The volleyball team had all the momentum going into the last day of the Amherst Invitational Saturday at Amherst College, but the Judges lost 3-2 to Middlebury College before being shut out by the host 3-0. Coming off a shutout in their home opener versus Eastern Nazarene last Tuesday and a 3-2 win in the Invitational's opening match on Friday, the Judges are 5-7."I think we could have beaten Middlebury and maybe even Amherst, but little breakdowns at certain points in the game stopped us," captain Jenna Polinsky '06 said.

The start of the Amherst Invitational on Friday evening saw an up-and-down match, as the Judges gutted out a five-game match against Trinity College. Brandeis took the first two games, 30-26, 30-23, but dropped the second two 30-25, 30-26. The Judges won the final game 15-12 to clinch the match. Lorraine Wingenbach '09 and Jenny Sandler '08 had 16 kills apiece while rookie setter Violette Ruggiero '09 added 47 assists.

Saturday's matches did not end as promisingly. The Judges were defeated in a mid-morning match against Middlebury College, stretching the match out to five games before dropping the deciding game 15-7. Wingenbach led the team with 21 kills and 21 digs and Sandler followed with 17 kills and 23 digs. Polinsky added 15 kills and 11 digs.

"Obviously being a young team we are going to make those young mistakes, but I don't want to make that out to be an excuse," Kim said. "We still need to work at things and try to eliminate as many mistakes as possible."

The Judges dropped three quick games to host Amherst College in their final match of the tournament.

Facing some of its best competition thus far, the young squad was put to the test. But players say what they really came out with was experience.

"These three [teams] were the best we have seen, but we definitely picked up our game too," Polinsky noted. "We definitely saw how well we could play together and how much potential we have."

Brandeis travels to Cleveland on Saturday to begin a two-day UAA round robin I, in which the Judges open conference play before UAA round robin II the weekend of Oct. 15.

"Even when we play against great schools, we just have to know that we have nothing to lose, whereas they have everything to lose," Kim said. "We just have to go with that attitude, and you never know what is going to happen.