BALTIMORE, Md. (September 2, 2022) – Youth Liz Patterson finished with a team-record nine game-breaking wins, but the Stevens Institute of Technology women’s volleyball team fell to No. 9 Johns Hopkins University on Friday in a non-conference game at Newton H White Center. The contest marked the season opener for both teams.
Second year Sophie Schaefer had five victims and graduate student Kathleen Riegner and senior Enkhsanaa Enkhbayar each provided nine assists for the Ducks, who gave up their first game of the season falling to 0-1. The match was played as part of the annual Greg Giovanazzi Memorial Tournament, which is held in honor of the former Johns Hopkins women’s volleyball head coach and former U.S. Olympic coach, who died in 2012.
Simone Adam led all players with 16 kills and Simrin Carlsen had 10 digs for Johns Hopkins, which won its season opener for the fourth consecutive season. The Blue Jays have suffered just one loss in their last 68 games and have won each of the last four meetings between the teams.
Second year Cleo Shannon scored the Ducks’ first point of the season, setting up an Enkhbayar feed to give the Ducks an early lead. Stevens would open a three-point lead in the early part of the frame. An energetic defense from Stevens controlled the Blue Jays offense, limiting Hopkins to a hit percentage of just .162 in the first frame – the game’s lowest rating for the hosts.
First year Gabbi Roberts recorded his first college point with a kill to give the Ducks a 13-10 advantage. However, Johns Hopkins responded with a six-point run to turn Stevens’ 14-13 lead into a 19-14 deficit for the Ducks. The resilient Ducks bounced back with four of the next five points, then a pair of attacking errors surrounded a Patterson kill to tie the frame at 23. Unfortunately, Chidinma Onukwugha converted a quick set to return the serve to Hopkins and an attacking error gave Hopkins a 25-23 decision in the opening set.
Patterson converted a set from Enkhbayar to give Stevens the opening point of the set for the second stanza in a row. The back and forth dominated the first half of the second set as neither team was able to create a separation until Hopkins picked up four straight points to open a 10-6 lead and force a time. Stevens’ death. A kill from Schaefer brought the Ducks back within three, but a 6-2 run from the home team followed to break the frame. An ace from Adam closed the stanza and gave Hopkins a 2-0 lead in the game. The set saw Stevens put in his best offensive performance of the game, culminating in a .259 hit percentage (10-3-27), however, Hopkins had just two offensive errors (15-2-33) to double his advantage.
Hopkins jumped on the board first in the third set, only to see an ace from Patterson and a kill from Shannon give the Ducks a 4-2 lead. Junior Meg Dion would knock down a set from Riegner to push the Ducks margin to 7-4 and force a timeout from Hopkins. The break in play proved to turn the tide as the Blue Jays scored the next six points to take a 10-7 lead. Kills from Patterson and Schaefer would cut the deficit twice, but a 6-1 run from the Blue Jays would break the set and a 5-1 run after an attack from Dion closed the game.
Inside the numbers
- Hit percentage was a key stat. The host Blue Jays finished the game with an attack percentage of .327, while the Ducks finished at .122.
- Second year students Bailey Axelrad and Nicole Scribner joined Dion and Patterson to serve an ace.
- Dion and Roberts each recorded a solo block. Roberts, who also picked up a pair of wins, was making his college debut.
- Eight different players had at least one point, including senior Ava Smithingwho picked up a pair of wins.
unsung hero
- Axelrad finished with 14 digs, a match and career high. As a team, Stevens finished with 40.
From the Sideline – Head Coach Brianna Jones
- “We played well and it was a great game for us. We lost stamina as the game went on and that will be a priority for us going forward.”
Next
- Women’s volleyball will face St. John Fisher and Marymount on the second and final day of competition.
- A former Empire 8 annual conference opponent, Stevens has the last 10 meetings with St. John Fisher. The Ducks also edged the Saints last season in what was believed to be the first meeting between the programs.
- Links for live stats and video from both games are available at StevensDucks.com.
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#all rise
