Johns Hopkins caps perfect season with first DIII volleyball national championship

After starting with 64 teams, Johns Hopkins now stands alone as the 2019 Division III volleyball national champion. The Bluejays won their first title in straight sets, edging defending champion Emory 25-23, 25-22, 25-18. 

CHAMPIONSHIP INFO: View the interactive bracket | Printable bracket | Scores | Title match full replay

In addition to a national championship, Johns Hopkins' victory caps a perfect season at 35-0. The Bluejays, who only dropped one set in become the first unbeaten champions since 1999, dropped just eight sets over the course of the entire season.

The Bluejays' high-powered offense was too much to stop on Saturday. The opening frame was the closest of the match, a set Johns Hopkins committed five errors in. They had two the rest of the way and hit .361 for the match. Junior outside hitter Simone Bliss led all players with 21 kills while senior outside hitter Louisa Kishton paced the Bluejay defense with 14 digs.

Head coach Matt Troy took Johns Hopkins to its first-ever NCAA tournament during his first stint with the team in 2011. Eight years later, he returned and finished the job.

Emory vs. Johns Hopkins: Score, recap

Following Johns Hopkins' four-set semifinal win over Trinity (Texas), Emory joined the Bluejays in the championship match after outlasting Carthage in a thrilling five-frame epic. The stage was set in Cedar Rapids as the defending champs took on a potential first-time champion.

Follow below for updates from Saturday's title match.

Johns Hopkins 25, Emory 18 | Bluejays win 3-0

HISTORY. MADE. Johns Hopkins knocks off defending champion Emory in straight sets. The Bluejays cap their perfect season at 35-0 with their first national championship. 

Johns Hopkins 22, Emory 16 | Set 3

Who else but Bliss? Her 19th kill puts the Bluejays within three of their first national championship.

Johns Hopkins 13, Emory 8 | Set 3

Simone Bliss buries a kill, a match-high 13th, and the Bluejays hold a comfortable lead in the third set as Emory calls timeout. Johns Hopkins is inching closer to history with each point.

Johns Hopkins 25, Emory 22 | Bluejays lead 2-0

Leah Saunders is blocked on match point and the Bluejays take a commanding 2-0 lead over defending champion Emory. Johns Hopkins is now one set away from its first national championship. 

ONE. MORE. #GoHop https://t.co/bVPYiWrahO

— Johns Hopkins Volleyball (@JHUVB) November 24, 2019

Johns Hopkins 19, Emory 18 | Set 2

The Bluejays erase a four-point deficit to pull ahead in the frame with a chance to potentially go ahead two sets. Emory uses another time out in a effort to get back on track.

Emory 15, Johns Hopkins 12 | Set 2

It's been all offense in the second set as both teams are hitting above .300. However, Emory is at .389 with just one error in the period. The Eagles hold a slight edge ahead of a brief stoppage in play.

Johns Hopkins 25, Emory 23 | Bluejays lead 1-0

Johns Hopkins takes the first set after Simone Bliss' sixth kill of the frame made its way to Emory's back line untouched. Eleni Panagopoulos chipped in four kills while Natalie Aston had 12 assists and a pair of service aces. 

Johns Hopkins 17, Emory 17 | Set 1

The defending champs have battled its way back in the opening set. A combined 11 kills from Tara Martin, Morgan McKnight and Leah Saunders has the Eagles' offense in rhythm.

Johns Hopkins 5, Emory 0 | Set 1

The Bluejays open the match on fire, scoring five points right out out the gate including two service aces by Natalie Aston. Emory calls a quick time out to regroup.

Pregame — 7:50 p.m.

A champion will be crowned Saturday night in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Emory, the defending champs, needs three sets to go back-to-back and win its third overall title. The Eagles come into the final match of the season at 34-2, holding the top seed in the 2019 tournament. 

Opposing Emory is Johns Hopkins. The Bluejays are a perfect 34-0 but more than an undefeated record is on the line. Johns Hopkins can win its first title — over the defending champs no less — and become the first champion to finish a season perfect since Central (Iowa) in 1999. 

Below is an updated bracket of the 2019 Division III women's volleyball championship. Continue reading for scores, history and other tournament information.

2019 Division III women's volleyball championship: Bracket

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2019 Division III women's volleyball championship: Schedule, scores, how to watch:

Each quarterfinal, semifinal and national championship game was available to stream live right here on NCAA.com. Below is every result from the 2019 tournament.

CHAMPIONSHIP (Saturday, Nov. 23)

• No. 2 Johns Hopkins 3, No. 1 Emory 0

Previous round results:

FIRST ROUND (Thursday, Nov. 14)

• Hope 3, UT Dallas 2
• Saint Benedict 3, Wisconsin-Eau Claire 1
• Muskingum 3, Wittenberg 1
• Northwestern-St. Paul 3, St. Olaf 1
• Ohio Northern 3, Aurora 0
• Wisconsin-Stevens Point 3, Augsburg 2
• Calvin 3, DePauw 0
• St. Thomas (Minn.) 3, Dubuque 1

FIRST ROUND (Friday, Nov. 15)

• Emory 3, Notre Dame (Md.) 0
• Stevens Institue 3, Carnegie Mellon 0
• Colorado College 3, Whitworth 0
• Johnson & Wales (R.I.) 3, Maine Maritime 1
• Juniata 3, Virginia Wesleyan 2
• Wesleyan (Conn.) 3, St. John Fisher 0
• Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 3, Washington-St. Louis 1
• Babson 3, UMass Boston 0
• Berry 3, Maryville (Tenn.) 0
• Ithaca 3, Morrisville State 0
• Susquehanna 3, Westmin. (Pa.) 0
• Trinty (Texas) 3, Hunter 1
• Carthage 3, Grinnell 0
• Transylvania 3, Birmingham-Southern 1
• Bowdoin 3, Endicott 0
• Stockton 3, Penn State-Behrend 0
• Otterbein 3, Wisconsin-Whitewater 1
• Clarkson 3, Westfield State 0
• Johns Hopkins 3, Manhattanville 0
• Tufts 3, Eastern Nazarene 0
• Christopher Newport 3, Stevenson 1
• Chicago 3, Westmin. (Mo.) 0

SECOND ROUND (Friday, Nov. 15)

• Hope 3, Muskigum 2
• Saint Benedict 3, Northwestern-St. Paul 2
• Calvin 3, Ohio Northern 1

SECOND ROUND (Saturday, Nov. 16)

• Johnson & Wales (R.I.) 3, Babson 1
• Colorado College 3, Berry 0
• Ithaca 3, Wesleyan (Conn.) 2
• Trinity (Texas) 3, Juniata 0
• Carthage 3, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 2
• Stevens Institute 3, Susquehanna 2
• Marymount (Va.) 3, Christopher Newport 2
• Clarkson 3, Wellesley 1
• Emory 3, Transylvania 1
• Bowdoin 3, Tufts 2
• Chicago 3, Otterbein 0
• Johns Hopkins 3, Stockton 0

THIRD ROUND (Saturday, Nov. 16)

• Calvin 3, Hope 1
• Saint Benedict 3, Wisconsin-Stevens Point 2

THIRD ROUND (Sunday, Nov. 17)

• Clarkson 3, Ithaca 2
• Trinity (Texas) 3, Marymount (Va.) 0
• Emory 3, Colorado College 0
• Bowdoin 3, Johnson & Wales 0
• Carthage 3, Chicago 2
• Johns Hopkins 3, Stevens Institute 0

QUARTERFINALS (Thursday, Nov. 21)

• No. 1 Emory 3, No. 8 Clarkson 2
• No. 4 Carthage 3, No. 5 Bowdoin 0
• No. 2 Johns Hopkins 3, No. 7 Saint Benedict 0
• No. 6 Trinity (Texas) 3, No. 3 Calvin 2

SEMIFINALS (Friday, Nov. 22)

• No. 1 Emory 3, No. 4 Carthage 2
• No. 2 Johns Hopkins 3, No. 6 Trinity (Texas) 1 

2019 Division III women's volleyball championship: Automatic qualifiers, at-large berths

Here were the 2019 tournament participants who automatically qualified via conference championships:

The following teams filled out the original field as at large selections:

Pool B Berth (1):

• Marymount (VA)

Pool C Berths (20):

• Augsburg
• Birmingham-Southern
• Bowdoin
• Carnegie Mellon
• Chicago
• Colorado College
• Hope
• Ithaca
• Muskingum
• Otterbein
• Randolph-Macon
• Saint Benedict
• St. Olaf
• Susquehanna
• Washington-St. Louis
• Wellesley
• Wesleyan (CT)
• Wisconsin-Eua Claire
• Wisconsin-Whitewater
• Wittenberg

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2019 Division III women's volleyball championship: History