SWARTHMORE, PA. - The Swarthmore College volleyball team came up just short in a heartbreaking 3-2 loss to No. 8 Johns Hopkins on Wednesday. The Garnet pushed their conference rival to the limit, but were unable to close out the decisive fifth set.

Isabel Adam rose to the challenge with an outstanding performance, pacing all players with 21 kills, 18 digs, four aces and a .292 hitting percentage. The sophomore totaled her second 20-kill performance of the season, and the fourth of her young career. 

Coming off her third Centennial Defensive Player of the Week selection, Melissa Eyer had another excellent outing with a team-best 20 digs. Madeline Mountcastle also contributed 14 digs with a team-best 25 assists.

SWARTHMORE 2, JOHNS HOPKINS 3
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Swarthmore erased an early 10-2 deficit with a 13-2 stretch to drastically flip momentum.  After a slow start, the Garnet gained traction with four-unanswered points and then fought right back with a string of three-straight. Nicole Kim capped off the run with consecutive aces to pull the team within two points, 11-9. The Blue Jays tacked on a much-needed score to break up Swarthmore's rally, but the Garnet countered again with a 6-0 swing to build a 15-12 advantage. Despite digging themselves out of an early hole, the Garnet were unable to hold off the Blue Jays, who ended the stanza with a 13-5 stretch to claim a wild opening set, 25-20. 

- Early in the second set, the Garnet got out to a 5-3 lead with a pair of kills from Aiste Bardauskaite and a Maya Sheridan ace. The Blue Jays then regained momentum with four-straight points to take the lead. Swarthmore overtook the lead with a 5-1 run, which featured a kill and two aces from Adam and a pair of Sheridan kills. Hopkins climbed back into the game with three-straight points to shrink its deficit to one, 20-19. However, Swarthmore held off its rival with a 5-1 stretch, which featured a trio of Adam kills, to end the stanza, 25-20. 

- Johns Hopkins gained control at the start of the third set with five-straight points to take a 9-5 lead. Swarthmore provided some resistance with a 4-1 response, but could not hold off the Blue Jays, who countered with a 5-0 surge. Johns Hopkins went on to claim the pivotal third set, 25-18. 

- Swarthmore rallied for a 6-1 run to build an early 7-4 advantage against the Blue Jays. Adam helped orchestrate the rally with three kills, while Bardauskaite and Angelina Heminway tacked on kills. Later in the set, Johns Hopkins battled back to take the lead until Keira Miles tied the game with a kill, while leading the team to three-unanswered points. Both teams fought to a 25-25 tie until Swarthmore claimed the final two points to force a fifth set. Enache sent the game into extra sets with a clinching kill, 27-25. 

- Kim added a couple early aces to help carry the Garnet to a 5-2 advantage to open the fifth set. However, the Blue Jays quickly took control of the stanza, rallying to a 10-3 edge to flip momentum in their favor. Hopkins scored 11 of the final 15 points to avoid the upset against a gritty Garnet squad, 15-8. 

GARNET LEADERS
Kills: Adam 21
Aces: Adam, Kim 4
Blocks: Heminway 3
Assists: Mountcastle 25
Digs: Eyer 20

UP NEXT
The Garnet (12-8, 3-1) look to bounce back at Dickinson College on Saturday.