The volleyball team split its two matches at Endicott College on Saturday, losing first to Endicott 3-0 before bouncing back to topple Clark University 3-0. The team came into Endicott having lost a match 3-0 earlier in the week to regional foe MIT, and dropped to a 3-4 record at week's end. "In the first game [versus Endicott], we were definitely the better team," captain Jenna Polinsky '06 said. "But we were up and down and didn't play together as a team. [Versus Clark] we picked it up and showed that we were the better team and that we could work together."

The Judges ended the week on a high note, shutting out Clark in three straight sets, 30-19, 30-19 and 30-21. Lorraine Wingenback '09 led the team with 14 kills and nine digs while fellow rookie Violette Ruggerio '09 served up 24 assists. Shannon Trees '08 contributed to the Judges' defense with 10 digs.

"We went into the Clark match more focused and definitely made fewer errors and more aces," coach Michelle Kim said.

Earlier in the day, in the opener versus Endicott, the Judges dropped three consecutive games, 30-23, 31-29 and 30-25.

"I think everyone realized Endicott was a beatable team," Kim said. "And I think we just lost it by making a lot of errors."

The team's match against MIT last Tuesday was no better, as Brandeis lost three straight games 30-20, 30-23 and 30-26. Jenny Sandler '08 recorded a double-double and led the team with 14 digs and 14 kills while Trees recorded 10 digs.

"We had amazing defense," Trees said. "But offensively we weren't using smart shots, so while we played with them the whole time we weren't playing as smart as we could have been playing."

The Judges have quickly slid to a losing record in their young season, and players said they aren't satisfied.

"We haven't gotten to our best yet," Trees said. "We still have three first-years on the court, so we really need to work on communication. We are a young team so it's hard for that to just come right away."

Kim echoed Trees' sentiment, saying, "We are really a brand -new team on the court and we're not mind readers so we need to focus more on talking, and that's something that we'll continue to work on until it becomes automatic for us."

Kim also said that there is more the team needs to improve upon than just communications-the team has another problem: errors. In the Judges' loss against Endicott, the team produced 15 service errors, a number Kim said is unacceptably high.

"It's hard to win matches when you make errors that you have control over," Kim said. "And service errors are definitely something you have control over, so that's something we definitely have to work on. You just can't win matches that way."

The Judges look to even out their record today at 7 p.m. against host Emmanuel College.