The Judges won one match 3-1 against Clarkson but lost another 0-3 against Tufts at the Judges Classic Saturday. The team also lost 3-1 in the first day of the classic against UMass Boston on Oct. 29.
The Judges dropped the opener of the 2010 Judges Classic in Auerbach Arena with game scores of 25-15, 22-25, 26-24 and 25-19. The women’s volleyball team fell behind 5-1 early in the first game and was unable to recover, eventually falling 25-15. The Judges fought for the second game and raced to a 5-1 lead but the UMass Beacons were able to tie it at 9-9. As the teams fought it out, the lead was never greater than two points until the end of the game, which ended at 22-25. Lauren Berens ’13 had kills, as did senior setter Abby Blasco, which led the team to take the match.
The third game was equally dramatic and neither team was able to establish a rhythm. UMass Boston took a 21-20 lead until Paige Blasco ’11 got kills on three straight points and forced the Beacons to take a timeout trailing 23-21. Finally, UMass Boston got their act together and took five of the last six pints of the game. Outside hitter Corrine Porter ’14 and middle hitter Alexa Sullivan ’13 had kills in the stretch and helped to block the wining point.
In the fourth game, Brandeis got off to a 7-2 lead but the Beacons were able to take their first lead at 18-17 and closed out the match on an 8-2 run.
Paige Blasco had a .295 hitting percentage with 17 kills and just four errors in 44 attempts, which helped place the team. Blasco had 31 assists and 11 digs, tied with Susan Sun ’13 for a team high. Nicole Smith ’11 and Becca Fischer ’13 tied for team high honors at the net with four blocks each. Fischer had three solo blocks and Smith had one.
The Judges split the games on the second day of the classic, defeating Clarkson University 3-1 but falling to Tufts University 0-3.
Brandeis (14-16) had a difficult match against the Jumbos (18-9), and fell to Tufts 3-0, (13-25, 19-25, 8-25). Abby Blasco again played strong, notching seven points with six kills and no errors. Her twin sister Paige earned 8.5 points.
But if the Judges were no match for the Jumbos, they were able to overcome the Clarkson University Golden Knights (24-8), and defeated them 3-1 (25-15, 26-24, 21-25, 25-22). The Judges were able to come back in the second set from at least six points down to win the set. Smith recorded four solo blocks, three block assists, two aces and 13 kills for 21.5 points in the match. Paige Blasco again played a strong game and this time led the team in kills with 16, for 18.5 points in the match. Sun had three aces and 18 digs.
All-tournament team honors went to Shanon Thompson from UMass Boston, Sara Artus from Clarckson, Audrey Kuan from Tufts and Smith from Brandeis. Jumbo Kendall Lord was named the tournament MVP.
The Judges next match will be at the University Athletic Association Volleyball Championships next weekend, Nov. 5 and 6, hosted by Case Western Reserve University.
