BALTIMORE, MD – The Spartan volleyball team split their two matches on Saturday at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. The Spartans defeated Haverford before falling to the host Blue Jays in the nightcap.
The Spartans won the Haverford match 3-2 as the scores were 25-19, 22-25, 25-18, 23-25, and 15-9. Haverford falls to 8-6 with the loss.
 
How It Happened
• The first set saw the Spartans race out to a 5-0 lead. The Fords climbed back into the set and tied the game at 12 thanks to a 6-1 run. The Spartans answered with an 8-3 run of their own to forge an 20-15 lead capped by a Sydney Wilber kill. Haverford scored the next two points but York finished off the set with a 5-2 spurt to post the 25-19 set one win.
• The Fords raced out to a 7-2 lead to start the second set. York used a 6-1 spurt to forge an 8-8 tie. With the set tied at 11, the Fords went on a 7-1 run to push out to an 18-12. The Green and White answered the Fords with a 7-2 spurt to draw to within one at 20-19. Haverford scored four of the next five points to take a 24-20 lead. York got a pair of points back but the Fords closed out the set on a Claire Jordan kill to win the set 25-22, tying the match at one.
• York bounced back to start the third as they sprinted out to a 10-4 lead, finished off with a Claire Shorb kill. The Spartans maintained their lead, eventually building the advantage to 21-14. York led 24-15 but the Fords made York sweat it out with three straight points before the Spartans closed out the set 25-18.
• The fourth set saw the Fords run out to a big lead at 9-4. York battled back to tie the set at 17 thanks to a 6-1 run. The Spartans eventually pushed out to a 22-19 lead but the Fords ripped off a 6-1 run to take the set 25-23, forcing a tiebreaking fifth set.
• The Spartans got off to a fast fifth set start as they scored 12 of the first 15 points of the game. Haverford responded with a 7-2 run but Wilber finished off the game with a kill as York captured the 15-9 win.
 
Spartan Notes vs. Haverford
The Spartans are now 3-2 all-time against Haverford as York has won two straight in the series … junior Megan Rizzi set a pair of career-highs with 24 kills and 24 digs … the 24 kills are second on the all-time single game list as current assistant Brandy Shope holds the single game record of 26 … Sydney Wilber added seven kills as she hit .583 with one block solo and three block assists … Abby Diehl contributed a career-high 49 assists, four service aces and 12 digs … Morgan Nolte chipped in with nine kills, one assist, three service aces, three block assists and four digs.
 
The Spartans then faced host Johns Hopkins and the Blue Jays cruised past the Spartans in three, 25-15, 25-16, and 25-17. The Blue Jays improve to 8-6 while the Spartans end the day with a record of 9-6.
 
How It Happened
• The Blue Jays got off to an early 10-3 lead in the opening set. York scored the next three points to cut their deficit to four but Hopkins increased their lead to eight at 17-9. York got it to within five but the hosts ripped off a 6-1 run to take a 23-13 lead. York scored the next two points but the Blue Jays closed out the set with the final two points for the 25-15 win.
• Hopkins had another good start to the second set with a 9-4 lead early. The Spartans cut the Blue Jay lead to 14-11 but a 6-0 spurt pushed the lead to 20-11. The Blue Jays eventually finished off the set by scoring three of the final four points to earn the 25-16 win.
• The third set was back and forth early as there were 10 ties over the first 26 points of the game. The Blue Jays ripped off an 11-0 run that gave Hopkins a commanding 22-13 lead. That proved to be too much for York to overcome as the hosts secured a 25-17 third set win.
 
Spartan Notes
The Spartans are now 6-8 all-time against the Blue Jays as Hopkins has won the last four meetings in the series … Megan Rizzi had another double-double with 11 kills and 10 digs … Claire Shorb added six kills as the duo combined for 17 of York's 26 total kills in the match … York hit .063 for the match, their second lowest attack percentage of the year … York had season-low three service errors … York did not record a block in the loss.
 
Up Next
The Spartans have a short turnaround as they host Lancaster Bible College on Monday, October 3. The action is slated for a 7:00 pm start in Wolf Gymnasium. The match kicks off a season-high five match home stand.