BALTIMORE, MD – The Johns Hopkins volleyball team hosted Ursinus and York in a tri-match Saturday afternoon, cruising past the Bears 3-0 (25-14, 25-14, 25-12) before completing the perfect weekend with a 3-0 sweep of the Spartans (25-14, 25-14, 25-14). The Blue Jays' block was on fire all afternoon, combing for 23 blocks across both matches while nearly holding both teams to a negative hitting percentage to remain undefeated at home.
 
Game 1: Johns Hopkins 3, Ursinus 0
 
Hopkins (15-2, 1-0 Centennial) started the day with its Centennial Conference opener against Ursinus (9-7, 0-2 Centennial), with the Blue Jays making quick work of the Bears in a 3-0 win in which they hit .368 while holding the visitors to a season-low .012 hitting percentage.
 
Simone Adam led the way with 13 kills and Kate Danaher racked up 20 assists while defensively it was Nicole Tuszynski pacing Hopkins with 12 digs. The difference-maker in Saturday's first match, however, was the block, where Brooklyn Pater (7), Jilienne Widener (5), Pamela Chiakpo (4) and Elysa Pulliam (4) all showed out en route to a team total of 24 block assists — just one shy of the program record of 26 set last weekend.
 
Alice Yu, who tallied a match-best and season-high four aces in the win, got things started with a kill to ignite a quick 3-0 run. The Bears came back with a run of their own to level things at three, keeping the set close thanks to a number of service errors by the Blue Jays until the score read 13-11 in favor of Hopkins. From there, an Ursinus service error sparked an 8-1 run that was capped off by a Pater kill, block assist — with Adam — and solo block to catapult the Blue Jays in front 21-12. The duo of Pater and Adam struck again to make it 22-13 and begin a set-closing run, with Adam ending things at 25-14 with her fifth kill of the set.
 
Set 2 told much of the same story, with the Bears staying close until about midway through the set when an Ursinus service error turned a one-point lead for the Blue Jays into an eight-point advantage at 17-9 following a pair of kills from Widener and Pater. Chiakpo and Pulliam combined for consecutive blocks to balloon Hopkins' lead to double digits at 22-12 before Chidnima Onukwugha and Adam closed out the set 25-14.
 
The final set of Saturday's opener started and ended with a rejection, however it was the Bears tallying just their second denial to secure the first point and give them their first lead of the day. Ursinus held the lead until it was 5-4 before Ivy Swafford and Adam went on a personal 4-0 run to retake the lead for good. A Bears kill stopped the bleeding for a moment before it was Pater's turn to kickstart what would turn into a set and match-clinching 16-3 run to go in front 24-9. Hopkins had to wait three points, but with the score 24-12 it was Widener and Pulliam combining for the team's 13^th block to close things out.
 
Game 2: Johns Hopkins 3, York 0
 
Saturday's finale against the Spartans (5-12, 1-1 MAC Commonwealth) was as dominant a defensive display as you'll see, with Hopkins holding York to a hitting percentage of -.076 for the match, marking the second time the Blue Jays have held an opponent to a negative hitting percentage. This time it was Yu leading the charge with a season-high six denials followed closely by Simrin Carlsen (4) and Widener (3), while Adam (12 kills) and Tuszynski (a career-best 17 digs) paced Hopkins elsewhere in another dominant win.
 
Set 1 was the most lopsided of the match, with the Blue Jays hitting .478 while forcing 10 errors compared to just two kills for the Spartans for a hitting percentage of -.364. With the score 4-3 — all three of York's points came via service errors —a Widener kill sparked a 6-1 run that was finished by consecutive Carlsen kills. The Spartans scored three of the next four points before a 6-0 burst — five of which were the result of an attack error — built the lead to 10 at 17-7.
 
The lead stayed there until the score read 23-13, where the Blue Jays' eighth service error of the stanza made it 23-14 before Carlsen tallied a kill and block (assisted by Pater) to finish things 25-14.
 
York held a 3-2 advantage early in the second set, but this time it was a Spartans service error turning into a 12-1 run that put Hopkins in front 13-4. A pair of Carlsen kills — the senior tallied nine on just 12 attacks in the match — made it 16-6, with the Spartans getting as close as eight at 19-11 before the Blue Jays spread it around the horn with kills from Swafford, Chiakpo, Adam, Onukwugha and Anna Pantano helping close out Set 2, 25-14.
 
Saturday's final set saw York's opening point answered by a pair of Adam kills and a Tuszynski ace to give Hopkins a 3-1 lead. The Blue Jays doubled up the Spartans at 8-4 following a Widener kill and slowly began to pull away from there, with a 4-0 burst thanks to kills from Chiakpo and Adam (x2) building the lead to 17-8. An ace from Emma Dionne gave Hopkins a 10-point advantage at 21-11, setting up Pulliam and Widener to tally the Blue Jays' final two kills en route to third and final 25-14 set win of the match.
 
Hopkins is back Wednesday, Oct. 9 to conclude its homestand with a Centennial Conference matchup against Gettysburg. First serve in the rematch of last year's Centennial Conference Championship matchup is set for 7 p.m.