ITHACA, NY – The Johns Hopkins volleyball team took on No. 25 Ithaca College on Day 1 of the Ithaca Invitational Friday night, sweeping the Bombers 3-0 (25-22, 27-25, 25-22) to secure their third win over a nationally-ranked opponent in as many weekends.
 
Simone Adam and Simrin Carlsen continued to lead the charge on the attacking side, combining for 31 of Hopkins' 44 kills in the match, while the Jays — paced by four from Chidinma Onukwugha — tallied a season-high 11 blocks on the defensive end. Hopkins hit .232 for the match while Ithica converted on just 9% of their attempts, marking the second time this season the Jays have held their opponent under a hitting percentage of .100.
 
As was the case for most of the match, Friday's first set began as a back-and-forth affair, with neither side able to distance themselves by more than three points the whole way. Hopkins (5-2) got things started first with a 4-0 run featuring a kill by Pamela Chiakpo and blocks from Carlsen, Chiakpo and Onukwugha to go up 6-4. Ithaca (5-3)responded with a 3-1 run that knotted the set at seven, with the sides trading points until the score was 10-10.
 
The Jays would go on an extended 7-4 run sparked by a kill from Carlsen to retake the lead, but the Bombers pushed back once again to tie the game at 21 before Adam took over. With the game level, the sophomore tallied three of Hopkins' next four kills, including the set-ender, to put the Jays up 1-0 with a 25-22 victory.
 
Set 2 was also one decided by runs, with Hopkins getting out to a 4-2 lead before Ithaca responded once again to tie the game at six. A 6-1 run by the Jays that featured kills from Chiakpo, Carlsen and Yu was answered by a 4-0 run by the Bombers before yet another 5-2 spurt put Hopkins up 17-13. Ithaca pulled off a 5-0 run — its largest of the match — to take their first lead since it was 2-1, with the sides eventually finding themselves knotted once again at 20. The Jays had a chance to close out the set after going up 24-22, but the Bombers battled back to force extra points before a 3-0 run ending with a Chiakpo-block closed out the set 27-25 and put Hopkins up 2-0.
 
Friday's final set saw Ithaca take an early 5-3 lead that was short-lived after a 5-0 run by the Jays gave them back a lead they would not let up. A timely 4-0 burst with the game tied at 10 put Hopkins up 14-10 before Carlsen and Adam took over to clinch the victory in sweeping fashion. Of the Jays' final 11 points, eight ended with a kill from either Carlsen or Adam, with the former slamming the door shut with a rifle down the line to give Hopkins the 25-22 third-set win and 3-0 sweep over the Bombers.
 
The Jays are back in action tomorrow for Day 2 of the Ithaca Tournament, facing off against Susquehanna at 10:30 am before ending their weekend with a matchup against Geneseo at 3:30 p.m.