Release Courtesy of Johns Hopkins Athletic Communications
The Basics
• Score: #6 Johns Hopkins – 3 • Stockton – 0 (25-20, 25-20, 25-16)
• Records: #6 Johns Hopkins (31-0) • Stockton – (31-4)
• Location: Baltimore, MD • Goldfarb Gym
• The Short Story: Host Johns Hopkins swept its way into the Sweet 16 as the Blue Jays topped Stockton, 3-0, in the second round of 2019 NCAA Division III Women's Volleyball Tournament Saturday evening.
How it Happened
SET ONE
• Stockton came out strong in the first set and after three early ties, built a four-point lead at 10-6 with a 5-1 run that was polished off by kills from Emily Sullivan and Sarah Walsh; the run prompted an early Blue Jay timeout.
• Out of the timeout, Johns Hopkins responded with a 6-1 run to grab its first lead of the set at 12-11. Three straight kills from Simone Bliss, Eleni Panagopoulos and Hannah Korslund polished off the spree for the Blue Jays.
• Tied at 12-12 after a Stockton kill ended the 6-1 Blue Jay run, Hopkins took control with a 5-0 run that was jump-started by another Panagopoulos kill and included a Bliss service ace and three attacking errors by the Ospreys.
• Up 17-12 after the 5-0 run, the Blue Jays never let the Ospreys get closer than three down the stretch and finished the 25-20 first-set victory with back-to-back kills from Bliss and Panagopoulos.
SET TWO
• Another back-and-forth-set early as the teams battled to seven ties before the Ospreys used a 3-0 run to grab an 11-9 lead – a Charlotte Leon kill capped the spree for Stockton.
• Senior Louisa Kiston then responded by fueling a six-point run for Johns Hopkins that quickly turned the two-point deficit into a 15-11 lead. Kishton tallied kills on the second, fourth and sixth points in the run.
• Stockton rallied by scoring five of the next seven points to pull with one at 17-16 on a Walsh kill. A Kishton kill halted the spree and was the first of four straight points the Blue Jays would score to grab a 21-16 lead.
• Stockton never got closer than three down the stretch and again it was a Panagopoulos kill that ended the set.
SET THREE
• Like the first two sets, set three was tight early on. Hopkins led from the outset, but never by more than three and the Ospreys pulled even at 9-9 on the strength of a 3-0 run that included a Blue Jay service error, a Charlotte Leon kill and an attacking error.
• From there, the Blue Jays used a 10-1 run to turn the 9-9 tie into a 19-10 lead that was never seriously threatened. Back-to-back kills by Bliss, a service ace and another Bliss kill quickly made it 13-9.
• Leon temporarily halted the run, but another Bliss kill sparked the back end of the 10-1 surge, which ultimately included six kills form the junior outside hitter.
• Stockton would get only as close as eight down the stretch at 22-14 and 24-16, but a Lauren Anthony kill from the middle on match point secured Hopkins' second appearance in the regional final in the last three years as the Jays took the third set 25-16.
Inside the Box Score
• Bliss tallied a match-high 16 kills and added 11 digs, while Panagopoulos added 15 kills with just one error on 33 attempts for a .424 hitting percentage on the night.
• Aston dished out 40 assists on the night and Kishton chipped in with nine kills and a match-high 17 digs.
• The top hitting team in the nation, the Blue Jays collected 52 kills against just 11 errors on 126 attempts for a .325 attack percentage in the victory.
• Stockton got eight kills apiece from Walsh and Julie Kohlhoff and setter Emily Sullivan had 25 assists, 14 digs and five kills, but the Ospreys hit just .155 on the night and fell for just the second time in their last 25 matches.
What it Means
• Johns Hopkins advances to the regional final, where it will face Stevens, which topped Susquehanna in a five-set thriller earlier on Saturday afternoon.
• The Blue Jays improve to 31-0 on the year. The 31-match winning streak is now tied for the 15th longest in Division III history.
• With its three-set sweep tonight, Johns Hopkins has won 32 consecutive sets dating back to a 3-1 win at Stevenson on October 17, when the Blue Jays dropped the second set.
Up Next
• Johns Hopkins and Stevens will meet in the Sweet 16 on Sunday, November 17 inside Goldfarb Gymnasium with a trip to the NCAA Quarterfinals on the line.