At home and slightly hobbling with one starter injured, captain Shannon Trees 08, the Judges were more than a match for the Lasell Lasers, who really had no answer to the Judges onslaught. Missing three starters of their own, the Lasers fell 3-0, never once coming close in lopsided affairs of 30-13, 30-8, 30-15.
I knew coming into the match, we were the stronger team, I did not realize that they had three of their starters injured and couldnt play, definitely was a match that we should have dominated and we did, Coach Michelle Kim said.
The first game featured three aces for the first three points from rookie Piera Carfagno 10, paving the way for an easy win. In game two, Lasell managed to knot the game up at 3-3 but the Judges went on a 7-1 run and, after a Lasell timeout, a 20-4 run to finish game two. Game three was even tighter with Brandeis at one point barely ahead 12-10. Picking up 18 of the final 20 points of the match, rookie Bridget McAllister 10 finished the match the way it began in game one with a service ace.
In a team effort, McAllister achieved statistical dominance with a team leading 10 kills and eight digs, as well as contributing six blocks and six service aces. Setter Violette Ruggiero 09 followed up her All-Tournament weekend with 21 assists, eight digs, and four aces. Lorraine Wingenbach '09 also contributed seven kills. Every player on the Brandeis roster saw action against Lasell, including Liana Chen 10. Lasell was led by Kelsey Schmidt with four kills, while Heather Rose contributed six digs.
The win comes after a tough weekend at the Hall of Fame Tournament where the Judges split four games, beating Bowdoin and Wellesley but falling to MIT and Springfield.
This weekends tournament was different from some of the other tournaments that we go to because its a results-based tournament, each time you win, you play a tougher opponent, Coach Kim explained.
Having to compete without Trees in the tournament, the Judges started strong, sweeping Bowdoin 3-0 (30-22, 30-26, 30-18). McAllister had an excellent game with 10 kills, three blocks and five service aces. Wingenbach offered up eight kills, four digs and three aces, while Ruggiero provided 31 assists and eight digs. The momentum was not enough, however, as the team fell to MIT 0-3 (24-30, 20-30, 28-30). Wingenbach and McAllister had nine kills each and Ruggiero had 27 assists.
In day two, Brandeis once again started strong, sweeping away Wellesley 3-0 (30-23, 30-26, 30-17). Carfagno led the Judges, notching a double-double with 12 kills and 10 digs, Wingenbach barely missed a double-double herself with 10 kills and nine assists while Ruggiero had 29 assists. In their final match for fifth place however, the Judges were unable to pull it out against Springfield, falling 1-3 (25-30, 30-25, 24-30, 28-30). McAllister had 17 kills while Wingenbach notched a double-double with 13 kills and 11 digs. Ruggiero, who took All-Tournament honors, had 48 assists and nine digs, giving her an average of over 10 digs per game in the tournament.
The team has just two events left: Hosting the Judges Classic Oct. 27-28 against Endicott, PSU, Gordon, and St. Josephs, and the UAA Championships at Carnegie Mellon the next week. Currently 13-14, Coach Kim expressed optimism about the remained of the season, Weve been playing better these past two weeks. I hope that we continue to peak and get better these next two weeks for the UAAs.
