BALTIMORE – The Swarthmore College women's volleyball team came up short in its first Centennial Championship match since 2017, falling at No. 3 Johns Hopkins University, 3-0, on Sunday afternoon. The Garnet were the second seed in the conference tournament while the top-seeded Blue Jays continued their recent dominance by winning their eighth consecutive Centennial title.
Swarthmore (17-10) struggled to break through offensively during the match, posting a .103 hitting percentage. Conversely, Hopkins boasted a strong and consistent attack, recording a .365 hitting percentage. The Blue Jays also stifled the Garnet's chances to gain momentum with 12 blocks on the day.
Isabel Adam registered a team-high nine kills for Swarthmore.
Alexia Enache finished with eight kills, five digs, two service aces, and two blocks.
Madeline Mountcastle totaled 15 assists. Defensively,
Melissa Eyer tallied 10 digs and
Hannah Humphreys produced four blocks.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Garnet trailed 3-2 early in the opening set then reeled off four straight points to take a 6-3 lead. Hopkins had a service error,
Angelina Heminway and Humphreys teamed up for a block, and Enache posted back-to-back aces. However, the Blue Jays came back with six points in a row to begin an 8-1 run that put them back in front, 11-7.
- With the score 12-9, Hopkins strung together four points to up the margin to seven (16-9). At 18-11, the Blue Jays committed an error before Humphreys and Heminway slammed down kills to get Swarthmore within four (18-14). However, Hopkins followed with a 6-3 stretch to take a commanding 24-17 advantage on the way to a 25-18 victory.
- The score was even at two in the second set when the Blue Jays tallied six of the next eight points to go ahead 8-4. Two Hopkins errors and a kill by
Emily Sun allowed the Garnet to cut the deficit to one (8-7), but the Blue Jays responded with 10 unanswered points to pull away to an 18-7 lead. Swarthmore had one last rally to try to get back in the set, scoring four in a row to get within seven (21-14), but Hopkins came back with three straight points and went on to win 25-16.
- In the final set, the teams traded runs early and were deadlocked at 10. The Blue Jays then created some separation with a 9-4 surge for a 19-14 advantage. The Garnet produced back-to-back points on a kill by
Zindzhi Montgomery and an ace by
Aleida Moreno, but Hopkins followed with six points in a row to clinch the championship, 25-16.
GARNET LEADERS
Kills: Adam 9
Assists: Mountcastle 15
Service Aces: Enache 2
Blocks: Humphreys 4
Digs: Eyer 10
