Sept. 22, 2010

BALTIMORE, MD - The Johns Hopkins volleyball team rolled to an impressive 3-0 sweep of visiting Swarthmore on Wednesday night at Goldfarb Gym in the Centennial Conference opener for both squads. The Blue Jays improve to 6-7 (1-0 CC) on the year, while the Garnet have now lost three straight matches and drop to 10-4 (0-1 CC).

Hopkins began the match firing on all cylinders, jumping out to an early 8-2 advantage in the first set that forced a Swarthmore timeout. JHU stretched its lead to 15-6 before the Garnet went on a 4-0 run to cut the Blue Jay lead to five. That would be the closest Swarthmore would get in the opening set as the Blue Jays won 25-12. Several strong serves from senior Brittany Zimmer in the final few points helped Hopkins take the first set that ended on a block by sophomore Becky Paynter and classmate Carolyn Mickelson.

The second set was a back-and-forth affair that saw several lead changes and exciting rallies. The score was knotted at 13-13 before Hopkins went on a 4-0 run to push its lead to 17-13. The Blue Jays later held a 22-19 advantage that the Garnet erased with a 4-0 run of their own to take a 23-22 lead. Hopkins responded in a big way, winning the final three points to take the set, 25-23, on a Mickelson kill.

The Blue Jays continued to look sharp in the third set, securing the victory with a 25-19 win that ended on a kill from junior Melissa Cole off a Paynter assist.

Cole led the Blue Jays with 17 kills and 14 digs, posting her sixth double-double of the season. Paynter led the team in assists with 39 and added nine digs. Sophomore Amelia Thomas led the Blue Jays in digs with 19.

Freshman Danielle Sullivan paced Swarthmore with eight kills and seven digs, while junior Genny Pezzola added seven kills and eight digs. Sophomore Allison Coleman led the Garnet in assists with 24.

Hopkins returns to action on Thursday, September 23 at home against Washington College at 7 pm.