the loss.

The Jeffs were led by Katherine Kanoff (Pacific Palisades, CA) with 20 kills. Cristy Maier (San Anselmo, CA) and Emily Waterhouse (Sherman Oaks, CA) added 12 and seven kills, respectively. Defensively, Rachel Yorke (Los Angeles, CA) led all players with 27 digs, while Laura Hyman (Glencoe, IL) racked up 12 blocks. Kate Jordan (Los Altos Hills, CA) distributed 52 assists in the win.

The Blue Jays return to the court at 10:00 a.m. tomorrow to face host Wellesley College. Amherst will play Wesleyan at noon.

- 30 -