GETTYSBURG, PA - Five players recorded double-figure kills, including a match-high 21 from Katie O'Callaghan, as #3 seed Johns Hopkins University upset #2 seed Franklin & Marshall College 3-2 (30-21, 30-23, 27-30, 23-30, 15-13) in the Centennial Conference semifinals hosted by Gettysburg College.

Betsy Baydala recorded a triple-double with 10 kills, 25 digs and 44 assists to lead the Blue Jays (18-9) into their second straight CC final.

Historically, the loss marks the second straight season Hopkins has knocked F&M out of the CC playoffs as the Blue Jays upended F&M 3-2 (30-19, 23-30, 30-26, 26-30, 15-6) in the opening round of the 2003 Centennial Conference playoffs also hosted by Gettysburg College.

Against Hopkins this year, libero Meghan Godorov (Jr., Orefield, PA/Parkland) led a strong defensive effort from the Diplomats (20-10) with 41 digs.

After falling into a 2-0 hole in games and trailing 21-12 in game three, Franklin & Marshall came all the way back to force the fifth game.

Trailing 21-12 in game three, the Diplomats ran off 15 of the next 17 points for a 27-23 lead behind four of 17 kills from Susan Taylor (Fr., Woodlands, TX/John Cooper) en route to a 30-27 game-three win.

Franklin & Marshall carried that momentum into game four, opening up a 14-6 lead. The Blue Jays closed to within five on three occasions, the last coming at 26-21.

However, Elizabeth Earll (Sr., New Freedom, PA/Susquehannock) knocked down three of her team-high 18 kills in the final stretch for a 30-23 victory.

Tied at 12 in the fifth game, O'Callaghan knocked down a kill for a 13-12 advantage. The teams swapped attack errors before O'Callaghan put away her final kill of the afternoon to give Johns Hopkins the match, 15-13.

The Blue Jays opened the match with a 13-6 run en route to a 30-21 victory in game one

Hopkins continued their hot streak in game two the Blue Jays ripped off seven points behind three kills from Baydala to open up a 13-6 lead.

The Diplomats closed to within 21-19 on two straight kills from Elizabeth Haas (So., Wrightsville, PA/Eastern), but could get no closer, and JHU won 30-23.

In addition to O'Callaghan's 21 kills, Jen Hajj added 16 for the Blue Jays and Natalie Fijalkowski had 11. Baydala and Amy Green added 10 kills apiece while Lizzie Kay had a match-high 45 digs.

For F&M, Earll recorded 18 kills in 46 attempts for a .283 percentage, while Taylor added five solo and one assisted block. Further, setter Jackie Skibbie (Jr., Darby, PA/Merion Mercy) tacked on 47 assists and three service aces.

Hopkins will face #1 seed Gettysburg College, which defeated Haverford 3-1 in the second semifinal, at noon on November 7 for the CC crown.

Franklin & Marshall College will now await word from the Eastern College Athletic Conference Division III Volleyball Championship committee regarding a possible berth to the organizations postseason tournament. The field will be announced at noon on Monday.

#3 Johns Hopkins (18-9) 30-30-27-23-15
#2 Franklin & Marshall (20-10) 21-23-30-30-13