Brandeis volleyball lost four matches this week, including matches in the Unicersity Athletic Association (UAA) round-robin where they were defeated by No. 2-ranked Emory University in the second day.
The Judges had a rough start to the two-day long round-robin held in the Shapiro Gymnasium, falling in their first match to Case Western Reserve, 3-1. In their second match, the Judges fell to the 23rd ranked New York University in a 3-0 defeat.
Brandeis did not lose to Case Western without a fight, leading 8-5 in their second game before the Spartans went on a 9-2 run that gave them an impassable 14-10 lead. Outside hitter Paige Blasco ’11 almost brought the Judges victory with four in a row, but Case still ended the game at 25-21.
It looked like the Judges could win the third game with a 7-0 run by Si-Si Hensley ’14 that turned a 17-15 loss into a 22-17 lead. The lead turned into a 25-22 win as Paige Blasco recorded kills on three points. The Spartans took the victory, however, with a 25-19 win in the fourth game.
Overall, middle blocker Nicole Smith ’11 played a solid game with 13 kills, two solo blocks and three block assists. Sophomore Susan Sun had three aces and 19 digs for five points against the Spartans.
Next, the Judges played the New York University Violets, suffering three Brandeis losses. The Judges chased the Violets in the first two games, 25-20, 25-21, with the visitors earning points with the help of two Brandeis errors in the first game.
In the second game, Brandeis was in the lead, scoring the first seven points on their serve, including three aces by Abby Blasco ’11. But the Violets had an ace of their own, which set the score at 13-13. Another Brandeis error gave NYU their first lead of the game, which they eventually won at 25-21.
The third game brought more bad news for the Judges, with the Violets taking an early 8-1 lead from which the Judges never recovered. NYU took the game with a 25-15 win.
The Judges fared no better the second day of the round-robin.
Brandeis started out strong but suffered a 3-0 loss to Emory. At first, the Judges kept up with the nationally ranked Emory, leading the Eagles 12-9 before the visitors could regain control of the game. Emory took the game 19-25, despite Paige Blasco’s nine kills and an ace and sophomore Lauren Berens’ five kills and one ace.
Next, the judges were up against the Carnegie Mellon Tartans. Though the judges pushed the match to four games, they ultimately lost 3-1 (18-25, 20-25, 25-16, 14-25).
Smith played a solid game in the third game with 13 kills, two solo blocks and three block assists. Paige Blasco had 12 kills and 12 digs, while her twin sister, Abby, had two aces and 15 digs. Sun had three aces and 19 digs, but it was not enough to beat the Tartans.
