Brandeis women’s volleyball team had a busy start to spooky season playing Bates College on Friday the 13th, followed by a double header with Worcester State and Amherst College the following day. The Judges lost their first set 25-17, but made a strong comeback beating the Bates Bobcats in the second set. They were up 9-1 early in the set and although the Bobcats made some great plays, Brandeis was able to secure the set 26-24. The Judges began their third set down 7-0 thanks to a fantastic serving streak by Bates’ Ruby Lightbourn. As the set continued the Judges found themselves down 16-7, but Belle Scott ’21 had a run of six serves. Unfortunately for the Judges, this was not enough and they lost the set 27-25. The Judges began the fourth set hoping to push the game to a fifth but were unable to do so and lost the set 25-19, losing the game 3-1. Bates played a better game overall leading in hitting percentage (0.135-0.086), digs (77-68) and aces (15-3); however, Brandeis did win the battle of blocks 10-8.

Unfazed by the loss to Bates, Brandeis swept Worcester State winning three sets back to back to back. The first set between the Judges and the Lancers was a battle, but Brandeis came out on top winning the set 25-19. The two following sets were light work for the Judges, who were able to hold the Lancers to only six points each set. This win can no doubt be attributed to the hitting percentage of 0.296 for the Judges compared to the Lancers -0.013. These percentages paired with the 15 aces for Brandeis put this game in the bag. 

The second game in this double header did not go as smoothly for the Judges as the first. Amherst, who prior to this game were 5-0, won the first set 25-13. The second set went even worse for the Judges who lost 25-10. The third and final set was the Brandeis team’s best showing of the game, but they still came up short, losing 25-15. The Judges’ hitting percentage plummeted from earlier in the day to 0.04, while the Mammoths achieved a significantly better percentage of 0.38. Amherst played a great game, defeating the Judges and remaining undefeated with a record of 6-0. Stay tuned as the Brandeis women’s volleyball team prepares to play Emory University, Carnegie Mellon University and University of Rochester in the first round of the University Athletic Association Round Robin this weekend.