PITTSBURGH, PA – The Johns Hopkins volleyball team split its matches on Saturday afternoon, posting a dominant 3-0 victory over No. 7 MIT before falling to host Carnegie Mellon in a thrilling five-set battle at the Highmark Center. After suffering their first loss of the season, the Blue Jays bounced back in impressive fashion, sweeping the Engineers (25-22, 25-20, 25-22). They then pushed Carnegie Mellon to the brink but ultimately ran out of steam in the fifth set, dropping the match 2-3 (21-25, 22-25, 25-18, 30-28, 6-15).
 
Game 1: Johns Hopkins 3, MIT 0
After a tough loss the day before, Hopkins quickly found themselves in a 0-3 hole to start the opening set against seventh-ranked MIT. But the Blue Jays weren't phased. They rallied back, tying the set 4-4 after a trio of miscues from the Engineers. What followed was a back-and-forth exchange, with Hopkins eventually claiming its first lead of the match—one they wouldn't relinquish—for the remainder of the set. Leading 11-9, thanks to a pair of kills from Helena Swaak, the Blue Jays surged ahead.
 
The teams continued to trade points, but Hopkins pushed their lead to 22-19 on the strength of Simon Adam's playmaking, which included an ace and two kills. MIT responded, tying the set at 22, but the Blue Jays countered with a crucial block by Michela De Marzi and Celine Ebert, regaining the lead. Nicole Tuszynski then served up an ace to give Hopkins set point. Alice Yu sealed the deal with a clutch block as Hopkins took the first set, 25-22.
 
In the second set, Hopkins avoided an early deficit jumping out to a 4-1 lead with a block and kills from Adam and De Marzi. The set followed a similar pattern to the first, with both teams exchanging points. However, Hopkins pulled away midway through building a 16-12 lead after a four-point run, fueled by back-to-back service aces from Adam and a kill from Ivy Swafford. The Blue Jays kept their foot on the gas and Swafford's subsequent kill gave them set point at 24-20. Tuszynski served up her second ace of the match to clinch the set, 25-20, and give Hopkins a commanding 2-0 match lead.
 
With a chance to close out the match in the third set, Hopkins got off to a strong start grabbing the first three points. But MIT responded, taking a brief 5-4 lead before the Blue Jays regained control. Hopkins fired back with a four-point run, going up 14-11 thanks to kills from Adam, Ebert and Swafford, along with a block by De Marzi and Ebert. The Blue Jays pushed their lead to 20-15, but MIT fought back narrowing the gap to 20-19 after a pair of service aces from Ella Zhou.
 
With the Engineers threatening to tie the set, Adam put an end to their momentum with a kill to bring up set point. Her team-leading 12^th kill was followed by a match-ending kill from Ebert, sealing the set 25-22 and the sweep for Hopkins.
 
Defensively, Swafford led the way with 13 digs, closely followed by Tuszynski (10) and Adam (9).
 
Game 2: Johns Hopkins 2, Carnegie Mellon 3
The opening set was a tight contest from the start, as both teams exchanged points early in a back-and-forth affair. Carnegie Mellon managed to build a slight 12-9 lead, but Hopkins quickly closed the gap to just one after an Alice Yu kill, making it 13-14. A pair of Blue Jay errors allowed the Tartans to stretch their lead to 19-14, their largest advantage of the set.
 
Down by five, Hopkins responded with a three-point run, sparked by a pair of kills from Celine Ebert and a kill from Simone Adam. Despite their momentum, the Blue Jays could not hold off Carnegie Mellon, which regrouped after a timeout and extended its lead back to four, 23-19. Two more Hopkins miscues handed the Tartans set point at 24-19, and Carnegie Mellon closed out the set, 25-21, to take a 1-0 lead.
 
Hopkins faced an early deficit in the second set, trailing by eight at 2-10. But the Blue Jays rallied, going on a five-point run to pull within four at 7-11. Key kills from Yu and Ebert, combined with a couple of Tartan errors, fueled the surge. However, Carnegie Mellon responded with a three-point run of its own, maintaining the pressure. Hopkins kept fighting, and a Helena Swaak kill brought the Blue Jays within four again at 18-22. Despite a late push, including a 20-24 deficit, the Blue Jays could not overcome the Tartans, who sealed the set, 25-22, to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
 
With their backs against the wall, the Blue Jays came out strong in the third set, building a quick 6-2 lead behind kills from Ivy Swafford and a service ace from Nicole Tuszynski. Hopkins kept the pressure on, extending the advantage to 12-3 with more kills from Swafford and Yu, plus another ace, this time from Annika Anderson. Carnegie Mellon fought back, trimming the lead to 13-10, but a crucial kill from Michela De Marzi halted their momentum. The Tartans continued to press, and at 17-16, Swafford answered with a clutch kill to give Hopkins a two-point cushion. The Blue Jays pushed ahead, eventually reaching set point at 24-18. Back-to-back service aces from Swafford clinched the set for Hopkins, 25-18, keeping their hopes alive and cutting the deficit to 2-1.
 
The fourth set began with Hopkins taking a 6-3 lead on kills from Ebert and Swafford, but Carnegie Mellon came back to tie it at 11. The teams traded points in a tight contest, with neither side gaining a significant advantage. Down the stretch, back-to-back kills from De Marzi gave the Blue Jays a 21-17 lead. A Swafford kill then gave Hopkins set point, 24-21. However, the Tartans refused to back down, forcing ties at 24, 25 and 26 before grabbing the lead at 27-26. With set point in Carnegie Mellon's favor, the Blue Jays fought back, tying the score at 27 and 28. Ultimately, a pair of Tartan errors handed Hopkins the 30-28 win, evening the match at 2-2.
 
The decisive fifth set started with both teams trading points, but Hopkins struggled to maintain momentum. After a brief exchange, Carnegie Mellon seized control, jumping ahead 14-3—the largest deficit Hopkins had faced all season. The Blue Jays showed resilience, cutting the lead to eight, but the Tartans closed it out with a block from Katherine Jackson and Julianna McFarland, sealing the 15-8 victory and the match, 3-2.
 
Johns Hopkins return to action Friday, September 19 in the Wid Guisler Invitational, squaring off against Nazareth at 5PM, before concluding the weekend with top-25 matchups against No. 25 Christopher Newport and top-ranked Juniata.