BALTIMORE, Md. — Top-seeded, top-ranked, and unbeaten Johns Hopkins survived one of its toughest tests of the season while second-seeded Haverford posted a sweep in the Centennial Conference volleyball semifinals on Saturday afternoon at Goldfarb Gymnasium, setting up a championship match between the top two conference seeds.
JHU and Haverford will square off at 1 p.m. on Sunday with an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament on the line. Sunday’s matchup will be the first time in conference history that the Blue Jays and Fords will collide for the championship.
In the opening semifinal of the day, JHU (28-0) rallied from a 2-1 deficit to hold off a valiant effort from fifth-seeded Gettysburg (15-9) with a final score of 3-2 (25-16, 25-27, 25-27, 25-9, 15-9). Despite falling behind 2-1, Hopkins controlled the final two sets en route to its fifth consecutive championship appearance.
Simone Bliss returned to the court for the first time since late September to help lead Hopkins to victory. In her return to action, Bliss wasted no time getting herself acclimated with 13 kills and three blocks. Danielle Norman picked up 13 kills to match her for the game-high despite not entering the contest until the third set.
Natalie Aston had 50 assists and 13 digs in the match for JHU. Zanze Kuba-McCoy led the Bullets with a double-double, registering 18 kills and 11 digs.
In the second semifinal, Haverford (23-4) defeated third-seeded Swarthmore (13-8), 3-0. As was the case when the two programs met a week ago, Haverford delivered a 25-20, 25-23, 30-28 sweep with a wild third-set victory, closing out the triumph in extra points on the neutral site.
Kendall Otridge set a new career high with 18 kills to pace the Fords offensively, while Dina Kosyagin tallied nine kills. Sara Hunsberger had another solid performance with 35 assists and 18 digs, proving to be a steadying force in the middle yet again. Chloe Mayhue led the Garnet with a team-high eight kills and 12 digs.
The Blue Jays will aim for their fifth-straight and eighth overall CC crown on Sunday, making their 11th overall title-game appearance. JHU carries its NCAA Division III-record 63-match winning streak into Sunday’s championship. Haverford will be making its first title appearance since 2015 and sixth overall, as the Fords are seeking their fifth CC title.
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