SALEM, VA – Wisconsin-Whitewater jumped out to a quick lead in the fifth and deciding set and outlasted Johns Hopkins in a thriller in the NCAA Semifinals at the Cregger Center on the campus of Roanoke College Thursday evening.  The win pushes the Warhawks into Saturday's national championship match where they will meet the winner of the second semifinal between Junita and Hope.
 
Johns Hopkins had its 23-match winning streak snapped and finishes the season at 33-3.  The Blue Jays were making their second appearance in the NCAA Semifinals.
 
Set One (JHU-25, UW-W-13)
The Blue Jays held a 10-9 lead after a Warhawk point, but an Alice Yu kill in the middle sparked a 15-4 run that gave the Jays a 25-13 set-one win.  The Blue Jays used a decided first-set hitting advantage (.407 to .050) and a huge defensive effort that saw them collect five blocks and dig the Warhawks 19 times to fuel the set victory.  Senior Simrin Carlsen collected a team-high four of JHU's 13 first-set kills, whose .407 hitting percentage in the set came against the top blocking team in the nation.
 
Set Two (UW-W-25, JHU-16)
Whitewater grabbed the lead early and never trailed after an early 1-0 deficit in cruising to a 25-16 set victory.  The Blue Jays were within striking distance for the first half of the set and had a 14-11 deficit down to 14-13 after a Carlsen kill, but the Warhawks responded with an 8-1 spurt to push out to a 22-14 lead and locked down the set on an Alayna Jansky kill on the edge.  In an almost exact role reversal from set one, it was Whitewater holding a commanding hitting advantage (.414 to .069) as they collected 15 kills in the set.
 
Set Three (JHU-25, UW-W-17)
The Blue Jays sprinted out to lightning-quick 5-0 lead on hot hitting as Jiliene Widener collected a pair of kills and Yu and Simone Adam added a strike each to help build the early lead.  The Warhawks were within 9-5, but Adam and Carlsen went back-to-back with kills ignite a 6-2 spurt that helped the Jays build a 15-7 lead.  Whitewater would get within five at 19-14, but Hopkins would push to the brink with an Ivy Swafford kill and a block from Widener and Yu to seal the set at 25-17.
 
Set Four (UW-W-25, JHU-16)
The Warhawks jumped to the lead early and maintained a small lead before pushing out to a four-point lead at 13-9 on a service ace and were up just 14-12 after an Adam kill for the Blue Jays, but a Hopkins service error sparked a 4-1 Warhawk run that gave them an 18-13 lead and the Blue Jays were never closer than four down the stretch before the Warhawks ended things with a 25-16 victory.   Both teams collected kills in the set, but the Warhawks added eight points on a pair of service aces, three blocks and three Blue Jay service errors to force a fifth and final set.
 
Set Five (UW-W-15, JHU-7)
The top-ranked blocking team in the nation showed up in the fifth set as the Warhawks turned an early 2-2 tie into a 7-2 lead that the Blue Jays never seriously challenged down the stretch.  After a Blue Jay service error gave the 'Hawks a 3-2 lead, Whitewater collected three of its next four points on the block to push out to the 7-2 lead.  The Blue Jays were within 10-6 after a block from Yu and Adam, but the Warhawks would add three more of their own down the stretch and sealed their trip to the national championship match with an eighth block in the final set.
 
Inside the Box Score – Johns Hopkins
• The Blue Jays got 14 kills from both Adam and Carlsen and 13 from Widener.  Carlsen added 12 digs for her second straight double-double during championship week.
• Kate Danaher and Helena Swaak both ended the night with 22 assists.
• Freshman Nicole Tuszysnki had a team-high 21 digs to account for exactly one-third of the 63 the Blue Jays had on the night.
 
Inside the Box Score – Whitewater
• The tandem of Jansky (17) and Jenna Weinfurt (16) combined for 33 of Whitewater's 53 kills in the match.
• Aubrie Krzus ran the Warhawk offense to the tune of 43 assists and was in on six of the Warhawks' 14 kills on the night.
• Whitewater's 14-block effort was led by Abbie Dix, who had a hand in eight of the 14.
 
Statistical Notes of Interest
• In a match that fittingly went the distance, the overall statistics were virtually identical.  Whitewater held a slight advantage in kills (53-52), while the Blue Jays picked up one more dig (63-62).  Both teams had five service aces and eight service errors on the night.