The women’s volleyball team was back in action this past weekend in the New England Invitational hosted by Brandeis. The three-game series for the Judges started on Friday, Sept. 8 with a loss to Bowdoin College. However, the Judges came back strong on Saturday, crushing both Anna Maria College and the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT).
Friday’s game against Bowdoin resulted in a three set loss for the Judges with scores of 25-20, 25-22, 25-17. The judges put up a solid defense with Captain Yvette Cho ’19 with a team high of 15 digs in the game, and rookie Clare Meyers ’21 putting up 10 digs for the Judges. It was the Judges offense that couldn’t seem to come together for them with kill totals spread across four players, but none exceeding the seven kills contributed by Emma Bartlett ’20. The Judges had a team hitting percentage of .144, while Bowdoin’s offense came out on top with a .303 hitting percentage for the game.
The Judges came back strong on the second day of the tournament with three set wins against both Anna Maria college and RIT. In the first game against Anna Maria, the Judges won handily with scores of 25-17, 25-20, 25-13. The Judges blew away the opponents with a .255 hitting percentage compared to Anna Maria’s -.023 percentage for the game. Shea Decker-Jacoby ’19 (a staff writer for The Brandeis Hoot) led the team with 10 kills in the game and a personal hitting percentage of .444. Kirsten Frauens ’19, Marissa Borgert ’21 and Bell Scott ’21 tailed Decker-Jacoby with seven kills each. The setting duties were split between Leah Pearlman ’19 and Megan Osorio Moran ’21. Pearlman proved a force for the Judges on Saturday with some key plays for the Judges and 22 assists in the game. Osorio Moran ’21 held her own as well with 13 assists against Anna Maria. The team’s libero, Yvette Cho ’19, was again the defensive standout for the Judges with a team high of 15 digs in the match.
The Judges didn’t lose their fire going into the second game of Saturday against RIT. The team beat RIT 25-20, 25-11, 25-14, gaining leads on their opponent early in each set. They also dominated offensively with a .308 hitting percentage for the match. Decker-Jacoby served a stellar performance for the Judges against RIT with leading numbers in digs and kills. Brandeis had multiple players contribute to their offense. Decker-Jacoby led with nine kills, Bartlett followed close behind with eight kills and the six other Judges produced at least three kills to help the team toward victory. Pearlman led her team in assists with another strong performance for the Judges. Defensively, Decker-Jacoby led the team in digs against RIT with a season high of 12, while Cho managed 10 digs for the Judges’ defense.
The Judges faced off against the University of Massachusetts Boston at home on Wednesday, losing 1-3. The loss brings the Judges’ record to 4-3 so far this season. The women’s volleyball team will be back in action Saturday against Southern Vermont College at 3 p.m. in the Auerbach Arena at Gosman Athletic Center.
