BALTIMORE, MD – The ninth-ranked Johns Hopkins volleyball team cruised through the first two sets (25-14, 25-13) and then held off a spirited third set from visiting Washington College (25-22) as the Blue Jays ran their record to 16-3 overall and 5-0 in the Centennial Conference with a sweep of the Shorewomen Wednesday evening in Goldfarb Gym.
 
In her first action since September 23^rd, Simone Adam paced Hopkins in kills with nine on a .583 hitting percentage. Simrin Carlsen (7) and Ivy Swafford (6) rounded out the Jays' top three attackers, while Helena Swaak made her impact felt on both sides finishing the contest with a match-high 34 assists and 12 digs. As a team Hopkins hit .354 — the third consecutive game they have hit over .300 — and held Washington College to just .124.

 The Blue Jays took control of Set 1 early as they turned a 4-3 lead into a 15-4 advantage with an 11-1 run. Hopkins' lead was never seriously threatened from that point on in a 25-14 set victory.  A kill from Chidinma Onukwugha jump-started the run, which included three Adam kills and a pair from the junior.  The Blue Jays built the lead to as many as 12 (18-6) before the Shorewomen used a 6-2 surge to pull within 20-12, but back-to-back kills from Onukwugha and Adam and a Carlsen ace down the stretch helped put the set away.
 
Johns Hopkins played off the strong service game of graduate student Grace Reininga to pull away and a grab a 25-14 set-two victory.  Reininga stepped to the line with the Jays up 7-5 and promptly sparked a 6-0 run that quickly gave the Blue Jays a 13-5 lead.  A pair of Adam kills, another from Alice Yu, a Reininga ace and a pair of Washington College attack errors accounted for the six points for the Blue Jays.  Hopkins never let the Shorewomen get closer than seven and held a 21-13 lead when Reininga went back to the line and served out the set for the Blue Jays.
 
Wednesday's final set saw Washington College take an early 3-1 lead before a kill from Danielle Norman ignited a 6-1 response to put Hopkins ahead 7-4. The Shorewomen retook the lead halfway through the set and grew the advantage to as big as three at 18-15, but a block by Virag Murphy and Brooklyn Pater began a set and match-closing 9-2 run, giving the Jays the 24-20 lead. Washington College scored the next two points in an attempt to come back, but Swafford's sixth kill of the night ended the set 25-22 and secured the sweep for Hopkins.
 
With the win, the Blue Jays extend their Centennial Conference winning streak to 35 matches dating back to the final regular season match of the 2018 season. Hopkins will return to action on Saturday, October 21 when they welcome Bryn Mawr (12 pm) and Averett (4 pm) to Goldfarb Gym.