The Brandeis women’s volleyball team took on their first opponents of the season Tuesday. The Judges took on Babson and Colby-Sawyer College at Colby-Sawyer. The Judges split the games, losing to Babson, 3-0 and beating Colby-Sawyer College, 3-2, in an extensive two-hour match. The double header starts the Judges off with 1-1 record on their season.
In the first game against Babson, a team that made the NCAA tournament last year, the Judges got off to a slow start in the first set with a loss of 25-9, but picked up as the game went on, as the Judges gave Babson a game in the second and third sets with scores for 25-14, 25-17. A first-year shined for the Judges as middle hitter Kirsten Frauens ’19 accumulated seven kills and a .412 hitting percentage. However, the rest of the Judges’ hitters struggled as none of Frauens’ teammates managed a hitting percentage better than .100 for the game against Babson.
After the tough loss against Babson, the Judges came out full force against Colby-Sawyer College. The Judges went all five sets with the Chargers and kept each set close. The Judges couldn’t shake their losing streak in the first set, dropping 21-25. However, they answered in the second set with a 25-18 win. The pattern of back and forth continued as the Chargers answered in the third set with a tight score of 25-23, but the Judges took the fourth set 25-17. The Judges couldn’t be edged after their victory in the fourth set and went on to secure the game with a fifth set win of 15-7.
The players came alive after not performing in the first game. The first-years again stepped up, as outside hitter Shea Decker-Jacoby ’19 had her first double-digit kill match with 10 kills in the game against Colby-Sawyer College. The Judges’ new setter, rookie Leah Pearlman ’19, had a terrific match, contributing 20 assists, six kills which lead to a .455 hitting percentage and 5 service aces. Adding to the freshman contributions was libero Yvette Cho ’19 with 27 digs to strengthen the Judges’ defense. To round out the astounding comeback by the Judges, middle hitter Maddie Engeler ’16 contributed eight kills on the offensive side, and a team-high five blocks for the Judges on defense.
With a slow start against Babson, the Judges came alive and finished strong against Colby Sawyer College. Brandeis continues their season with their home opener as part of the Brandeis Invitational, a two-day tournament in the Gosman athletic center this coming weekend. The Judges will face Johnson & Wales at 5 p.m. and Wellesley at 7 p.m. on Friday night and Endicott at 12 p.m. and Southern Maine at 2 p.m. on Saturday.
