Nov. 5, 2003

The Team: The Johns Hopkins volleyball team closed the regular season with a 3-0 loss at Salisbury last Saturday. Despite the loss, the Blue Jays concluded the regular season with a sparkling 22-7 record under first-year head coach Scott Pennewill.

The Blue Jays had won nine straight prior to the loss to the Sea Gulls and finished with a 9-1 Centennial Conference record. JHU is seeded second in this weekend's Centennial Conference Tournament.

The Tournament: Johns Hopkins earned the number two seed in this weekend's Centennial Conference Tournament with the 9-1 league record. Gettysburg, which has won 24 matches in a row and posted a perfect 10-0 record in Centennial play this season, earned the top seed.

Franklin & Marshall and Haverford round out the tournament field as the third and fourth seeds, respectively. Johns Hopkins will play F&M and Gettysburg will play Haverford in the semifinals at 2:00 pm with the championship match to follow.

During the Regular Season: Johns Hopkins posted a 2-1 record against the three other teams that have qualified for the Centennial Conference Tournament. The Blue Jays opened league play with a grueling five-set loss to Gettysburg, but bounced back to sweep Haverford and F&M in its next two CC matches.

The Coach: Scott Pennewill is in his first season at the helm for the Blue Jays and is the sixth coach in the history of the program. His 22 wins are the second most by a first-year coach in the history of the program and JHU's 9-1 record and second-place regular-season finish in league play both match the best-ever for JHU.

Six-for-Six: The Johns Hopkins volleyball team is making its sixth appearance in the Centennial Conference Tournament. The tournament began in 1997 and has been held every year since then except 1999. Johns Hopkins and Gettysburg are the only two teams that have qualified for all six CC Volleyball Tournaments.

Kaliades Leading the Way: Senior hitter Stephanie Kaliades (Ridgewood, NJ/Ridgewood) continues to lead the way for the Blue Jays as she is enjoying one of the most productive seasons in school history.

Kaliades currently leads the team in kills (387) and kills per game (4.0) and ranks second on the team in service aces (35) and fourth in digs (312). Her 387 kills are tied for the fifth-highest single-season total in school history, while her 4.0 kills per game would go down as the second-highest in school history if the season ended today. She also ranks among the top 15 with her digs and digs per game totals and she will become just the second player in school history to have 400 or more kills in more than one season if she gets 13 more this season.

In addition to her mark on the single-season record book, she also ranks third all-time at JHU with 1,152 kills, while her 133 career service aces ranks 10th.

JHU's Career Kills Leaders

1. Mary Alexis Paul 1,609 1997-00

2. Chirssy Horan 1,203 1996-99

3. Stephanie Kaliades 1,152 2000, 02-pres

Baydala Enjoying Solid All-Around Season: Junior setter Betsy Baydala (Rockville Centre, NY/South Side) continues to run the offense for the Blue Jays and is also one of the top defensive players on the squad as well.

Baydala is averaging 9.6 assists and 3.7 digs per game and has 29 service aces to her credit on the year as well. Her 984 assists rank as the third-highest single-season total in school history and push her career total to 2,677, which is good for third place on JHU's career list.

Baydala also ranks fourth all-time in career service aces (171) and her 1,247 career digs ranks fourth all-time as well.

JHU Individual Career Assists Record

1. Michelle Dumler 3,376 1996-99

2. Courtney Cromwell 2,741 1999-02

3. Betsy Baydala 2,677 2001-pres

O'Callaghan Shines: Sophomore hitter Kate O'Callaghan (Babylon, NY/West Babylon) has quietly enjoyed a solid season after seeing extensive playing time as a freshman last season. She ranks second on the team in kills (333 / 3.2 per game) and digs (410 / 4.0 per game) and ranks fifth in aces. Her 410 digs rank as the fifth-highest single-season total in school history and her 333 kills rank among the top 15 as well.

Kay Shines in Rookie Season: Freshman libero Lizzie Kay (Pacific Palisades, CA/The Cate School) has made an immediate impact on the Johns Hopkins volleyball program as she has played in all 29 matches and 95 games this season. She currently leads the team in digs (452) and digs per game (4.76).

Her 452 digs this season are just six shy of the JHU single-season record set by teammate Betsy Baydala last season, while her 4.76 digs per game is way above the single-season record of 4.07 set by Emily Miller in 2001.

Hajj Becomes a Factor: A preseason injury hampered sophomore middle blocker Jen Hajj (Boca Raton, FL/Pope John Paul II) for the beginning of the season, but she has been a key part of JHU's late-season surge. She is averaging 2.1 kills per game (178 total) and has been in on 53 blocks (20 solo / 33 assisted) since returning. In all she missed six matches and has played in 83 of the 103 games on the year.

Raggi is Blocking, Aces Leader: Senior blocker Samantha Raggi (Cresskill, NJ/Cresskill) leads the team with 58 blocks (22 solos / 36 assisted) and has 145 kills, a team-high 37 services aces and 113 digs to her credit.