This week, Goliath, in the form of the Brandeis women's volleyball team, slew not one, but two David's, toppling both Endicott College and Clark University Saturday at Gosman. While Endicott was defeated 3-1, Clark fell 3-0.In their first match of the day, the Judges (6-1) faced Endicott College (3-5), a team which finished fourth in the last week's Springfield Invitational Tournament (where the Judges placed second). Given that fact, Brandeis should have had no trouble beating the Gulls, and that turned out to be the case in the first game. The Judges cruised to an easy 30-15 victory, including winning six of the final nine points.

The second game looked a lot like the first, at least initially, as Brandeis jumped out to an early 5-2 lead. But as so often happens when a strong team is easily beating a weaker opponent, the Judges began to cruise and Endicott rallied to take a 10-6 lead.

Brandeis was able to regain the lead briefly at 12-11, but would trail the remainder of the game before finally falling 30-27. Sophomore Patty Mikan closed out the game for the Gulls with one kill and two hard-hit balls which the Judges were unable to return.

"I think our energy level was a little low in the second game," said Co-captain Isabel de Koninck '04. "We could have played a little more aggressively..."

In the third game, Brandeis got back on track, jumping out to a 17-9 lead. But scrappy Endicott was not simply content to take a game from the Judges, and fought to capture the next as well. The Gulls stormed back, winning 12 of the next 16 points to tie the game at 21. Brandeis was able to regain its composure, however, and hold on for a 30-25 win.

The second and third games seemed to sap the Gulls' strength, and though the score stood at 10-7 early in the fourth game, Brandeis never lost control and took the deciding game 30-19. This game was highlighted by Shannon Eagan's '05 outstanding serving. With the game at 8-7 in favor of Brandeis, Eagan served an ace and then four consecutive service winners to pluck the Gulls for good.

Eagan finished with eight service aces in the match as well as a career-high 42 assists. Also starring for the Judges in the match were Co-captain Marni Kutok '04, who had 18 kills and Jen Lobban '05, who provided 14 kills and just one error in 31 attempts.

Even though Endicott is a mediocre team compared to Brandeis, they proved that the Judges cannot afford to cruise at any time.

"The easy first game affected the second game," de Koninck said. "We thought we'd just roll over them, but clearly no team rolls over."

The Endicott match, slightly more competitive than most thought it would be, was very valuable for the Judges, because it gave them a chance to test some new strategies.

"We worked on our offense a lot this week. Our goal is to make our offense faster, and I was pleased with how that went," Coach Sheryl Sousa said.

The Judges would find themselves equally pleased after their 3-0 route of Clark University (0-4) in their second match of the day.

Brandeis dominated all aspects of the first game with all members of the team contributing to a 30-8 trouncing of the visiting Cougars.

In the second and third games, several Brandeis first-years were given a chance to gain some valuable experience as the Judges notched two more easy game victories, 30-16 and 30-10.

"Billie (Hall '07) and Jessica (Chapman '07) both did a great job," Sousa remarked. "Billie played strong defense and Jessica blocked pretty well at the net."

Jenna Polinsky '06 paced the Judges on offense, converting nine of her 13 attacks and adding 10 digs on defense. Eagan had six more service aces and 23 assists.

After Saturday's games, the Judges feel good, but at the same time they are aware that a more demanding schedule awaits.

"I think we're pretty confident, but at the same time we're humbled," Becca Segal '05 said.

The Endicott-Clark double-header should serve as an important tune-up as the Judges look to the beginning of the UAA schedule with the UAA Round Robin Oct. 3-4 at Washington University.

The UAA is very strong this year, featuring three teams ranked in the top 25 in the country for Division III volleyball. The Bears of Wash U. are fourth, Emory is ninth and New York University stands at number 25. Sousa relishes the challenge of preparing for the nation's best.

"We're really spending the month of September getting ready for the UAA, and next weekend will be a good test," she said.

Beginning next Friday, the Judges will play in the Brandeis Invitational Tournament. On Friday Brandeis will play Bridgewater State at 4p.m. followed by Hunter College at 8p.m. On Saturday, the Judges will face McDaniel College at noon and U.S. Merchant Marine Academy at 3p.m.