After a much needed week off and a three game winning streak, the Brandeis women's volleyball team went into its first University Athletic Association weekend in Pittsburgh, excited and ready to compete with the toughest teams out there. Although they faltered in each of their three UAA matches, the Judges held their own against some of the best teams in the nation. The Judges kicked off their first UAA competition weekend on Saturday, competing against currently top-ranked New York University. While the Violets proved to be the better team, Brandeis clearly came out prepared to give it their all. Although NYU swept the match, 3-0 the Judges fought hard the whole way through.

In the first match, the team played hard, but eventually fell to the Violets, 30-23. Although the team did not beat their UAA foes, they improved tremendously just by being able to play the number one team in the country.

"We got a lot out of it," Coach Michelle Kim said. "We came out strong and I was impressed by how much we were able to play with them, but being the number team in the country, they have that ability to pour it all on you."

Despite their tough loss, the Judges went into their next competition versus the University of Rochester Yellow Jackets pumped up and ready to compete on Sunday. While the team did not win the match this time against Rochester, Kim was optimistic about the future.

"I think we can beat them," Kim said. "We will probably see them again in the championships and even though we lost it will be anyone's game."

Even though the Judges dropped the game against the Yellow Jackets, each match was very close as the Judges never lost by more than six points. Rochester swept the Judges in three games winning 30-28, 30-27 and 30-24.

Tired from their intense effort against the Yellow Jackets, the Judges took on the Maroons of the University of Chicago for their second game in a row on Sunday.

Before their tough UAA weekend, after a necessary week off, the Judges came out with a bang going on a three-game winning streak, making their record 6-5 and climbing over the .500 mark for the first time this season. The team played and beat Eastern Nazarene College, Babson College and Emmanuel College, winning 3-2, 3-0 and 3-0, respectively.

In their first game against the Eastern Nazarene Crusaders, the Judges dropped their first two matches, 30-24 and 30-25, but came back to create a stellar turn around and won the last three matches, 32-30, 30-26 and 15-8. Captain Becca Segal '04 led the attack with 20 kills, while Jenna Polinsky '06 paced the defense with 18 digs.

Although the team started slow, Captain Jen Lobban '04 noted that the game was very beneficial in that "We saw the depths of our team and how we can push through and win."

Coming off their big win over Eastern Nazarene, the team hosted the Babson College Beavers for its second home bout of the season. In the matchup, the Judges showed that they were clearly the better team. The team demolished the flat-footed Beavers in three quick games, 30-9, 30-18 and 30-14. It was obvious from the start that the Judges came ready to play as they won the first 10 out of 11 points of the match. Outside hitter Katie Wrynn '08 paced the team offensively with eight kills while fellow rookie libero Shannon Trees '08 led the defense with 13 digs.

"It was good because everyone got to play," Said Lobban of the victory. "We came out looking like more of a team and they weren't expecting it. It was a confidence thing, once we were able to pull off a big win, our mental game changed, we became more enthusiastic."

In the team's final game of the winning streak, the Judges hosted the Emmanuel College Saints. The Judges swept the Saints for their second 3-0 sweep in one week by scores of 30-17, 30-22 and 30-19. The team opened the game with a commanding 19-9 lead against the Saints and never trailed in the first game. During the match, the Judges trailed the Saints only once during the second game when Emmanuel was winning, 9-4.

Statistically, Lobban led the Judges' offense with 13 kills, though Polinsky was not far behind with 11 kills. On the defensive side, Jenny Sandler '08 paced the team with eight digs.