The Basics 
• Score: #7 Johns Hopkins – 3 • Franklin & Marshall – 0 (25-15, 25-15, 25-7)
• Records: #7 Johns Hopkins (27-0, 10-0 Centennial) • Franklin & Marshall – (19-5, 9-1 Centennial)
• Location: Baltimore, MD • Goldfarb Gymnasium
• The Short Story: In a battle of the Centennial Conference's top-two teams, the seventh-ranked Blue Jay volleyball put a stamp on its unbeaten 2019 regular season, dominating Franklin & Marshall for a straight-set victory. The win gives the Jays their third regular season conference title in the past four seasons.

How it Happened

SET ONE
• Just as they did in Wednesday night's win over Gettysburg, Hopkins opened the match on a 5-0 run. Senior Hannah Korslund kicked off her Senior Day campaign with a pair of kills from the middle, and junior Natalie Aston ran off four unanswered from the service line, a theme that would only grow throughout the course of the afternoon.
• Franklin & Marshall quickly rallied to get back into the opening game behind the serve of reigning Centennial Conference Rookie of the Year, Allison Franke. The Diplomats strung five straight together with Franke at the service line to cut the Blue Jay lead to 8-6.
• Consecutive attacking errors from F&M gave Hopkins a six point cushion before sophomore Eleni Panagopoulos tacked on an ace to give the Jays their largest lead of the set to that point at 14-7. The two sides would exchange points for the remainder of the set, with sophomore Lauren Anthony putting the finishing touches on an opening set, 25-15 win with her first kill of the match. She and Panagopoulos also teamed up for a pair of blocks during the first set.

SET TWO
• With the Diplomats leading 5-4 early in game number two, a Korslund kill to conclude a long rally ignited a 4-0 Hopkins run that would give the Jays a lead that they would relinquish.
• Again it was Franke of F&M that tried to bring back the Diplomats from the service line. She tallied two of her three aces in a 5-0 run that would cut the Blue Jay lead from 17-10 to 17-15. Franke finished the match with three aces, the only three of the afternoon for Franklin & Marshall.
• A Simone Bliss kill halted the Diplomat momentum, and sparked what would ultimately turn into a 22-1 Blue Jay run covering the remainder of the second set and into the third. Bliss and senior Louisa Kishton would combine for five kills and an ace over the 8-0 Blue Jay run to close out the second, and Korslund finishing things off with another kill in the middle.

SET THREE
• After Hopkins won the final eight points of the second, the Diplomats scored the first point of the third before Aston decided to take matters into her own hands. The junior setter would run off nine aces in a 14-1 Blue Jay run that saw F&M use both of their timeouts before an error on Aston's part finally ended the astonishing run. To put the nine aces in one service rotation into perspective, the program record for aces in a four-set and five-set match is eight.
• Hopkins would cruise to yet another straight-set victory, with the Diplomats giving away errors on the final three points to finish off the match.

Inside the Box Score
• It was another impressive offensive performance for the Blue Jays, as they hit at an even .400 hitting percentage on the day. It was the sixth match this season they hit at least .400, and the third time doing so against a regionally-ranked opponent.
• Aston's nine aces were the most of her career, and the most by a Blue Jay player since Elizabeth Wuerstle tallied 13 in a 2017 win over Muhlenberg.  

What it Means
• Hopkins avenges last season's five-set defeat to finish the regular season against Franklin & Marshall. The Diplomats now lead the overall series 26-21.
• With the win, Hopkins extends its winning streak to 27 matches. That matches the 2003 Gettysburg team for the longest winning streak in Centennial Conference volleyball history. The Blue Jays will now host their third Centennial Conference Tournament in the past four seasons and will look to claim their fourth consecutive tournament title.
• The Blue Jays did not drop a set to a conference opponent all season long.

Up Next
• Hopkins will host next weekend's Centennial Conference tournament. The Blue Jays await the winner of fourth-seeded Haverford and fifth-seeded Swarthmore for their semifinal matchup. Stay tuned to Hopkinssports.com for more tournament information regarding times and matchups.

Be sure to follow the Blue Jays all season long on Twitter (@JHUVB) and on Instagram (@johnshopkinsvolleyball).