INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- Johns Hopkins and Swarthmore will represent the Centennial Conference in the NCAA Volleyball Tournament next weekend. Centennial champion Johns Hopkins earned the conference's automatic bid to the postseason with a 3-1 victory over Franklin & Marshall in Sunday's championship match, while Swarthmore secured an at-large bid to the tournament.
The Blue Jays (21-7) will take on Hunter (20-9) in the opening round of an eight-team regional at Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Va. on Thursday, Nov. 10. The Hopkins-Hunter match will be the second on the opening day and will begin at approximately at 3 p.m. JHU won its sixth consecutive Centennial Conference title to earn an automatic bid to the tournament, while Hunter won the CUNYAC title to earn an automatic bid.
Johns Hopkins is making its eighth appearance in the NCAAs and sports an all-time record of 12-6 in the tournament. The Blue Jays won the 2019 NCAA Championship and advanced to the Sweet 16 in 2017 and 2021. In the other matches in the Blue Jays' regional, host Mary Washington (24-7) will play Cedar Crest (13-8), Eastern will play Marymount (19-14) and Stevens (23-9) will play Manhattanville (24-6). Johns Hopkins defeated Stevens, Eastern and Marymount during the regular season by identical 3-0 scores.
The winner of the Johns Hopkins-Hunter match will play the winner of the Stevens-Manhattanville match in the second round on Friday, November 11 at 4:30 pm.
Swarthmore will travel to Tufts to battle Babson in the opening round. The bid marks the team's second NCAA appearance in program history and its first since the team advanced to the NCAA Quarterfinals in 2017.
The Garnet (17-8) will take on Babson (21-8) in the first round on Thursday. Babson finished second in the NEWMAC regular season and conference tournament, earning an at-large bid. The winner of the opening round matchup will face either Tufts or Johnson & Wales University in Friday's second round. The other half of the bracket features Scranton taking on St. John Fisher College and MIT against Maine Maritime.
The national championship will be held Nov. 16-19 at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse in Pittsburgh, with Saint Vincent College serving as host.