BALTIMORE, MD – The sixth-ranked Johns Hopkins volleyball team punched its ticket to a sixth consecutive Sweet 16 on Friday evening, defeating William Smith, 3-1 (25-19, 25-20, 22-25, 25-13), inside Goldfarb Gymnasium. With the victory, the Blue Jays advance to Saturday's Regional Championship, where they will face La Verne for a berth in the NCAA Quarterfinals.
 
Hopkins and William Smith traded points early in the opening frame before a momentum-swinging kill from Simone Adam sparked a dominant nine-point Blue Jay surge. Behind back-to-back Adam kills, a pair of Alice Yu service aces, and three combined blocks from Michela De Marzi, Helena Swaak and Adam, Hopkins surged ahead 19-7. The Herons countered late with a six-point run to close within five but kills from Jocelyn Pye on both set point and the final rally sealed a 25-19 first-set win.
 
The second set mirrored the first with tight early play, locked at 7-7 and later 11-11 after a Herons three-point push. Hopkins responded with a composed four-point run capped by another Yu ace to take a 15-11 lead. A Celine Ebert kill stretched the advantage to 19-13, but William Smith again mounted late pressure. Holding a slim 22-20 edge, the Blue Jays strung together three straight points—finished off by an Adam missile—to secure the 25-20 win and a 2-0 match lead.
 
William Smith showed resilience in the third, grabbing its first lead of the night at 8-7. Hopkins answered with a three-point spurt highlighted by a Charlotte Voss ace, reclaiming the lead at 10-9. The Herons surged back with a four-point run of their own and held the upper hand deep into the set. Deadlocked at 22-22, William Smith closed with three straight to take the frame, 25-22, and trim the Blue Jay lead to 2-1.
 
Hopkins wasted no time reasserting control in the fourth, racing ahead 5-2 behind kills from Adam and Swaak and a De Marzi block. A five-point Blue Jay run—fueled by three De Marzi–Ebert blocks—created an 11-5 cushion, and Hopkins continued to apply pressure from the service line and at the net. Swaak delivered back-to-back aces to stretch the advantage to 22-11. Adam earned match point at 24-12, and Pye slammed home the final kill to close out the set, 25-13, and send Hopkins into the Regional Championship.
 
Defensively, Nicole Tuszynski anchored the back row with a team-high 16 digs. At the net, De Marzi turned in a historic performance with 11 total blocks—the most in program history in an NCAA Tournament match—while Swaak (5) and Adam (4) combined for nine more to help produce a dominant blocking effort. Offensively, Adam led the Blue Jays with 12 kills.
 
Hopkins returns to action on Saturday, November 22, for the NCAA Regional Championship against La Verne. First serve is set for 5:00 p.m. inside Goldfarb Gymnasium.

 
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