The women’s volleyball team was unable to break out of its ongoing slump after losing all three of its matches this week.

Brandeis was shut out 3-0 by Rivier University on Tuesday and then narrowly lost both their matches on Saturday against Roger Williams University and Babson College 3-1 and 3-2, respectively.

Judges 2, Babson 3

The Judges ended their week with a close contest against Babson but lost 3-2 by scores of 25-22, 25-18, 14-25, 24-26 and 11-15.  The match looked promising after the squad took the first two sets with much higher kill rates than Babson.  However, they were unable to build off that momentum, dropping the next three sets and the match.

Outside hitter Shea Decker-Jacoby ’19 had an impressive performance for the Judges with seven digs, two service aces and a team-high 13 kills.  Middle hitter Emma Bartlett ’20 and outside hitter Jessie Moore ’18 each had four digs and combined for 18 kills.  Furthermore, Moore had a solo block and Bartlett registered two block assists for the match.  Setter Marlee Nork ’19 was a clear leader on the floor once again, recording 36 assists, six digs and three service aces.  Defensively, libero Yvette Cho ’19 led the match with 22 digs and had a team-high four service aces to continue her remarkably successful season of serving.  In addition, middle hitter Kirsten Frauens ’19 was a force at the net with two solo blocks and two block assists.  Frauens also had seven kills for the match. 

Judges 1, Roger Williams 3

Earlier that day, Brandeis struggled against Roger Williams and lost the match 3-1 by scores of 29-27, 17-25, 17-25 and 16-25.  Once again, the Judges started the match strong by taking the first set but were unable to capitalize on their early momentum.  They have all the assets and ability to win but need to figure out how to carry that strategy with them throughout the entirety of their regular-season matches.

Decker-Jacoby once again led the team offensively with 14 kills, while Nork added a team-high 33 assists.  Cho and fellow libero Doyeon Kim ’20 combined for 27 digs.  Defensive specialist Lia Goldberg ’18 stepped it up with 11 digs and registered two service aces for the match.  Middle hitter Jessica Kaufman ’17 made her presence known on defense as well with two solo blocks and a block assist.  Bartlett and Moore combined for 15 kills as they continued to prove themselves as legitimate offensive weapons for the squad. 

Judges 0, Rivier 3

Brandeis started its week with a tough shutout loss to Rivier 3-0 by scores of 14-25, 16-25 and 22-25.  The Judges played their best in the final set but were simply outplayed by the dominant Rivier squad, who picked up their 26th victory of the season.

While Brandeis struggled to put much together on offense, Frauens, Kaufman and Bartlett combined for five block assists for the Judges. Cho and Kim combined for 18 digs for the match. 

It has been a tough season for the Brandeis women’s volleyball team, as they have now lost nine straight games.  However, they have an immense amount of young talent and can look to grow and improve from their losses.  The Judges can only go up from here moving forward, and it will be exciting to see what lies ahead for the squad.