COLLEGEVILLE, PA – The Johns Hopkins volleyball team cruised to a 3-0 victory over Ursinus on Saturday afternoon at Helfferich Hall, winning in straight sets (25-20, 25-11, 25-11). With the win, the Blue Jays improve to 16-3 on the season and keeps them perfect in conference play at 3-0, extending their winning streak over the Bears to 32 matches.
 
In the opening set, Ursinus took an early 2-0 lead, but the Blue Jays quickly responded. Trailing 3-4, Hopkins surged ahead with a seven-point run, capped off by a kill from Swaak propelling the Blue Jays to a 10-4 advantage. Despite the momentum swing, the Bears battled back to tie the set at 11. From there, the teams traded points in a tense back-and-forth exchange. However, with Hopkins leading 23-19, Celine Ebert delivered a key kill to bring the Blue Jays to set-point at 24-19. One rally later, an Ursinus error handed Hopkins the 25-20 win, giving them a 1-0 match lead.
 
Hopkins turned up the intensity in the second set, jumping out to an early 4-0 lead, thanks to a pair of kills from Michela De Marzi. Ursinus fought back, capitalizing on a few Blue Jays' miscues to tie things at 6-6. But Hopkins regained control with a six-point run fueled by kills from Swaak and Jocelyn Pye, a service ace from Alice Yu and a critical block from De Marzi and Swaak. With the score at 14-8, the Blue Jays pulled away, as kills from Simone Adam and De Marzi helped stretch the lead to 20-10. After Ebert registered another kill to bring Hopkins to set-point at 24-11, the Blue Jays sealed the deal with a final kill from the freshman, winning the set 25-11 and taking a commanding 2-0 lead in the match.
 
The third set began with both teams locked at 3-3, but Hopkins pulled away with a dominant 10-5 lead, sparked by a pair of kills from Swaak. The Blue Jays extended their advantage to 15-7, thanks to additional kills from De Marzi and Pye, along with a service ace from Charlotte Voss. After a brief back-and-forth, Hopkins surged ahead to 20-10, highlighted by kills from Adam, Ebert and Swaak, as well as a service ace from Grace Wilhelm. Jordan Price then put the victory within reach, earning match-point with a kill at 24-10. Two rallies later, Price delivered the final kill, clinching a 25-11 set win and a 3-0 sweep for the Blue Jays.
 
The Blue Jays return to action on Wednesday, October 15, back home in Baltimore, MD, to take on Swarthmore at 7 PM at Goldfarb Gymnasium.