Release courtesy of Johns Hopkins Athletic Communications

The Basics 
• Scores: #1 Johns Hopkins-1, Tufts-3 (22-25, 14-25, 25-19, 16-25)
• Records: #1 Johns Hopkins (31-1), Tufts (21-5)
• Location: Baltimore, MD • Goldfarb Gymnasium
• The Short Story: An incredible run and season came to a close for the Johns Hopkins Blue Jays on Saturday afternoon inside of Goldfarb as the Tufts Jumbos ended Hopkins' 66-match winning streak to advance to the Elite Eight in St. Louis. 

How it Happened
Set One
• A battle early on, Johns Hopkins led 7-5 before before a 5-0 Jumbos run put them ahead by three. The Blue Jays led 13-12, but were never able to regain the lead after falling behind 16-15, ultimately dropping the set 25-22.

• Jennifer Ryan picked up a kill for the Jumbos to tie the set at 7-7 before assisting on a block with Cate Desler to extend the lead to 10-7. A 3-0 run minutes later put the Blue Jays up 13-12 after kills from Elayna Williams and Danielle Norman. 

• Both teams traded points, tying the set at 15 all before a 4-0 Jumbos run gave them a 19-15 advantage. Jenelle Yarwood added a kill and a pair of aces before Grace Legris finished off the 4-0 run with a kill. 

• Simone Bliss picked up back-to-back kills before a Natalie Aston ace made it 19-18, but the Jumbos took the next five points for a 24-18 lead. Hopkins ripped off a quick 4-0 run, but it ultimately wasn't enough as Rileigh Farragher ended the set with a kill. 

Set Two
• Set number two was all Jumbos all the time as they leapt out to a 9-3 lead and never really looked back, giving the Jays their worst set loss of the season at 25-14. 

• Everyone was involved early for Tufts, getting kills from Ryan, Desler and three from Maya Lightfoot. Desler added in an ace as well as the Jumbos took an early three-point lead. 

• Kills from Bliss and Williams helped get Hopkins back within three at 14-11, but the Jumbos broke it open shortly after on a service run from Stephanie Lee as they took a 23-13 lead. Lee had three aces during a 6-0 run. Farragher ended the set once more, this time with a 25-14 set win. 

Set Three
• Ever the resilient bunch, Hopkins stormed back to take the third set 25-19. 

• The Jays jumped out to an 11-5 lead and really controlled the tempo of the set after making some lineup adjustments in the back row. Bliss had the first three points from Hopkins before kills from Williams, Portale and Lauren Anthony helped them take that six-point lead. 

• A kill from Desler cut it to 16-12, but a 4-0 run from Hopkins essentially put the set out of reach. Eleni Panagopoulos started the run and Anthony had a pair of kills as the Hopkins lead stretched to 20-12. 

• The Jumbos took four of five late in the set, but back-to-back Panagopoulos kills gave the Jays a 25-19 set victory to keep the season alive. 

Set Three
• The Jumbos used a 13-2 run in the middle of set number four, ultimately ending the Blue Jays season and Division III record win streak. 

• Bliss, Panagopoulos and Portale all had kills early, mixed in with an Aston ace to put Hopkins ahead 4-3. After a quick run from the Jumbos, Portale tied it at 5-5 with another kill. 

• That's when Tufts' big run began, getting kills from Lightfoot and Yarwood to pair with a couple of JHU attack errors to make it 9-5. After Portale made it 9-6 with a kill, Tufts once again took the next four, getting kills from Legris and Farragher and an ace from Maddie Yu to lead it 13-6. 

• Once again it was Portale to end the 4-0 run, but on the other side it was a 5-0 run for the Jumbos with three aces mixed in from Yarwood. Just like that the Jumbos led it 18-7. Hopkins continued to battle, cutting it back to eight after kills from Panagopoulos and Bliss, but a Legris block ended things at 25-16, sending the Jumbos to St. Louis. 

What it Means
• JHU's Division III record 66-match win streak has come to a close.

• Johns Hopkins home winning streak comes to a close as well with the Blue Jays last dropping a match in Goldfarb in 2016 to Stevenson. 

Inside the Box Score
• Bliss (16 kills), Portale (nine kills) and Panagopoulos (seven kills) led the offense. The Blue Jays hit .198 for the match, dragged down by a 1st set hitting percentage of .025. The Jays hit a much more characteristic .231, .361, .207 the rest of the way. 

• Aston and Sarah Khan both had 16 digs each for the Blue Jays. 

• Yarwood (12 kills/seven aces) and Desler (11 kills/12 digs/3 blocks) were fantastic for Tufts offensively. Lee (18 digs) led the defensive efforts. 

All-Tournament Team 

Cortland - Nicole Van Pelt
Springfield - Camryn Bancroft
Johns Hopkins - Natalie Aston & Simone Bliss
Tufts - Stephanie Lee & Jenelle Yarwood
MVP - Cate Desler - Tufts