Box Score

NEWPORT NEWS, VA -

The Basics
• Score: Johns Hopkins 1, No. 4 Southwestern (TX) 3 (19-25, 25-21, 28-30, 23-25)
Johns Hopkins 1, No. 18 Christopher Newport 3 (26-24, 14-25, 24-26, 18-25)
• Records: JHU (12-7, 6-0 CC), Southwestern (TX) (23-1, 9-1 SCAC), CNU (17-7, 3-2 CAC)
• Location: Newport News, VA · Freeman Center
• The Short Story: The Johns Hopkins volleyball team dropped a pair of 3-1 matches to ranked opponents in Newport News, VA, Saturday.

How it Happened
• Southwestern (TX) picked up a 25-19 victory in the opening set against Johns Hopkins, but that was the largest margin of victory in the match. JHU topped the fourth-ranked Pirates in the second set 25-21 before Southwestern closed out the 3-1 victory with two-point wins in the third and fourth sets, 30-28 and 25-23.
• Statistically, JHU played a tough match against Southwestern, with its offense producing better hitting percentages than the Pirates in each set. Sasha Gorelik led the Blue Jays with 15 kills, while Elizabeth Wuerstle and Erica Johnston each recorded 14 and Louisa Kishton added 12. Kristi Rhead guided the efficient offense with 53 assists, while many players stepped up defensively with five tallying at least 15 digs in the match.
• After narrowly falling in their first match, the Blue Jays pulled out the first set against Christopher Newport 26-24. The Captains then won three straight sets to defeat Hopkins. After a strong showing by the 18th-ranked team in the second set, 25-14, JHU forced extra points before falling 26-24 in the third set. CNU closed out the match with a 25-18 fourth-set win.
• Wuesrtle, Gorelik and Kishton all recorded double-digit kills in the second match of the day with 14, 13 and 12 kills, respectively. Esther Hong led JHU with 16 digs, including six in the first set. The Blue Jays and Captains produced nearly identical stat lines in the first set, with each team tallying 14 kills and six errors, but Hopkins served four aces to pick up the win.

Inside the Box Score
• Johns Hopkins Blue Jays led the Pirates in kills (67-41) and digs (94-88) but struggled from the service line with 17 service errors to fall short in the first match.
• Three Blue Jays tallied at least 14 kills against Southwestern, while the most kills by a Southwestern player was 13.
• JHU also recorded more kills than Christopher Newport (60-58) but once again had issues serving, notching 11 service errors.

What it Means
• The Blue Jays fall to 12-7 on the season with three straight losses to ranked opponents.
• This was the first meeting between Southwestern and Johns Hopkins, while Christopher Newport takes a 2-1 lead in the all-time series against JHU.

Coach's Corner
• Head coach Tim Cole: "We had our opportunities, and I'm pleased that we built those opportunities ourselves. Next we need to seize them. As growing teams do, we have had spells where we take turns making errors. I often suspect these errors are out of being sympathetically preoccupied with each other's mistakes or by trying to 'rescue' a rally with an extravagant touch. While it is wonderful to have such a compassionate team, I'd rather we show our support by expecting the best from each other and being appropriately engaged with the present."
• On players who have improved: "Sasha Gorelik has steadily improved. Her scoring can also be attributed to strong passing, especially by Louisa Kishton and Kristi Rhead getting over the hump on running our middle."
• On the rest of the season: "We lost to some talented teams because of their quality play, but we let them off the hook some, too. We certainly need to train harder and with more focus. There is just enough time left in the season to make a shift."

Up Next
• The Blue Jays will host Dickinson for a midweek match October 19 at 7 p.m. before hitting the road once again.
• Johns Hopkins will close out the regular season at home, hosting Stevenson October 27 and Gettysburg October 29.