BALTIMORE, MD – The Johns Hopkins volleyball team hosted Carnegie Mellon in an NCAA Tournament Round of 32 match Friday evening, sweeping the Tartans, 3-0 (25-17, 25-23, 25-20) to secure the Blue Jays their spot in the Regional Final for the fifth straight season. The win is the 31^st of the year for Hopkins, matching its total from 2021 as the second most in program history, while the loss brings Carnegie Mellon's season to a close with a record of 20-12.
 
The Blue Jays rode the hot hands of Ivy Swafford, Simone Adam and Simrin Carlsen as well as an Alice Yu-driven block to a 25-17 first-set victory in which they hit .333 compared to -.083 for Carnegie Mellon. There was little to separate the sides early, with a Kate Danaher ace knotting things 11 to mark the seventh tie in the set before the Blue Jays finally built some separation.
 
Up 12-11 following a Tartan error, Alice Yu combined with Jilienne Widener and Adam for consecutive blocks around a Carnegie Mellon timeout to cap off a 4-0 run that Hopkins in front 15-11. The Blue Jays would win the race to 20 following a Carlsen finisher, with the Tartans getting as close as five at 22-17 before Adam and Swafford racked up their fourth and fifth kills of the set to end the set 25-17.
 
Set 2 was one driven by offense, with the Blue Jays hitting .433 while Carnegie Mellon upped its hitting percentage to a team-high .297 before a late run gave Hopkins the crucial 25-23 win. Like the first frame, the sides remained within two of each other all the way until it was 16-16 — a stretch that included 14 ties and six lead changes — until a 3-0 run sparked by another Swafford kill put the Blue Jays up 19-16. Carnegie Mellon fought back to knot the score at 19 and again at 21 before eventually taking the lead at 22-21 — the Tartans first lead since it was 14-13.
 
Carnegie Mellon stayed in front 23-22 after trading points to force a timeout from Matt Troy, but from there it was Widener coming up with her second consecutive and fourth kill of the set to tie proceedings at 23-23, with a Tartan error and Carlsen's fourth and final kill of the frame giving Hopkins the hard-fought, 25-23 win.
 
Friday's final set was the most lopsided of the night, with a Pater kill sparking a 4-0 run to put the Blue Jays in front 8-3 early. Another 4-0 run halfway through the set that featured kills from Widener and Adam gave Hopkins its largest lead of the night at 15-7 before the Tartans attempted a final comeback. With the score 19-11in favor of the hosts, Carnegie Mellon cut the lead to four at 24-20 following a kill from Julianna McFarland, but there with the finisher was Pater, with the senior's fourth kill of the evening closing out the set, 25-20 and match, 3-0.
 
Carlsen and Adam finished with a team-high nine kills apiece in the win, followed closely by Swafford (8) and Widener (8). Kate Danaher finished with a team-best 19 helpers — the 12^th of which was the 1000^th of her career — while defensively it was Yu racking up five blocks for the second time in three matches. The Tartans were led by a match-high 10 kills from Elizabeth Schlemmer while Neha Tummala added 37 assists in the defeat.
 
Next up for Hopkins is the NCAA Regional Final Saturday, Nov. 23 where they will take on Ithaca with a spot in the Elite 8 on the line. First serve is scheduled for 5 p.m.