BALTIMORE–A rematch of last season's Centennial Conference final ended in a 3-1 defeat for the Swarthmore College volleyball team on Sunday, Nov. 5 as #14 Johns Hopkins claimed the title.

Swarthmore took the first frame, but ultimately fell by a 25-20, 16-25, 16-25, 19-25 score. Malia Scott paced the offense with a double-double on 20 assists and 12 digs while Emma Morgan-Bennett recorded four block assists. Mehra den Braven led all players with 17 digs and Sarah Girard was close behind with 14 in that category.

The first set was a back-and-forth battle with 15 ties and seven lead changes throughout. The Garnet limited to potent Blue Jays' attack to a .048 hitting percentage with 10 kills and eight errors and capitalized on seven service errors from the host. The teams traded points until 19 apiece when Swarthmore went on a 4-0 run and was poised to take the first set. Johns Hopkins opted not to call a timeout and three points later, the Garnet had an early lead.

Strong serving propelled the Jays to a 6-0 run to start the second. Swarthmore weathered a series of runs, but was unable to find its footing as Hopkins pushed out to a 19-11 lead, forcing a timeout. The hosts evened the match shortly after and carried their momentum into the third as they held a 14-6 advantage. The Garnet were unable to close the gap and had their work cut out for them in the fourth.

In the final set, a 7-0 run by the Jays proved to be the difference maker. Swarthmore replied with four consecutive points of its own to close the gap to three, but could not shrink the deficit further. At 24-18, a kill by den Braven prevented the hosts from taking the match, but they converted on the second opportunity for a 3-1 win.

Swarthmore, which was ranked seventh in the most recent NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional Rankings, now must wait to see if it will receive an at-large bid to the national tournament.