BALTIMORE, MD – For just the second time all season, the ninth-ranked Johns Hopkins volleyball team went to a fifth set in their matchup against Stevenson Friday night. And on the back of a record-breaking night from Simrin Carlsen, the Jays came out victorious in front of the home fans, besting the Mustangs 3-2 (25-23, 23-25, 25-14, 23-25, 15-8) to extend their win streak to four.
 
The junior was incredible all night for Hopkins, setting a new program record for kills in a five-set match. A mark that had stood at 26 since 2001, Carlsen tallied 27 kills in the contest to lead her team to an impressive win and etch her name in the record books. Chidinma Onukwugha joined Carlsen in double digits with 13 kills in the match, while Pamela Chiakpo (9), Alice Yu (9) and Roxy Karrer (8) combined for all but three of the remaining kills.
 
Helena Swaak registered 56 assists in the win, marking the first time in her career she has tallied at least 50 assists in consecutive games and shared the team-lead in aces with Yu at three apiece. Defensively Chiakpo and Onukwugha led the way with three blocks each, while Grace Reininga (16), Karrer (15), Carlsen (12) and Evelyn Batista (11) all got into double figures in digs.
 
Rileigh Kimball and Kylie DesLauriers finished with a team-high 11 kills each for Stevenson (13-4, 3-0 MAC Commonwealth), while Kayla Vaeth finished with a game-high 20 digs.
 
In an opening stanza that had 13 ties and five lead changes, The Blue Jays (13-3, 2-0 Centennial) jumped ahead 1-0 with a narrow, 25-23 first-set win. The Mustangs held an early 3-1 lead, but a 4-1 burst from Hopkins with a pair of kills coming from Yu to take a 5-4 advantage. The lead was short-lived however, as a 6-2 response from the visitor put the Jays down 10-7. Stevenson would maintain the lead at 14-10 before a Carlsen-kill — her fourth of seven in the set — sparked a 5-0 run to give Hopkins back the lead, 15-14. Control of the set was exchanged until the score was knotted at 23, with the Jays closing it out on Onukwugha's fourth kill, winning 25-23.
 
Set 2 told the same story as the first, with the sides unable to create substantial distance — the lead was never more than four in the entire set. It appeared as though Hopkins had early control ahead 5-2 — four of which came via Carlsen — but a 5-0 run by Stevenson gave the visitors a two-point lead. A service error kickstarted a 6-1 run by the Jays to retake the lead 11-8, but the Mustangs once again had an answer, using a 6-1 run of their own to go ahead 14-12. Hopkins retook the lead at 16-15 before Stevenson began to pull away, fending off one last run that tied the score at 23 to take the second set 25-23 and even the match at 1-1.
 
Friday's third set was by far the most lopsided of the night, hitting .324 compared to .000 for the Mustangs en route to a 25-14 win. After dropping the first point, the Jays went onan immediate 6-1 run to go ahead 6-2. Maintaining the distance, another 7-0 run with kills coming from Karrer and Carlsen put Hopkins up 15-4 and all but put the set out of reach. The Jays' advantage was never less than nine the rest of the way, with an ace from Swaak closing it out 25-14.
 
Set 4 started like the first, as Hopkins leapt out to a 6-2 lead, but the Mustangs were able to rally this time, working into the advantage and eventually tying the game at 13. From there Stevenson used a 3-1 run go ahead for the first time since it was 1-0, and the sides began trading the lead until the visitors were ahead 20-19. Eager to close out the match, Onukuwgha tallied back-to-back kills in a 4-0 run that saw Hopkins go up 23-20, but instead it was the Mustangs putting together five straight points to win the set in comeback fashion, 25-23.
 
The fifth and final set of Friday's non-conference bout opened up with Carlsen setting a new program record with her 27^th kill of the match, setting the tone for a set that was never in doubt for the home side. After the junior's kill, the Jays used a pair of Yu service aces to go ahead 4-1, extending that lead to 9-3 after errors began plaguing the Mustangs again. A 3-0 run later in the set saw Hopkins move ahead 13-5, and after a brief 3-1 run by Stevenson, it was Yu ending the match with a kill that hit the block and fell to earn the Jays the 15-8 set victory and hard-fought win.
 
Next up for Hopkins is a quick turnaround as the Jays host Muhlenberg in Centennial Conference action tomorrow, with first serve set for 1 p.m. The Jays will also be honoring their six graduating members at the conclusion of the match.