|
|
 |
Roster | Schedule/Results | News | Archives |
|
|||
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
    |
  
Volleyball Season Review: Unprecedented Success
Nov. 16, 2005 The 2005 Johns Hopkins volleyball campaign was a defining one in the history of the program and was the kind of season that can establish a program as a contender for years to come. With a 24-7 record, Hopkins posted a .774 winning percentage, the best mark in program history. At season's end, 11 total records fell, including four single-season team records, four individual single-season records and one career record. Head coach Scott Pennewill, in his third season, also guided the Blue Jays to another first: Centennial Conference regular season champions. With his team's success this season, Pennewill continues to raise his record at Hopkins, compiling a 65-26 (.714) record. This was also a season defined by the team's standouts, both established and budding. Seniors Jen Hajj and Katie O'Callaghan both etched their names in the Hopkins record book, as each registered their 1,000th kill. Junior Lizzie Kay added to her legend as the top defensive specialist in program history, becoming the school's all-time career digs leader. Freshman Amanda Lewis busted onto the scene, establishing new single-season assist records. Hopkins announced its dominance early in the season, rolling through the competition at the Asics/JHU Invitational Sept. 3-4. On their way to the title, the Blue Jays faced a gauntlet of teams that finished with a 110-39 record the previous season. After a five-game Friday night win over Marymount, Hopkins cruised through the rest of the tournament, taking 3-0 wins on Saturday over FDU-Florham and New Jersey City on its way to a title game bout with Salisbury, a team Hopkins would become familiar with the rest of the way. In a battle with the Sea Gulls that went to extra points three times, Hopkins came out on top, 3-1.
With one tournament finished, next up was the Battlefield Classic, hosted by Gettysburg College on Sept. 9-10. Hopkins continued to roll through its schedule, extending its season-opening win streak to seven with wins over Scranton and Eastern Mennonite. In Saturday's action, the Blue Jays' win streak came to a prompt halt, as Eastern handed them their first loss, 3-1. Eastern would go on to take the title and move into the top 25 the next week. Hopkins closed out the tournament with a loss to George Fox, 3-1. Despite the 2-2 record, Hopkins experienced a major milestone to take home. In Saturday's loss to Eastern, Katie O'Callaghan knocked down her 1,000th kill, becoming the fourth Blue Jay to break into the 1,000-kill club. Hopkins returned to Goldfarb to host the Division III Maryland State Tournament on Sept. 16-17, a first for the Blue Jays. Nine other teams descended on Hopkins for a chance at state bragging rights, but the Blue Jays had the last laugh. Hopkins rolled in its first four games, including another meeting with Salisbury, with the Sea Gulls falling once again to Hopkins, this time by a 3-0 count. The Blue Jays clinched the tournament title with a 3-1 win over Frostburg State. The final stop on their tournament schedule was the Salisbury Invitational, held Sept. 23-24. Leading off the tournament for Hopkins was a Friday match with familiar foe Salisbury. In the final meeting of the season between the two teams, Hopkins jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead. The Sea Gulls rallied for a pair of wins to knot the match at two, but the Blue Jays prevailed in their second decisive game opportunity, completing the season sweep of Salisbury. After a late game win on Friday against Catholic and the epic with Salisbury, Hopkins ran out of gas on Saturday, dropping matches to Richard Stockton and Randolph-Macon. Once again, the Blue Jays hit the road and came back with a 2-2 tournament record and a milestone. This time, it was Jen Hajj, who registered her 1,000th kill against Catholic, becoming the fifth player in Blue Jay history to reach the mark. Hopkins hit the road once again, this time to kick off the Centennial Conference schedule. There was no warm-up to get things going, however, as Hopkins was scheduled to travel to defending champion Gettysburg Sept. 27. The Blue Jays entered the match with a 3-25 all-time record against the Bullets, looking for their first win at Gettysburg. That night saw the Bullets earn their 26th win against Hopkins, dispatching the Blue Jays, 3-0. The Blue Jays were mired in their longest losing streak of the 2005 season at three, but would quickly turn things around, reeling off nine straight Centennial Conference wins. Highlights during the streak included wins over three of the eventual conference tournament participants; Swarthmore (Oct. 4), Franklin & Marshall (Oct. 8) and Haverford (Oct. 15). Another highlight was the achievement of Lizzie Kay, who became Hopkins' all-time digs leader, passing the mark of 1,627 set by Betsy Baydala from 2001-04. Kay established the record by posting 22 digs against Muhlenberg on Oct. 1. The second of nine straight wins came against the Garnet Tide at Goldfarb Gym, with the Blue Jays getting off to a hot start, hitting .321 to take game one, 30-17. Swarthmore was victorious in the second game, 30-27, as the Blue Jays hitting started to cool off. Hopkins turned in attack percentages of .222 and .128 in the final two games, but prevailed anyway, with identical 30-23 scores to take the match, 3-1. Next up was Franklin & Marshall, who entered the match with an 11-3 overall record and a 4-1 Centennial mark. Hopkins had a chance to burst onto the scene as a Centennial contender with a win, and that's exactly what the Blue Jays did. A game one 30-14 win for Hopkins was followed up by a 30-22 triumph by the Diplomats in game two. Hopkins responded however, again rattling off a pair of 30-23 wins en route to a 3-1 match victory and a 3-1 conference record. Haverford was the next challenge on the Centennial schedule, as they carried a 4-1 conference record into the match. Two close games to lead off the match yielded 32-30 and 30-23 wins for the Blue Jays, before the Fords began their comeback. Haverford gained 30-23 and 30-26 wins to tie up the match at two, before Hopkins won its third decisive game in four tries, 15-9. With the win, Hopkins began to pull away from the rest of the conference, checking in as the only team with only one loss. The Blue Jays rolled through the rest of their schedule, taking three of four matches by a 3-0 count. They used a 3-1 win over McDaniel on Oct. 25 to clinch a share of the Centennial Conference title and wrapped it up with a 3-0 win at home over Ursinus on Oct. 29. Along the way, another record was torn down, as Amanda Lewis became the first player in Hopkins history to record 1,200 assists in a season, establishing the mark with 38 in a 3-0 win at Bryn Mawr on Oct. 22. At the conclusion of the regular season Hopkins found itself in a unique situation as Centennial Conference Regular Season Champions with a 9-1 conference record, 23-5 overall. For the first time in the history of the Centennial Volleyball Tournament Goldfarb Gym was to be the host of the championships, set for Nov. 5-6. Hopkins also found itself ranked third in the Mid-Atlantic Region, tops in the program's history. Earning the tournament's top seed, Hopkins was left to wait for the outcome of the opening round game between Swarthmore and F&M. F&M came out on top, and the tournament's fourth seed was set to battle the Blue Jays. The Centennial Tournament kicked off with second-seeded Gettysburg cruising past third-seed Haverford, 3-0, setting up a Sunday tussle with the Bullets for the winner of the F&M-Hopkins match. In the first game, both teams stumbled out of the gate, as F&M hit .138 while the Blue Jays attacked at a .212 rate, but it was the Diplomats that took advantage of Hopkins' mistakes, opening up the match with a 30-17 win. Both squads started to pick up the pace in the second game, but it was the Diplomats again, 30-28. With their backs against the wall, the Blue Jays came out hitting in game three, attacking at a .383 rate to hold off F&M in game three, 30-26. Game four was the undoing of the Blue Jays, however. In a must-win, Hopkins responded early, edging out the Diplomats for an early 13-10 lead. The Blue Jays took off from there, stretching their lead with an 11-3 run to open up a 24-13 advantage, giving Hopkins a reason to believe that there would be a fifth game in this semifinal match. F&M began to chip away at the lead and closed the advantage to 26-19. Hopkins could only muster one more point the rest of the match, and F&M continued to blast away, wrapping up the match with a 30-27 win. F&M hit .393 in the fourth game, while the Blue Jays attacked at only a .186 rate. Hopkins had to settle for watching Gettysburg take the tournament title and the NCAA Tournament automatic bid on the Goldfarb Gym court on Sunday, leaving the Blue Jays only hope for an NCAA at-large bid. As it turned out, Gettysburg was the lone team from the Centennial Conference headed for the NCAAs, while the Blue Jays would be sent to Annville, Pa. with a berth in the ECAC South Tournament, Nov. 11-12. The play-in round of the ECACs matched up Hopkins with Richard Stockton, a team the Blue Jays fell to back in September. This time, it was Hopkins with the win, 3-1 over the Ospreys. On Saturday morning, Lebanon Valley, the tournament's top seed, handed Hopkins a 3-1 loss, ending the 2005 season. Despite their postseason shortcomings, the Blue Jays made noise with their overall success. Postseason honors rolled in, as O'Callaghan earned Centennial Conference Player of the Year honors, and was named First Team All-Mid Atlantic Region and Honorable Mention All-America by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA). Kay was First Team All-Centennial Conference, along with AVCA First Team All-Mid Atlantic Region and Honorable Mention All-America. Hajj was First Team All-Centennial Conference, while Lewis and Kim Jackanich both earned Honorable Mention All-Centennial honors. While Hopkins is still in search of its first NCAA trip, the 2005 volleyball season brought the program to unprecedented success, setting the stage for continued winning seasons in the years to come.
2005 Final Awards, Honors and Records
All-Tournament:
Centennial Conference Player of the Week:
All-Centennial Conference Team:
Centennial Conference Academic Honor Roll (3.4 GPA or better):
AVCA All-Mid Atlantic Team:
AVCA All-America Team:
CoSIDA District II Academic All-America (College Division):
New Hopkins Individual Records:
New Hopkins Team Records: |
 |
|
|
||||||
|
|
