Kristi Rhead, Johns Hopkins
The Basics
• Score: Johns Hopkins 3, Christopher Newport 1 (25-21, 25-23, 24-26, 25-16)
• Records: JHU (20-8), CNU (25-10)
• Location: Fredericksburg, VA · William M. Anderson Center
• The Short Story: The Johns Hopkins volleyball team defeated Christopher Newport 3-1 to earn its first ever win in the NCAA Tournament. The Blue Jays advance to the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament and will face Juniata Saturday at 2:30 p.m. at Mary Washington.
How it Happened
• Hopkins had the hot start to begin the match, working out to a 5-1 lead and gaining as much as a seven-point lead, 15-8, before a Christopher Newport run cut the deficit to two. The Blue Jays held on, paced by a final run featuring a pair of kills by Elizabeth Wuerstle and a service ace by Louisa Kishton, to win the first set 25-21. Wuerstle led JHU with six kills, with four other Blue Jays adding in at least one kill. Johns Hopkins featured a stronger defensive showing than the Captains to open the match, as the Blue Jays recorded more digs (16-13) and more total team blocks (4.0-3.0) than CNU.
• The teams traded points to begin the second set before Christopher Newport gained a 12-9 lead, the largest lead of the set. The Blue Jays took a timeout and responded, rattling off five points to take a 14-12 lead. The teams fought through 12 tied scores in the set. Johns Hopkins had the final say, earning the 25-23 victory off a kill by Sasha Gorelik. For the second straight set, the Blue Jays recorded 11 kills and forced seven attacking errors by the Captains. Kishton and Kristi Rhead each tallied three kills in the set, with Rhead’s three kills coming on four attacks without an error. Wuerstle found her stroke at the service line with two aces in the set, aces 49 and 50 on the season.
• Christopher Newport forced extra points and a fourth set with a 26-24 victory in the third set. It was another close set for the teams, as JHU’s four-point lead, on three occasions, was the largest lead by either team. In the end, CNU used strong offense and a service ace to squeak out their lone set win. Sarah Elnozahy dished nine assists for the second set in a row, while Wuerstle led the Blue Jays for the second time on the afternoon with five kills without an error. Senior Ally Hirsch added three kills without an error to JHU’s total. The Captains notched 17 digs in the third set, while Johns Hopkins only recorded 13, with Kishton and Esther Hong each tallying three.
• The Blue Jays left no question in the fourth set, coming out to another hot start and taking as much as a nine-point lead, 22-13, before the Captains could piece together more than two points in a row. Once again, Hopkins limited its errors on offense, recording just three in the final set, while Wuerstle and Rhead led the Blue Jays with three kills apiece. Christopher Newport, on the other hand, suffered a -.029 hitting percentage and, for the second set in a row, nine attacking errors. Johns Hopkins stepped up at the net, tallying 5.0 total team blocks, with Gorelik making one solo block and adding two block assists and Wuerstle recording one solo block and one block assist.
Inside the Box Score
• AVCA All-Region selection Elizabeth Wuerstle recorded 16 kills, the second most by a Blue Jay in an NCAA Tournament match. Wuerstle also set the record for service aces by a JHU player in the NCAA Tournament with three.
• Sasha Gorelik notched a solo block on match point to secure the Blue Jays’ first NCAA Tournament win. Gorelik recorded two solo blocks and six block assists, tied for the second most by a Hopkins player in 2016.
• Freshman Sarah Elnozahy tallied a Hopkins NCAA Tournament record 30 assists. This marks the 11thmatch this season in which Elnozahy has dished at least 30 assists.
What it Means
• Johns Hopkins earned its first NCAA Tournament win, improving its record to 1-3 all-time in the NCAA Tournament.
• The Blue Jays even their all-time record against Christopher Newport to 2-2 after splitting matches with the Captains this season.
• This marks the first time Hopkins has avenged a loss in the same season since 2013 against Franklin & Marshall. Just as the Blue Jays dropped a 3-1 match to CNU before defeating the Captains 3-1 in the NCAA Tournament, so the 2013 squad fell 3-1 to F&M before avenging the loss with a 3-1 victory in the Centennial Conference tournament.
Up Next
• Hopkins will take on Juniata Saturday, November 12 at 2:30 p.m. in the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament at Mary Washington.
• The Blue Jays fell 3-0 at Juniata during the teams’ regular season meeting in October.