BALTIMORE, MD – The Johns Hopkins volleyball team picked up a pair of wins, including one in Centennial Conference play, on Saturday at Goldfarb Gym as the Blue Jays topped Haverford (3-1) and York (3-0) to improve to 8-6 overall and 3-0 in the Centennial.  The Blue Jays are now 5-1 in their last six matches and are one of just two unbeaten teams in CC play.
 
The Haverford Match
After splitting the first two sets (JHU/25-20 … HC/25-23), the Blue Jays grabbed the all-important third set by a score of 25-19.  Hopkins jumped out to an 11-3 on the strength of six early kills.  Chidinma Onukwugha capped the early surge with back-to-back kills to give the Blue Jays the eight-point lead.
 
The Fords responded with an 8-2 run to pull within 13-11.  Haverford collected three service aces during the spree, including a pair from Juliet Young, and three straight Blue Jay attack errors made it a two-point set.  The Fords eventually pulled even at 18-18, but the Blue Jays closed the set by scoring seven of the last nine points to prevail 25-20.  Onukwugha had two kills and was in on a pair of blocks to highlight the late surge.
 
The Blue Jays would score 10 of the last 15 points in set four to break a 15-all tie and seal the victory with a 25-20 decision.  Simone Adam had two late kills and Onukwugha added a kill and a block down the stretch.
 
The York Match
The Blue Jays eased past York in straight sets as they won by scores of 25-15, 25-16 and 25-17.
 
Hopkins jumped out to a 10-3 lead in set one, held off a York rally that saw the Spartans pull within four (10-6) and cruised to the 10-point win by collecting 15 kills against just two attacking errors.
 
Set two was more competitive from the outset and the Spartans were within two at 12-10 after a Megan Rizzi kill, but the Blue Jays responded by scoring eight of the next nine points, including the final five points off the serve of Roxy Karrer, to go up 20-11.  The Spartans were never closer than eight down the stretch as the Blue Jays went up 2-0.
 
A back-and-forth opening to set three saw nine ties as the teams split the first 22 points evenly.  The Spartans then led 13-11 after a Rizzi kill and a service ace from Alyssa Mott, but an Adam kill for the Blue Jays ignited an 11-0 run to give the Blue Jays a 22-13 lead.  The last 10 of those points came with Danielle Norman at the service line and she collected a pair of service aces, while Karrer and Lida King added a pair of kills, during the spree.  The Blue Jays closed out the set with back-to-back Karrer kills.
 
Inside the Box Scores
• Onukwugha enjoyed one of the strongest days of her career as she had 24 kills against just four errors and hit .465 on the day.  She had a career-high 16 kills and had a hand in 10 blocks (3 BS/7 BA) in the win over Haverford
• The tandem of Evelyn Batista (21) and Annelisa O'Neal (19) combined for 40 digs against Haverford.  The Blue Jay defense collected 78 digs and 14 blocks against the Fords.
• Adam (14 kills) and Karrer (12) combined for 26 of Hopkins' 46 kills in the win over York.
• The Blue Jays held York to a .063 hitting percentage, the lowest hitting percentage for a Blue Jay opponent this season.  In fact, the .074 percentage for Haverford in the first match of the day ranks as the second lowest.
 
What's Next
Johns Hopkins will return to the court on Wedensday, October 5 when they welcome Gettysburg to Goldfarb Gym for another Centennial Conference match (7 pm).