BALTIMORE, MD – The fifth-ranked Johns Hopkins volleyball team barely trailed through two sets, then rallied from a big deficit to grab a 25-20 set-three victory to polish off a sweep of Eastern on the first day of the Hopkins Invitational Friday evening.  The Blue Jays improve to 11-2 on the year with the victory, while the Eagles slip to 8-4.
 
The Blue Jays used an early four-point run in the first set to extend a 4-3 lead to 8-3 and never let the Eagles get closer than two points the rest of the way in a 25-20 first-set victory.  An Ivy Swafford kill fueled the early four-point run, but Eastern answered with a 4-1 spurt of its own to trim the deficit to 9-7.  Back-to-back Simone Adam kills, two kills from Pam Chiakpo and a pair of Helena Swaak aces quicky extended the Jays' lead to 15-8.  The Eagles snuck back within three on two separate occasions at 18-15 and 22-19, but late kills from Swafford and Adam closed out set one.
 
Johns Hopkins sprinted out to a quick 8-3 lead in the second set, but the Eagles rallied and pulled even at 10 on a McKenzie Boyer kill that capped a 7-2 spurt.  Eastern then grabbed its first lead at 12-11 on a Elle Jiron-Burjanda kill, only to have Hopkins respond with a four-point run that Roxy Karrer capped with back-to-back aces to give the Jays a 15-12 lead.  The Eagles were still within two at 16-14 after a Bridgette Kelly kill, but Hopkins rolled off five straight to go up 21-14 and closed out the set, 25-17, on Swafford's sixth kill of the match.
 
The third set was all Eastern early on as the Eagles used a 10-1 run to push out to an 11-2 lead.  Three straight Hannah Pringle kills ignited the early spree for Eastern, which had its nine-point lead after a Blue Jay attacking error.

Johns Hopkins used a quick four-point run that was bookended by kills from Simrin Carlsen and Swafford to pull within 11-6 and the Jays were down three at 13-10 on a Swafford kill a short time later.
 
Eastern led 17-12 before the match turned – quickly – at the net.  A Jilenne Widener kill and back-to-back blocks from Widener and Brooklyn Pater pulled the Blue Jays within two at 17-15.  The Widener kill ignited what would be a 12-3 Blue Jay run to end the match with Pater polishing it off with her third kill of the night.
 
Swafford led a balanced Blue Jay offense with nine kills, while Adam (8) and Carlsen (6) combined for 14.  Pater set a Johns Hopkins record for blocks in a three-set match as she had a hand in 11 of JHU's 26 block assists on the night.  The record of eight, which was set by Lori Leonard against then Western Maryland (McDaniel), had stood since 1996.  The Blue Jays' 26 block assists tonight are also a record for a three-set match; the previous record of 24 had stood since that same 1996 match against the Green Terror.
 
Eastern got a match-high 10 kills from Pringle and eight from Logan Martin and seven from Kelly, but the Eagles hit just .190 for the match and couldn't overcome the Blue Jays' blocking game.
 
The Blue Jays will make a quick return to the court as they will play twice on Saturday on day two of the Hopkins Invitational.  The Blue Jays will take on Cortland St. at 12:30 pm and Mary Washington at 5:30 pm.  The second day of the tournament also features matches between Cortland and Eastern (10 am) and Mary Washington and Eastern (3 pm).