The regular season has been kind to the Hopkins women’s volleyball team, but there was still some unfinished business to take care of: notching their status into the playoffs as definite. They achieved that this past Saturday against the Dickinson Red Devils by completing a sweep at home to earn themselves the number four seed in the Centennial Conference playoffs.
Each set was won relatively easily for the Lady Jays. The first and third sets both ended with a 25-19 score, while set two was even easier for the squad at 25-15. Junior Meagan Donohoe, who has had an extremely impressive junior campaign, led the Jays to victory by tallying 15 kills and three service aces on the day. To top it off, Donohoe’s performances this week earned her Conference Player of the Week honors — her second such honor of the season. The season she is having is up there with the best in the nation, as she ranks 12th in kills per set and 13th in points per set.
To top that off, she leads the Centennial Conference in both categories. Donohoe feels confident heading into the playoffs, echoing the tone of her teammates. “Our games against Gettysburg and Dickinson this past week were important games for us as a program because we started to finally feel like we were playing the way that we’ve been working for all season,” she said. “It felt like good Hopkins volleyball, and we were able to control the pace of the game. We feel confident that we will be able to bring the same energy to playoffs, and if we do, we will have success.”
Donohoe’s contributions are a major reason why Hopkins is in its current position and, hopefully, on its way to capturing another conference championship. But, she is not the only reason, as contributions from others have put the team in a great spot for a deep playoff run. Against Dickinson, the team as a whole blocked 10 shots from the front line for Dickinson, which marks the team’s highest total since Sept. 28 against Swarthmore. Sophomore Stephanie Yokoyama pitched in a clutch performance against the Red Devils, recording 15 digs to help ensure a victory. Finally, junior Mariel Metalios led the team with 23 assists. This example of teamwork has been a constant theme for the team all year, and that is something necessary for deep playoff runs.
Yokoyama feels that the early preparation of the team this season will be what carries them through the playoffs. “Since day one of preseason, every member of this team has made a dramatic increase in putting extra effort in the gym as well as outside of the gym,” Yokoyama said. “The Hopkins women’s volleyball team is a huge advocate for team unity and specifically, ‘playing for each other.’ All the teams in our conference have brought such a variety in game play that have really challenged us in adjusting and applying the aspects we have been practicing. I’m confident and very excited to really incorporate what we’ve been focusing on each day during practice throughout the conference playoffs and beyond.”
Contributions from other members such as sophomore Gabi Rothman, junior Ellen Rogers, junior Kim Bronson and every other member of the team, will go far when the playoffs roll around. Rothman shared her thoughts on the match against Dickinson. “Our biggest struggle this season was finding our groove,” she said. “Once we found our groove it was to maintain the groove for the duration of an entire match and pretty much every time we play — be it practice or match. For the last two games, we’ve had our groove the whole time.”
Rothman also discussed her thoughts on the team going into the playoffs. “Looking forward, our aim is to up our groove without losing the consistency. We keep demanding more of ourselves, and this is what will take us to and through the playoffs,” Rothman said.
Hopkins hosts Gettysburg this week in the conference play-in game at Goldfarb Gymnasium. The match is slated to start at 7 p.m., and if one thing is certain, we all know the Jays will come to play with their playoff hopes on the line.
