The Hopkins Volleyball team entered this past weekend on a tear, winning seven consecutive games with the season’s end near. On Saturday, the women concluded their regular season, hosting two matches in Goldfarb Gym.
First the Blue Jays defeated Mary Washington and later rounded out the day by beating Ursinus. The two wins extended their winning streak to nine games and improved the Jays’ overall record to 19-11.
The win against Ursinus secured Hopkins a number two-seed in the Centennial Conference tournament with an 8-2 conference record.
The Lady Jays faced off against the Eagles of Mary Washington to begin the day, looking for revenge after falling to Mary Washington earlier in the season.
Hopkins got out to an early lead in the first set and did not give the Eagles an opportunity to catch up. Senior outside hitter KC Stingl sealed the first set with two aces to win by a score of 25-18.
Hopkins dropped the second set, evening the match up at a game a piece.
The Lady Jays took control in the third set, though, immediately taking a large 20-12 lead. Struggling to close out the set, Hopkins allowed Mary Washington to crawl back but finally took down the Eagles 25-20.
Both teams came out with a lot of intensity for the fourth set, but after four ties and five lead changes, the Eagles outlasted the Lady Jays’ attack to win the fourth set 25-23.
The fifth and final set was dominated by Hopkins. Senior Alica Diehl won seven straight points with a devastating serve that allowed the Jays to jump out to a commanding 8-1 lead.
The Jays won the set by a final score of 15-4, closing out the match and extending Hopkins’ win streak to 8 games.
Senior Brittany Zimmer and sophomore Carolyn Mickelson each recorded a team-leading nine kills. Juniors Sarah Feicht and Melissa Cole added eight and seven kills, respectively. Sophomore Becky Paynter dished 31 assists in the win.
Head Coach Matt Troy, who has done a terrific job in his first season at Hopkins, was extremely proud of his team and their recent run of success.
“The team did a great all around job and played very consistently,” he said.
Coach Troy feels the team is improving each day and growing into a team capable of winning the Centennial Conference.
“We are continuing to stress being efficient with opportunities that we can control. I've been very impressed with Melissa Cole's growth this year. She has really become a player that the rest of the team looks to in tough spots,” Troy said.
Following the win against Mary Washington, Hopkins looked towards their next opponent, Ursinus. In their final game of the regular season, the Jays cruised to a three-set sweep of the Bears.
Hopkins was threatened in the first set, trailing 9-2 early on, but the Lady Jays staged a comeback to win 25-21. The second and third sets were both dominated by the Jays, using their first set momentum to win 25-14 and 25-21.
Feicht lead the Jays with nine kills, and Diehl recorded a team leading nine digs. Once again, Melissa Cole tallied a solid performance with seven kills, eight digs and two aces.
Coach Troy is looking forward to competing in the Centennial Conference tournament on November 6th at Haverford College against third-seeded Franklin and Marshall.
“I get excited for each individual game and enjoy the challenge that each one brings,” he said.
“The expectation is to keep getting better and enjoy the process. We try to focus on things we can control and let the winning take care of itself.”
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