Undefeated Blue Jays climb national ranks

The Hopkins volleyball team traveled to Pittsburgh this past weekend to compete in the Carnegie Mellon Invitational. The Blue Jays dominated the event, taking the title, and improving upon their perfect record which now stands at 12-0. The Blue Jays first squared off against John Carroll University on Friday evening. John Carroll proved to be no match for the Jays. The Blue Jays posted sixteen kills on thirty-seven attempts for a .351 attack percentage. Freshman Jasmine Warmington led the squad with thirteen of the sixteen kills. Fellow classmate Carolyn Zin led the team with sixteen assists. The Blue Jays were delighted to see such strong performances coming from their freshmen players. It is no doubt a challenge to come into a strong program like Hopkins’ and contribute right away, yet these two freshmen have done a tremendous job for the squad. Hopkins won in straight sets 3-0 and moved on to face host Carnegie Mellon in the night match. This match boasted the same story against a different team. Hopkins once again powered past Carnegie Mellon, winning straight sets 3-0. Senior Amelia Thomas led the Blue Jays with fifteen digs and Katie Schwarz had fourteen kills to lead the team to their second victory of the day. This set the Blue Jays up nicely going into the final matches of the tournament. Winning the opening two matches set the tone for the rest of the tournament and put the team in a favorable position to take the title going into the weekend. The Blue Jays were slated to take on Muskingum Saturday morning and proved to be just as dominant in the morning as they were the previous night. The Blue Jays did not win in straight sets this time. However, they would still come through with the victory. The Jays won the first set, but Muskingum took the second set 25-21. The Blue Jays kept their composure and came back to win the next two sets to take the match 3-1. Sophomore Anne Cohen notched twenty-four digs while teammates Mariel Metalios and Becky Paynter combined for 48 assists. After the morning win, the Jays faced Wooster in their toughest test to date. The Blue Jays found themselves in uncharted territory down late in the match 2-1. Hopkins was potentially looking at their first loss of the season. However, they were not about to let that happen. Freshman Jasmine Warmington once again stepped up and took charge in the Blue Jays’ comeback. She totaled twenty-one kills and five blocks to put the Jays back in contention. Fellow classmate Carolyn Zin also stepped up and posted career-high 36 assists. The team rallied and took the next two sets en route to a comeback 3-2 victory. This performance proved the tough character of the team — when they faced adversity they responded resoundingly. Senior co-captain Amelia Thomas explained the win. “It felt like a huge accomplishment for our team since we faced our toughest opponent so far in the title match,” the Baltimore-native said. Winning the Carnegie Mellon Invitational propelled the Jays to 12-0, but, says Thomas, the team is more proud of the national recognition they have received to begin the year. “12-0 is a great record but the thing we are most proud of is being nationally ranked 28th and increasing our votes for the top 25.” The Blue Jays will look to continue the undefeated start to their season this Thursday in Goldfarb Gym against Gallaudet.