The women’s volleyball team gained its second win of the year at the Trinity College Invitational in a sweep of Eastern Connecticut State University on Saturday afternoon but could not keep their momentum going against Western New England University in a five-set loss to the Golden Bears.

The Judges also squared off against the hosts on Friday evening, dropping their match in straight sets and now sit at 2-7 overall on the year. 

Outside hitter Jessie Moore ’18, who recorded 24 kills on the weekend, said she was impressed with the team’s performances even amid mixed results.

“Our team had some ups and downs this weekend,” she said. 

“The fight to win was always there, but consistency lacked at times. When the team was on our game, we were on our game. We had an incredible 3-0 win that involved some amazing plays that took a true team effort.”

Brandeis fell in a tough match against the Golden Bears 25-17, 13-25, 25-10, 20-25, 15-7 but managed to finish the game with a higher kill percentage than their opponents. 

The Judges twice tied the game at 1-1 and 2-2 but could  not pull out the five-set victory over Western New England.

Outside hitter Liz Hood ’15 led the offense with 13 kills and added a trio of digs and has 59 total for the year. 

She was closely followed on the scoresheet by fellow outside hitter Maddie Engeler ’16, whose 12 kills for the game—part of 31 for the weekend—gave her a team-leading 77 for the year. Engeler also added six digs for the game.

Setter Julie Kim ’18 picked up 32 of the Judges’ 37 assists in the contest, while outside hitter Shemira Pennyman ’15 added 20 of the squad’s 50 digs for the afternoon. Though the Judges stormed back from a 2-1 deficit with a 25-20 victory in the fourth set, the squad continued their struggles this year in the fifth set, dropping the set 15-7 and conceding the match to the Golden Bears.

Moore said she thought the team can improve their game in the fifth set through some fine-tuning during practice. 

“We have struggled to finish long games and are working on this continuously,” she said. “We push harder at practice when we are tired. Coach [Vaccari] tells us, ‘good after   good after good.’ We run sprints then must get aggressive serves in.  As a team, we must all want the win.”

Earlier in the weekend the squad swept the Eastern Connecticut State University Warriors with a 25-18, 25-20, 25-23 score. 

The Judges had four players record eight or more kills for the game, led by Engeler’s 12. 

Moore had a strong game as well with eight kills, three digs and a block assist and said she was able to use the help of her teammates on the court to produce a strong all-around game.

“I was able to score my team points by strategically placing each ball in open spots on the court,” she said. 

“With the help of Engeler, we also had a few very successful stuff blocks. Staying aggressive and consistent, I was able to score my team some points this weekend.”

Kim recorded her first career double-double with 31 of the Judges’ 37 assists and 10 digs for the game. 

She was one of three members of the team to record double-digit digs on the afternoon en route to 48 team digs in the win.

The Judges were forced into just four errors in the first set for a .375 kill percentage in the set and a .240 kill percentage overall in the win.

Moore led the Judges’ offense in a 25-18, 25-19, 25-20 defeat to Trinity on Friday evening with a team-leading 10 kills and only committed three offensive errors. 

The Judges had two players record double-digit digs and three others record at least five kills in the loss.

Middle blocker Summer Koop ’16 recorded nine kills during the game and was charged with just a single error for a team-high .471 percent kill percentage on the game.

 Koop added a pair of digs and a block assist as well.

Even amid the loss, Moore said the squad showed their ability during the weekend to play a defensive-first game designed to force the opposition to make a mistake.

“We definitely have begun to develop the defensive minded identity,” she said. 

“We no longer let one loss defeat us. We continue to fight through every point. 

“We have not fully developed this identity because when we do we will be unstoppable and fearless.”

The Judges return to action tonight at 7 p.m. for a home match against Wheaton College, before welcoming Emerson College on Thursday night at 7 p.m.