The Brandeis volleyball team played three matches this past week, winning one. The Judges traveled to Middlebury College on Sep. 25 for a double-header, losing to Amherst (25-14, 25-19, 25-14) and Middlebury (25-14, 25-15, 25-13). The Judges bounced back on Sep. 28, defeating Saint Joseph’s College of Maine in three sets (25-19, 27-25, 25-7). The Judges are 5-9 on the season and 0-3 in University Athletic Association (UAA) play.
Saturday, Sep. 25, Amherst 3 – Brandeis 0 (25-14, 25-19, 25-14):
Sophomore Ines Grom-Mansenecal ’24 recorded her second consecutive double-double and freshman Lara Verstovsek ’25 added nine kills, but the Judges fell to Amherst in three sets to open their double-header in Middlebury.
After a service error by Amherst, the Judges were down 11-8 in the opening set. The Mammoths went on an 8-3 run, putting the set out of reach. The second set was the most competitive. After a ball handling violation on the Mammoths followed by a kill from senior Stephanie Borr ’22, the Judges led 18-17. Amherst won the next eight points and took a commanding 2-0 lead. In the third set, a kill from Grom-Mansenecal evened the score 10-10. The Mammoths closed out the set and the match by winning 15 of the next 19 points.
The Mammoths had at least 14 kills in each set and had 44 total in the match. Two Amherst players combined for 32 kills, six more than the Judges had as a team in total. For the Judges, Borr had seven kills and senior Kaitlyn Oh ’22 had a team-high 12 digs.
Saturday, Sep. 25, Middlebury 3 – Brandeis 0 (25-14, 25-15, 25-13):
Oh had a match-high 17 digs, but the Judges fell to the Panthers in three sets to close out their double-header in Middlebury.
After a kill by sophomore Rita Lai ’24, the Judges trailed 8-7 in the first set. Middlebury responded with an 11-1 run and took the set 25-14. Lai led the Judges with three kills in the set. The second set was a similar story. Following an attack error by the Panthers, the Judges tied the set at 10-10. Middlebury answered with a 9-1 run and won the set 25-15. The Panthers closed out the match by winning the third set 25-13.
The Judges had a hit percentage of 0.010 compared to Middlebury’s 0.236 hit percentage. Verstovsek had 13 digs in the match, the fifth time she had more than 10 digs in a match this season. Kaisa Newberg ’22, Borr and Grom-Mansenecal each had five kills to pace the Judges’ offense.
Tuesday, Sep. 28, Brandeis 3 Saint Joseph’s (Maine) 0 (25-19, 27-25, 25-7)
Borr tied a career-high with 13 kills and Oh added 14 digs as the Judges snapped a six-game losing streak, defeating the Monks in three sets.
Saint Joseph’s got off to a quick start in the opening set by taking a 14-7 lead. The Judges responded by winning 18 of the next 23 points to take a 1-0. Borr led the Judges with five kills in the set. The Monks started strong again in the second set, going ahead 9-4. The Judges battled back, going on a 13-4 which featured four service aces by Verstovsek. The Monks clawed back and survived two set points to tie the score 25-25. A kill from Grom-Mansenecal and a Monk attack error gave the Judges a 2-0 advantage.
The Judges recorded a season-high 17 service aces. Borr and Verstovsek each had five. Eight different Judges recorded a kill, including Emily Morrison, who got her first kill of the season.
The Judges will next play in the second UAA round-robin on Oct. 3 at Gosman. Brandeis will take on no. 16 New York University at 10 a.m. and no. 23 Washington University at 2 p.m.
