Hopkins volleyball continued their explosive start this weekend, with dominant performances against the St. Mary’s College Seahawks, the Bryn Mawr College Owls and the Goucher College Gophers in three sets apiece.
Starting on Friday night, the Jays kicked off their weekend by taking on the St. Mary’s Seahawks. The Blue Jay victory extended their winning-streak against the Seahawks to 16 games in a row.
St. Mary’s was able to keep it close at the start of the match, as the teams battled back and forth for much the first set.
However, the Seahawks were unable to answer to the firepower of the Jays: After battling back and forth, the Blue Jays finally found their beat and finished up the first set at 25-16.
After the competitive first set, Hopkins dominated the rest of the match. The Jays took the second set 25-6 before putting the nail in the coffin with a 25-10 victory in the third set to sweep the Seahawks.
Senior outside hitter Elizabeth Wuerstle dominated the service game all match, recording 10 aces, one short of a school record, while sophomore outside hitter Louisa Kishton was an offensive force, leading the team in hitting percentage (0.737) and kills (14).
Complementing the impressive offensive showing, the Blue Jays racked up 35 assists, including 14 each for senior middle Kristi Rhead and freshman setter Natalie Aston.
Saturday featured a pair of matches for Hopkins, as they hosted a tri-match tournament in Goldfarb Gym featuring Bryn Mawr and Goucher.
Hopkins started their day against the Owls, setting the tone early with five straight points to open up the contest. From there, they did not look back, claiming the first set 25-8.
Carrying their momentum into the second set, Hopkins was led by freshman opposite Morgan Wu’s seven aces, holding complete control of the entire set for a 25-3 beatdown.
On Wu’s serve, the Jays went on an 11-point streak to take the final set convincingly in 25-8. With 13 aces in the match, Wu set a new program service record, which previously stood at 11.
Starting the day 1-0, the Jays improved their record against Bryn Mawr to 23-2.
Finishing off their doubleheader with a matchup against the Gophers, Hopkins picked up where they left off, taking the first set 25-8.
Goucher fired back in the second set and held the lead for a majority of the contest before the Jays rallied back to finish the set at 25-23.
Goucher continued to give the Jays a run for their money in the early goings of the third set, but Hopkins was too much for the Gophers, taking the third set in 25-15 for their second sweep of the day.
“Overall we were pleased with how we are coming together as a team,” Kishton said. “When playing teams that are not a huge challenge it is hard to bring out your best, but we did a good job of staying crisp and still playing our game when we weren’t being ‘challenged.’”
After the wins this weekend, the Blue Jays increase their winning streak to seven matches, one short of an eight-match win streak, which the team last achieved in 2014.
Plus, sweeping all three teams in three straight sets means that Hopkins has not lost a set since Sept. 8.
The Blue Jays are next in action on Sept. 23 when they travel to take on Susquehanna University.
