Box Score Nov. 5, 2014 Box Score
BALTIMORE, MD - After being down 0-2 the Johns Hopkins Blue Jays rallied to force a fifth set against visiting Franklin & Marshall Diplomats. Unfortunately for the Jays it was too little too late, as the team dropped the final set 15-9.
The first set saw the set go back and forth, before Hopkins looked in control up 19-14 following a Liz Wuerstle kill. Coming out of a timeout F&M went on a 5-1 run, cutting the Jays lead to 20-19. Following a Kristi Rhead kill, Ellie Ezekiel responded with a kill and block of her own to tie the game at 21. An Ally Hirsch kill made the score 22-21, but Hopkins hitting errors followed by an F&M block gave the Diplomats a 24-22 advantage, before pulling out a 25-23 win.
The second set was much of the same, but F&M got a hold of the set at 16-12 following an Ezekiel kill. But the Jays came storming back, using kills by Rhead and Wuerstle and some hitting errors from the visitors to tie the game at 17. The two teams traded points and service errors before the Jays looked to be in control up 22-20 following a block by Mereze Visagie and Erica Johnston. But the Diplomats used two Ezekiel kills, an ace by Shae Murphy and some unforced Blue Jay errors to steal the set 25-22.
The Blue Jays came out roaring in the third, jumping all over the visitors and getting up 8-1. But the visitors climbed back in on the shoulders of Ezekiel and Julie Harvey and tied it at 8. From there the teams were even up to 12. Then two F&M hitting errors and a ball handling error followed by a kill by Hirsch and block by Visagie and Ali Cox gave the hosts a 17-12 lead. From there the Jays coasted to a 25-18 win.
The fourth set saw the Jays play from behind most of the match. However the Jays did a good job keeping the match close, with the biggest deficit they saw being four. After being down 20-17, the Blue Jays used a Cassie Garison service error and an ace by Ali Cox to get to within one. Following an F&M timeout, Harvey smashed home her third kill of the set. But the Jays responded with consecutive kills by Hirsch, Visagie and Johnston to take a 22-21 lead. After a hitting error by Ezekiel, Anne Cohen stepped up and tallied an ace for the Jays, bringing the score to 24-21. A ball handling error by Rhead created a palpable tension in the gym and signaled a small glimmer of hope for the Diplomats. But that glimmer was gone after a hitting error by Ezekiel ended the set 25-22.
The fifth and final set was hotly contested early, with the Jays leading 6-5. Consecutive hitting errors by Wuerstle and Johnston ensued, followed by an two Katie Foreman kills, which wrapped around a service ace by Garison. Down 10-6, Rhead hammered home a kill, bringing the Jays to within three. Rhead wasn't able to capitalize on her next play though, tallying an inopportune service error. Hirsch and Ezekiel then traded kills before a hitting error by Johnston created a 13-8 deficit for the hosts. Ezekiel finished the match with two kills wrapped around one by Hirsch, and the Diplomats walked out of Goldfarb with a 15-9 win in the fifth set.
For the Jays, Wuerstle led the offensive output, tallying 20 kills while hitting .327 for the match. She added two aces and two solo blocks as well. Visagie played strong in the middle with nine kills and four total blocks. Cohen tallied three of her five kills on the year in the match, and added five aces too. Defensively she was rock solid as usual, tallying 21 digs.
For F&M Ezekiel and Foreman led the way, tallying 22 and 12 kills, respectively. Dishing out the assists was Caroline Hubbard, as she racked up 44 assists, while adding seven digs, three kills and one block assist.
Hopkins ended its season with a 17-11 record overall and compiled an 8-2 mark in conference play.
