LEXINGTON, KY – The Johns Hopkins volleyball program was ranked seventh in the latest American Volleyball Coaches Association poll, as released earlier this week. The Jays — who placed ninth in the preseason poll — gained a pair of positions after going 2-1 in their opening weekend, including a five-set victory over then-No. 19 Wittenberg University.
 
Hopkins opened their season with a matchup against reigning National Champions and top-ranked Juniata, stealing the third set after dropping the first two, before ultimately falling in four (16-25, 13-25, 25-22, 18-25). The Jays held the Eagles to a hitting percentage of just .057 in their third-set win, but Juniata's attack proved too much otherwise in the close defeat.­­­­
 
The Jays bounced back in a big way Saturday, earning their first win of the season in a 3-0 (25-5, 25-18, 25-11) sweep of Beloit. Hopkins hit an incredible .714 in the opening set and .408 in the match while holding the Buccaneers to a .000 hitting percentage to earn the victory and give themselves some momentum heading into their matchup against No. 19 Wittenberg.
 
In what turned out to be the most competitive match of the weekend, the Jays topped the Tigers in five sets (18-25, 25-19, 18-25, 25-17, 15-8) to finish the weekend 2-1 with a top-20 win under their belt. Hopkins continued its hot stretch of hitting from their matchup against Beloit, hitting .229 in the win — including a combined .413 in the final two sets, while holding Wittenberg to just .133.
 
The Jays will put themselves to the test once again this weekend as they travel to California to compete in the East West Challenge, facing off against No. 2 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps and No. 14 Washington University, as well as Colorado College.