The Basics 
• Score: #6 Johns Hopkins – 3 • Franklin & Marshall – 0 (26-24, 25-23, 25-20)
• Records: #6 Johns Hopkins (29-0, 10-0 Centennial) • Franklin & Marshall – (20-6, 9-1 Centennial)
• Location: Baltimore, MD • Goldfarb Gymnasium
• The Short Story: One day after setting a new Centennial Conference record for the longest winning streak in conference history, the sixth-ranked Blue Jay volleyball team took home its fourth straight conference tournament crown in front of a packed Goldfarb Gymnasium.

How it Happened

SET ONE
• It was evident from the start that Sunday's championship match with the Diplomats would not come as easy for Hopkins as the last time the two sides met just eight days ago in the regular season finale. Franklin & Marshall grabbed an early advantage, ultimately extending that advantage to 11-6 following an Allison Franke kill. In comparison, the Diplomats led for all of three points in the entire match in the prior meeting.
• Senior Louisa Kishton tallied a kill and Eleni Panagopoulos followed with an ace to kick off a 5-0 Blue Jay run that evened the score at 12-12.
• With the sides knotted at 16-16, F&M strung together five unanswered points to take what appeared to be a commanding 21-16 lead. That lead would balloon to 24-17 and set the Diplomats up with the potential for seven set points. Not willing to back down or surrender their first set since in nearly a month, Hopkins found their next gear. Simone Bliss kept the game alive with a kill following a long rally, and then stepped to the service line where Hopkins would ultimately run off the next eight points to miraculously flip the scoreboard and take the opening game 26-24.

SET TWO
• Neither side could command an advantage in the second set, with neither team scoring more than three consecutive through the first half of the game.
• Three straight Diplomat attacking errors following a Lauren Anthony kill gave Hopkins its largest lead to that point at 19-14, but this time it was F&M that would rally. The Diplomats would score on five of the next six points and eventually evened the set at 23-23.
• Another F&M error gave Hopkins set point at 24-23, and for the second straight set, Hopkins would need only one set point to finish off the game. F&M mishandled a Nicole Hada serve to give Hopkins a 2-0 lead overall in the match.

SET THREE
• The third game in many ways mirrored the opening set, with Franklin & Marshall this time racing out to an 8-2 lead.
• This time around it was Kishton's turn to spark a rally, scoring on three consecutive points in a Blue Jay 6-0 run to cut the deficit to 11-10. Back-to-back kills from Bliss allowed Hopkins to take its first lead of set at 13-12.
• The match would close with each team exchanging 4-0 runs. Hopkins lead 21-16 thanks to three Bliss kills before F&M answered with four straight to close the gap to 21-20. Bliss tallied the final of her match-high 15 kills and then the Diplomats followed consecutive errors to give Hopkins match-point at 24-20. The final point was fitting of the hard-fought match, lasting nearly 40 seconds before Kishton finally finished off the match and earned Hopkins its fourth-straight conference tournament title.

Inside the Box Score
• Bliss was named the tournament Most Valuable Player after leading the team with 15 kills for the second-straight match. She also added ten digs for her ninth double-double of the season.
• Freshman Annelisa O'Neal once again got the start in place of an injured Natalie Aston, and recorded her second-straight double-double with 38 assists and 12 digs.  
• Lauren Anthony and Hannah Korslund were each effective in the middle, combining for 11 kills on 27 swings.

What it Means
• Hopkins has now won each of the last four Centennial Conference Tournament championships and the Jays are now 2-1 all-time in championship matches against Franklin & Marshall. It is the seventh tournament title all-time for Hopkins.
• With the win, the Blue Jays have now matched a program record for victories in a season with 29 (2012).
• In 12 matches this season against Centennial Conference opponents, Hopkins did not drop a single set, and haven't dropped a set since a four-set win over Stevenson back on October 17.

Up Next
• Hopkins now awaits its NCAA Tournament draw, with the selection show airing tomorrow at 12:30 p.m. Be sure to check back to HopkinsSports.com to find out all of the details regarding the Blue Jays tournament fate.

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