BALTIMORE, Md.—The William Smith volleyball team's historic season came to a close this evening as it fell in four sets to top-seeded Johns Hopkins in the second round of the 2025 NCAA tournament. With the loss, the Herons concluded their season with a 24-8 overall record, while the No. 6 Blue Jays improve to 27-4 and advance to tomorrow's regional championship match against La Verne.
 
The second-round matchup saw an intense battle between William Smith and Johns Hopkins. The Herons combined for 40 kills (.083) as a team, while the Blue Jays put down 49 kills (.223) in the four-set victory. Johns Hopkins held an 11-5 edge in service aces as well as a 14-11 advantage in blocks, while the Herons held a 67-65 edge in digs in the thriller.
 
Senior outside Malya Sayre led William Smith with a match-high 17 kills (.130) and 14 digs for her 12th double-double of the season. She added three blocks and three service aces in the loss. Sophomores Arielle Newsome (.375) and Emily Fulton (.000) added six kills each for the Herons. Newsome tallied a season-high nine blocks, while Fulton added 12 digs, and two service aces in the loss.
 
Simone Adam led Johns Hopkins with 12 kills (.188), eight digs, and two service aces. Helena Swaak tallied 20 assists, 11 kills (.233), seven digs and five blocks in the win.

MATCH MOMENTS:

• Hopkins came out hot in the opening set, firing off a match-high 13 kills (.132) and holding William Smith to a match-low six kills (-.031). Despite a late comeback by the Herons, the Blue Jays closed out the opening set on top 25-19.
• The Blue Jays continued on their momentum into the second set, hitting a match-high .297, while putting down 12 kills. The Herons responded with 12 kills (.095) of their own but added eight hitting errors, handing Johns Hopkins a 25-20 win in set two.
• William Smith responded well in the must-win third set, putting down a match-high 13 kills (.194), while holding Johns Hopkins to a match-low 12 kills (.108). A kill by Newsome followed by a block from Newsome and Sayre would close out the third in favor of the Herons 25-22.
• Hopkins jumped out to a 5-2 lead to open the fourth set and never looked back. The Blue Jays put together several scoring runs and maintained the momentum through the fourth as they closed out the match with a 25-13 win in set four.

MATCH STATS:

• Sayre paced the Herons with 17 kills (.130), while Newsome (.375) and Fulton (.000) chipped in six kills each. Senior Jaylynn McCarthy added five kills (.111) out of the middle, while senior Hope Von Dohlen added three kills in the loss. Junior Maren Hunt chipped in two kills for William Smith.
• Sophomore setter Delainy Williams tallied a match-high 33 assists through four sets. She added seven digs, two blocks and one kill for the Herons.
• William Smith combined for 67 digs as a team and was led by sophomore libero Kali Vanderhoof with a match-high 21. Sayre added 14 digs, while Fulton chipped in 12. Williams and senior Marin Montagne added seven digs each.
• The Herons tallied 11 blocks as a team and were led by a season-high nine blocks by Newsome. Sayre and Hunt chipped in three blocks each, while Williams and Fulton added two blocks each in the setback.

COACHES CORNER:

"What an amazing year!" said Head Coach Derryk Williams. "I have the highest admiration for this group of women and how they continued to battle tonight and all year. I want to thank our seniors for making me a better coach, person, and for creating a legacy that will live on forever. It was an incredible year and I am so honored I got to lead this group"

PRESS CONFERENCE:


 
CLASS OF 2026:
 
The inaugural class of the William Smith volleyball program concluded their careers with a 77-31 overall record through their four years as Herons. Marin Montagne, Jaylynn McCarthy, Malya Sayre, Cydney Fernandez and Hope Von Dohlen were key pieces to a Heron squad that made two-straight NCAA tournament appearances and three-straight Liberty League title match appearances.