Volleyball wins four, stays above .500

In an action packed weekend, the Johns Hopkins Women’s Volleyball team faced five opponents, going 3-2 over the three-day span.  Hopkins wrapped up the Carnegie Mellon Crossover at home in the Goldfarb Gym on Thursday, before traveling to York College for the Spartan Invitational Friday and Saturday.The squad had another away match wednesday night. The Lady Jays beat Dickinson 3-0.

Thursday night, the Blue Jays concluded the Carnegie Mellon Crossover, a tournament the Jays competed in last weekend in Pittsburgh, hosting Washington College.

Hopkins controlled the first set, using powerful serves to open up a 7-1 lead. The Shorewomen of Washington came back to cut the Hopkins lead down to five to make it 17-12, but Hopkins outside hitter junior Melissa Cole, The News-Letter’s Athlete of the Week, had 15 kills to give the Lady Jays a 25-15 victory.

The second set was dominated by JHU again. Hopkins senior Taryn Segal humbled the Shorewomen by setting the tone early. Segal’s serves jumpstarted a 6-0 Jay lead, and the intensity and play of sophomore Becky Paynter and senior Brittney Zimmer were too much for Washington.  Paynter recorded 26 assists while Zimmer added a season-high five aces.

Hopkins’ dominant play during the second set allowed them to cruise to a 25-5 win.

The Shorewomen showed some fight in the third set, avoiding a sweep and battling to a 25-23 win.

Shortly thereafter, though, the Lady Jays took the fourth set, 25-15, raising their overall record to 7-7.

York College played host to Hopkins on Friday, September 24th, in the Spartan Invitational. The Lady Jays played two games Friday afternoon, adding a win against Rutgers-Camden before losing to York in the nightcap.

Hopkins hitters sophmore Carolyn Mickelson, junior Melissa Cole and senior Brittney Zimmer ignited a 3-0 sweep of Rutgers-Camden. The Jays ran the table, winning in straight sets (25-13, 25-9, 25-15).

Mickelson and Cole each pummeled nine kills while Zimmer pounded eight kills past Rutgers-Camden. Setter Becky Paynter’s 23 assists allowed Johns Hopkins to take charge and complete the sweep over the Rutgers-Camden Scarlet Raptors.

In the second game of the day, the Jays faced off with the host York Spartans. In an intense clash, Hopkins forced a five set match, offering the best competition York would face throughout the tournament.  The Spartans, who had an 11 game winning streak going into the match, seemed to be extending it early on, winning two grueling sets 26-24 and 25-21.

Down two games to none, Hopkins battled back and took the next two sets 25-21 and 25-22. The fifth set, though, did not go the Blue Jays’ way.

York, who would go on to win the tournament and improve their season record to 16-1, took an early lead and resfused to surrender it, winning the final game 15-7.

Blue Jays sophomore outside hitter and team captain Amelia Thomas felt the team’s defense and hitting has been top-notch of late.

“We are number one in the conference in kills right now, but we need to have more consistent play throughout games,” she said.

Thomas was quick to notice the Blue Jays newfound leader and force, Centennial Conference Player of the Week Melissa Cole.

“Melissa, our outside hitter, has done a phenomenal job leading our offense in kills, blocks and digs,” Thomas said.

Heading into matchups with Carnegie Mellon and Rowan on the second day of competition, the Jays sported an 8-8 record, hoping to head home on a winning streak.

The Jays were challenged by the Tartans of Carnegie Mellon to begin the first of Saturday’s two contests. In another five set match, Hopkins went back and forth, dropping the first and third sets (22-25, 18-25), but winning the second and fourth (25-22, 25-23).

In the fifth set though, the Lady Jays suffered their second straight devastating defeat, 13-15.  Cole led the attack for JHU once again with a team high 14 kills while Zimmer and Mickelson both added 10 kills of their own.  Paynter tallied an incredible 48 assists in the loss.

In the final game of the weekend, Hopkins refused to allow a fourth-set to be played, punishing Rowan in a three -set sweep (25-14, 25-22, 25-18). Cole led the team with 14 kills, giving her 47 for the tournament.

Paynter was impressive at the  Spartan Invitational as well, racking up an astonishing 139 assists in only four matches.

The match with the Red Devils was a decisive, 25-18, 26-24, 25-19. The Volleyball girls are hot — with two wins in a row, an undefeated conference record (3-0) and 10-9 on the season.

Looking ahead to the upcoming games, the Lady Jays face off against conference opponents Haverford, and Gettysburg in the next week.

Captain Amelia Thomas expressed that the team is excited to delve into conference play.

“This Saturday we play Swarthmore, which is one of our biggest rivals and an awesome game each year,” she said.  “Right now, our main goal is to win the conference championship, and it’s a goal that can be reached.”