CHESTERTOWN, MD – The Johns Hopkins volleyball team kicked off a two-match road trip with a Centennial Conference contest against Washington College Wednesday night, sweeping the Shorewomen 3-0 (25-16, 25-18, 25-16). The win moves the Blue Jays to 21-2 and 5-0 in the Centennial while the loss drops Washington College to 11-8 and 1-4 in conference play.
Hopkins was in control on both sides of the court all night, hitting .403 — the Blue Jays' fourth time hitting north of .400 on the season — compared to just .049 for the Shorewomen.
Simone Adam (10),
Simrin Carlsen (9) and
Jilienne Widener (9) all had strong attacking days while
Kate Danaher registered a match-best 20 assists. Elsewhere on the court it was Widener and Carlsen sharing the team lead in digs with six apiece while three different Hopkins players registered three blocks.
The Blue Jays rode their veterans in Set 1, with Widener and Danaher racking up five kills and 10 assists respectively en route to the 25-16 victory. Widener and Carlsen got things started, combing for four kills as part of a match-opening, 5-0 run before Washington College secured its first point of the night. Following an Adam kill it was the Shorewomen using a 4-1 run to cut the deficit to just one at 13-12, but Widener was there for the answer, sandwiching a pair of kills — her fourth and fifth of the set — around a Carlsen-
Alice Yu block to build the advantage back to 16-12. The lead remained at four after a Collette Franck finisher made it 19-15, but an error on the ensuing rally ignited a set-closing 6-1 run, with a kill from
Brooklyn Pater wrapping up the frame.
Set 2 belonged to Carlsen and Adam, who combined for 11 of Hopkins' 15 kills to guide the Blue Jays to a 25-18 win. A service error early in the set saw Washington College go in front 6-5, but a 4-0 run that was bookended by kills from
Pamela Chiakpo and Adam gave Hopkins a 9-6 advantage. Another Shorewomen service error sparked a second 4-0 run for the Blue Jays that included kills from Carlsen and
Chidinma Onukwugha before the duo combined for a block to make it 17-9. The hosts trimmed into the lead to 21-16, but consecutive blocks from Widener and Carlsen — both of whom combined with Pater — set the Blue Jays up with set point, with Carlsen's seventh kill of the frame ending things 25-18.
Wednesday's final set was plagued by errors, with the Shorewomen hitting a match-low -0.034 while Hopkins was held to a team-low hitting percentage of .318. Washington College used a pair of aces and a Blue Jays attacking error to jump in front 5-1 before Hopkins turned back to Widener, who registered back-to-back kills to ignite a 6-1 run that would help the Blue Jays leapfrog the hosts and go up 7-6. The score was tied at seven, eight and again at 10 before a 7-0 run that ended with three straight Shorewomen errors put Hopkins firmly in control up 17-10. With the score 23-16 after Washington College's Lindsay Saddic registered her fifth kill of the match, it was Widener and
Ivy Swafford tallying consecutive kills to close out the set, 25-16 and match, 3-0.
The Blue Jays are back in action Saturday, Oct. 26 when they face off against Bryn Mawr in another Centennial Conference bout, with first serve set for 3 p.m.
