The women’s volleyball team split two games this week to put their record at 4-5 for the year.

The Judges had a tough day at the Clark Athletic Gym on Wednesday, as University of Massachusetts-Boston had no trouble winning the match in straight sets, 3-0.  However, the squad came back with a strong  performance on Friday and defeated Bates College 3-1.

Judges 3, Bates 1

Brandeis struggled in the first set against Bates to go down 1-0 in the match, but they never backed down.  They won the next three sets, and the match, by scores of 21-25, 25-23, 28-26 and 25-23.

Outside hitter Jessie Moore ’18 had a career game for the Judges.  She shattered her previous best of 10 digs in a match by way of 21 for the day and registered her first-ever double-double by adding 11 kills.  Outside hitter Shea Decker-Jacoby ’19 and middle hitter Emma Bartlett ’20 each had 11 kills, as well.  Libero Yvette Cho ’19 was a leader on the court and showed why she is team captain.  Cho led the match with 23 digs and registered four service aces to bring her season total up to 13 over nine matches.  Setter Leah Pearlman ’19 also had a terrific performance with a career-best 32 assists for the match.

Every set of this match was extremely close in margin and hard fought by both teams.  However, the Judges put their tenacity on display once again and came out on top.  This resilient squad should not be overlooked down the stretch, as the Judges made a forceful statement with this win.

Judges 0, UMass-Boston 3

Brandeis bounced back against Bates but were crushed by UMass-Boston earlier in the week by scores of 8-25, 10-25 and 11-25.  The Judges struggled mightily with a kill percentage of .131 for the match, compared to the astounding number put up by UMass-Boston of .437.  However, Cho led either team with 12 digs, and setter Marlee Nork ’19 led the Judges with seven assists.  

This was not the kind of performance the Judges were looking for in trying to break out of their three-game losing streak, but it presented an opportunity for the squad to pick themselves up, display their toughness and prove to be a competitive team not to be taken lightly.  Avid fans have every reason to be optimistic for the upcoming stretch of games, as the team showed what they were made of just two days later against Bates.

Furthermore, the Judges are leaps and bounds ahead of where they were last year.

Through nine matches, the squad already has a higher average of kills, assists, blocks, service aces and digs per set, as well as a higher season hitting percentage.  Additionally, the Judges, again in just nine matches, are only one win away from their 2015 total of 5 (through 32 matches).

Brandeis has shown drastic improvement from last season.  They are an incredibly talented team that just needs to show consistency.  Coming into this week, the Judges were in a slump.  Entering next week, they will be coming off a proud victory, filled with career-best performances from numerous players.  It will be interesting to see whether they can build off this momentum and become the dominant squad they absolutely have the potential to be moving forward.

Brandeis’ regular season continues on Thursday at 7 p.m. against Emerson College.