The Basics 
• Score: #6 Johns Hopkins – 3 • St. John Fisher – 0 (25-20, 25-11, 25-16)
• Records: #6 Johns Hopkins (1-0) • St. John Fisher (1-1)
• Location: Ithaca, N.Y. • Hill Center
• The Short Story: After a power outage spoiled the Blue Jays' 2021 season opener Wednesday night, Hopkins returned to action Friday night, picking up right where they left off, cruising to a straight-set victory over St. John Fisher in the team's first match of the Bomber Invitational hosted by Ithaca College.

How it Happened

SET ONE
• A back-and-forth opening set saw neither team holding more than a two-point advantage until St. John Fisher took a 16-13 lead. Not backing down from the early adversity, Hopkins picked up a point on an Emily Brochey service error before senior Elayna Williams tacked on back-to-back kills to even the score at 16-16.
• After the two sides exchanged subsequent points, Williams added another kill to give Hopkins an 18-17 lead, and Susquehanna transfer, Sydney Portale added an ace to extend the Blue Jay lead.
• Simone Bliss notched the fourth of her match-high 14 kills to give the Jays their largest lead and set-point at 24-19. An Alea Steigerwald kill kept the game alive for the Cardinals before Eleni Panagopoulos finished the opening game off for Hopkins.
 
SET TWO
• Hopkins picked things up defensively in the second set on their way to a 25-11 win. After allowing St. John Fisher to hit at a .321 clip as a team in the first set, the Jays stymied the Cardinal attack in the second frame, limiting SJF to just a .074 hitting percentage.
• Freshman Evelyn Batista continued to shine in her starting DS role, tallying five of her team-high 11 digs in the second set.
• Not to be overlooked was the performance of senior Lauren Anthony, who was a perfect 4-4 on attack attempts in the second set while also producing six Blue Jay points at the service line.

SET THREE
• It was clear from the start of the third that the Cardinals were not going to go down with a fight. Taylor Kelly picked up consecutive aces to give St. John Fisher a 10-7 lead, the first time all match that they had led by three.
• At that point, Hopkins once again turned to Bliss, who showed why she's a reigning First Team All-American. The Claremont, California-product scored three of the next four points for the Jays, sandwiched between aces from Eleni Panagopoulos and Anthony.
• Leading 20-16, Portale stepped to the service line for Hopkins and immediately picked up a pair of aces to extend the lead to 22-16. Three straight attacking errors from the Cardinals would close out the season-opening win for Johns Hopkins

What it Means
• With the suspension of Wednesday night's opener due to a power outage at Goldfarb Gymnasium, the Blue Jays have now 36 consecutive matches dating back to the start of the 2019 season. Hopkins and Stevenson will pick up the remainder of Wednesday's match on September 30, with Hopkins leading one set to none and 17-11 in the second frame.
• This was the first recorded meeting between the two programs, and the third straight season opening win for Hopkins.

Inside the Box Score
• Bliss led the Hopkins attack with 14 kills, her ninth straight game with double-digit kills.
• Laurent Anthony finished the night with six kills on seven attempts. Coming into this season, Anthony ranked third in the Blue Jay record book for career hitting percentage. 
• After setting a school-record with a .308 hitting percentage as a team in 2019, the Jays picked up right where they left off, finishing the night hitting at a .376 clip.

Up Next
•  Hopkins will square up with a pair of familiar opponents tomorrow in the Bomber Invitational when they take on Juniata at 11 a.m. and then the host Bombers of Ithaca at 4 p.m. The Blue Jays faced each of tomorrow's opponents during their undefeated 2019 campaign.

Be sure to follow the Blue Jays all season long on Twitter (@JHUVB) and on Instagram (@johnshopkinsvolleyball).