Sept. 12, 2009

WELLESLEY, MA - Johns Hopkins finished the Wellesley Quad with a solid, 3-1, win over the Wesleyan Cardinals. The Blue Jays improve their record to, 5-1, while Wesleyan falls to, 0-3.

In set one, Johns Hopkins advanced first with three consecutive points served by freshman Becky Paynter(Columbia, MD). Junior Lesley Faulkner rallied the Cardinals to only a one point deficit, but the Cardinals held on to the lead eventually grabbing a 25-23 win.

In sets two and three, the Blue Jays dominated the court beating Wesleyan 25-20 and 25-17. In set two, the Blue Jays held an impressive rally as junior KC Stingl(Mission Viejo, CA) served eight consective points to notch a 20-16 lead. Johns Hopkins would command the lead to solidify a 25-20 win.

In set three, Wesleyan captured an early 5-3 lead until the Blue Jays jumped ahead 11-7. The Blue Jays maintained the lead for the remainder of the set, winning 25-17.

Set four proved to be the most exciting set of the match. Both teams battled back and forth until Johns Hopkins' Alex Zenoff(San Francisco, CA) rallied the Blue Jays to a 28-26 match win.

Paynter had an impressive showing tallying five aces, 20 digs, and 22 assists. Senior Allison Cappelaere(Ellicott City, MD) added 17 kills. Wesleyan's Ruby Hernandez notched 43 digs and four aces, while teammate Casey Reed added 17 digs and 15 kills in the loss.

Day two of the Wellesley Quad opened with an exciting five-set, come-from-behind win for Johns Hopkins. After dropping the first two games, the visiting Blue Jays took the next three to lift their overall record to, 4-1, while Wellesley falls to, 1-2.

Set one remained even throughout the early rallies, as neither team could gain an advantage until Johns Hopkins used two short serving runs to take an 18-14 lead. Three rallies later, the hosts responded with a run of their own to tie the game at 21-21, then closed the set with tough defense, 28-26.

Wellesley carried the momentum into set two, taking an early 8-5 advantage. The Blue Jays stayed close, but serving runs from Madeleine Brumley and Elizabeth Campbell gave Wellesley a 24-18 lead. Two sideouts later, Wellesley took a 2-0 lead in the match with a 25-19 win.

Johns Hopkins opened set three with a 7-4 edge, but Wellesley closed the gap quickly and took 13-12 lead halfway through the game. The Blue Jays then capitalized on several Blue serving and hitting errors in the second half of the game to take the set 25-20.

Set four belonged to the Blue Jays, as they used tough serving and quick middle attacks from Zenoff and Melissa Cole(Walnut, CA) to take a commanding 15-4 lead before cruising to 25-15 win. With the match tied at 2-2, John Hopkins edged to an 8-5 lead in the deciding set and held on for a 15-11 win.

Paynter guided a well-balanced Blue Jay offense with 29 assists. Zenoff led Johns Hopkins with eight kills, while Cole, Cappelaere and Brittany Zimmer(Melville, NY) tallied seven kills each.

Alice Cummings led the Blue with 17 kills while recording 14 digs. Campbell notched 14 kills, and Isabel Custodio chipped in eight. Senior libero Naomi Iwata recorded a career-high 34 digs in the loss.

The Blue Jays return to the court when they travel to Frederick, MD Tuesday to face Hood.

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