The women’s volleyball team struggled this past week, dropping four of their five games to bring their record to 7-10 overall on the season.

Judges 1, Salve Regina 3

The Judges ended their week by battling against a tough Salve Regina University team, but lost the match 3-1 by scores of 25-20, 20-25, 25-27 and 20-25. Brandeis came out strong in taking the first set with a fantastic kill percentage of .444. However, although the next three sets were very close, the team was simply outmatched and unable to come out on top.  

Outside hitter Shea Decker-Jacoby ’19 was the clear offensive leader in the match, with 18 kills and a remarkable .375 kill percentage. Fellow outside hitter Grace Krumpack ’19 had an impressive double-double with 11 kills and a team-leading 20 digs, while libero Yvette Cho ’19 registered 17 digs of her own. Setter Marlee Nork ’19 had a great performance with 44 assists and helped to keep each and every set close for the Judges.

Judges 3, Eastern Conn. 1

Earlier that day, Brandeis asserted its dominance over a strong Eastern Connecticut State University squad with a 3-1 victory by scores of 25-14, 20-25, 25-20 and 25-17. The Judges struggled somewhat in the middle two sets but pulled it together when they needed to most, with posted solid kill percentages above .300 in the first and last sets of the match to pick up the win.

Nork had another standout performance with her first of two 40-assist matches on the day, and furthered her excellent regular season of serving with two service aces. Cho was all over the court defensively and registered 20 solid digs. Both Decker-Jacoby and Krumpack led the way for the Judges with 11 incredible kills each.  

Judges 0, Carnegie Mellon 3

The Judges came back strong against Eastern Connecticut, but they were defeated 3-0 by a forceful Carnegie Mellon University team a few days prior by scores of 13-25, 16-25 and 23-25.  The Judges were outmatched in this one, as well, though they drastically improved with each set and never backed down from a tough fight.  

Though the squad struggled, Nork had a nice game with five kills, 18 assists, two service aces and seven digs.  Cho was tied for the lead on either team with 16 digs and had a service ace of her own.

Earlier in the week, the Judges were shut out 3-0 in their two games in Pittsburgh against the tough University of Chicago and Washington University.

The Judges have found success at home this year and have a 5-4 record at Gosman.  However, the squad is a combined 2-6 on the season at away or neutral stadiums.  Talent and heart are there for Brandeis, but this team might want to reconsider their strategies for the road moving forward to match their relatively strong play at home.  

The team has four straight home games coming up and will look to continue their success at Gosman this Saturday at 10:30 a.m. against the University of Rochester in the University Athletic Association Round Robin.

The team has already surpassed its win total from the previous season and will look to even out their record in the coming weeks. With seven wins under their belt, the team’s confidence is steady.