Head Coach Scott Pennewill guided his Blue Jays to their second consecutive Centennial Conference finals appearance and posted an impressive 18-10 mark in 2004. After losing over 60% of its offense from last season, Hopkins entered the season with question marks at a number of positions. The combination of veterans stepping up, and the emergence of freshman and sophomores kept JHU among the top teams in the Centennial Conference during a year that some dubbed a "rebuilding year."
Johns Hopkins hosted the Gophers of Goucher in its opener. JHU needed only three games to pick up its third consecutive season-opening win.
The Blue Jays next traveled to Gettysburg to compete in the Battlefield Invitational. After opening with a 3-2 win over Lycoming, the Blue Jays dropped a tough, 3-2 match to Gallaudet on the first day. JHU rebounded on day two of the tournament by defeating Messiah, 3-0 but lost to Scranton in its final match of the tournament and fell 3-0, posting a 2-2 mark in the Invitational, and running its overall record to 3-2. Senior Betsy Baydala was named to the All-Tournament team as she contributed both as the team’s setter and as an outside hitter.
After picking up their first conference win of the year, 3-1 over Ursinus, the Blue Jays traveled to Frostburg State to participate in the Maryland Collegiate State Tournament. Hopkins started off extremely hot on the first day of the tournament, picking up three-game wins over Goucher and St. Mary’s to advance to the winners bracket. In the winner’s bracket, JHU lost to Salisbury and Frostburg to post another 2-2 tournament mark. Baydala was once again named to the all-tournament team as she compiled 55 assists, 37 digs and 28 kills in the four matches.
After Franklin & Marshall handed the Blue Jays their first conference loss of the year, JHU owned a 6-5 mark, and was 1-1 in the conference. That weekend the Blue Jays played in the Sea Gull Classic hosted by Salisbury. The Blue Jays fell to the host Sea Gulls in their first match of the tournament in a tough three-game match in which all three games were won with identical 30-28 scores. JHU remained resilient and took a three-game match from Richard Stockton to end the first day with a 1-1 mark. The second day was not as kind to JHU, as the Blue Jays lost their first match to eventual national champions, Juniata, and then lost to Frostburg, 3-0 to drop their season record to 7-8.
After participating in the Sea Gull Classic, the Blue Jays returned to conference play as they hosted perennial power Gettysburg. The Blue Jays took the Bullets to four games before dropping a tough, hard-fought match, which proved that the Blue Jays were still among the best teams in the conference. With a 7-9 overall mark, and a 1-2 record in the Centennial Conference, JHU needed to rattle off some wins in order to remain in contention for a playoff spot in the Centennial Conference.
The Blue Jays responded, winning a school-record 11 matches in a row to earn the third seed in the Centennial Conference Tournament. The 11-match winning streak began with three consecutive 3-0 shutouts of Centennial Confernece opponents, Muhlenberg, Swarthmore and Dickinson. JHU then took a hard-fought, five-game match from Haverford at home. After rattling off victories over Washington, Bryn Mawr and McDaniel the Blue Jays hosted the 2004 Ascis/JHU Invitational.
Johns Hopkins swept its three matches in the 2004 Ascis/JHU Invitational from St. Mary’s, Kenyon and FDU-Florham to run the winning streak to 10, as they prepared for the upcoming Centennial Conference Tournament.
The Blue Jays earned the third seed and were pitted against second-seeded Franklin & Marshall in the semifinals. The Blue Jays took an early 2-0 lea, winning the first game, 30-21, and the second, 30-23. The Diplomats rallied and took games three and four, 30-27 and 30-23, respectively, setting up the deciding fifth game. The Blue Jays took the game, 15-13, and advanced to the finals, where they met Gettysburg for the second straight year. The Bullets downed the Blue Jays in three games as Hopkins finished in second place in the Centennial Conference for the third time in five years.
The 2004 Blue Jays, despite being young, received numerous personal awards at the end of the year. Baydala led the pack, as she was named to the All-Centennial Conference First team. The honor was the third consecutive time in which Baydala has been a member of an All-Centennial team. She led the Blue Jays in hitting percentage (.245), assists (674) and service aces (46). Additionally, Baydala set a number of Hopkins records, most notably, the career assists (3,502) and digs (1,722) marks. Her 1,722 digs are also the highest ever in the Centennial Conference. Baydala was named The Centennial Conference’s Player of Week once in 2004 and named to the Honor Roll of four separate occasions.
Junior Jen Hajj was an Honorable Mention All Centennial Conference selection from her middle hitter’s position. Hajj posted a .240 hitting percentage, 10th best in the Centennial Conference. One of five players to play in every game for JHU in 2004, Hajj collected 308 kills (3.11 kills per game) on the year. She also led JHU in blocks with 52. Her career hitting percentage of .241 is fourth best at JHU.
Sophomore Lizzie Kay was also an honorable mention selection. Kay, the team’s libero, led the Centennial Conference in digs with 640 (6.67 per game). Kay also shattered the JHU single-season digs mark, which she originally set during her freshman year. Kay’s 640 digs in 2004 are the second-best single-season mark in the Centennial Conference. In addition to her digs, Kay picked up 31 service aces on the year.
The 2005 Blue Jays will lose only Baydala from the 2004 squad. While her loss will be felt, the future of the JHU volleyball program looks promising.
