Sept. 10, 2013

Box Score

BALTIMORE, MD - Junior Meagan Donohoe recorded 25 kills, and helped lead Hopkins to a 3-2 victory (25-22, 25-23, 25-22, 25-21, 15-10) against No. 21 Salisbury Tuesday evening. The match was a back and forth clash between the Maryland rivals, with both teams barely able to edge the other in the opening four sets. Hopkins coach Tim Cole was pleased with his team's effort, and believed his group's poise in key situations was the difference.

"Composure," said Cole. "We've been working at it, but talking about composure is always uncomfortable. It's a part of yourself that you don't like to look at closely very often. My team was willing to do so, and we made immediate inroads. I would be a fool to think that we're done improving; it's a continuous process and [the team] knows that too. The edge between us and Salisbury this evening was one of composure."

Hopkins was twice down in the match, surrendering the first and third sets to Sea Gulls, and faced a 2-1 deficit heading into the fourth game. The Blue Jays rallied back, taking an18-10 lead in the set before eventually tying the match 2-2 with a 25-21 victory.

Hopkins rallied for four straight points when the game was tied 4-4 in the fifth set, and made sure Salisbury never came within two points for the remainder of the game. The Blue Jays went on to secure a 15-10 victory, and hand Salisbury its first loss of the season.

Junior setter Mariel Metalios had a career day, recording 50 assists in the match while adding two aces, 14 digs, and a block solo for the Blue Jays. Junior outside hitter Megan Cohan posted a game-high .333 hitting percentage, and added 15 kills and a block in the Hopkins victory. Meagan Donohoe was outstanding for the team's attack and came just one kill shy of the all-time record for kills in a five set match. The Olney, MD native also added an ace and two block assists on the night.

Cole knew it would be a hard fought match between the two sides, but was confident in his team's ability to perform against a high caliber opponent.

"In the end, there's a net between us," said Cole. "So, the most pressure anyone can put on you is just by attacking the volleyball...we beat a very good team tonight by sustaining a high level [of play] for five sets. I thought even in the sets we lost both teams played very well. The volleyball was quality the whole night."

Hopkins will return to the court next week to face Washington College for the team's first Centennial Conference matchup of the season.

-30-