They came into Gosman on a 1-8 slide, but the Judges had only played in the cozy confines of their own gym twice all season. Back at home, the volleyball team found sanctuary in a more familiar setting, tearing through the Judges Classic tournament undefeated to take the win. The Judges went a perfect 5-0, their longest winning streak of the season. After topping Eastern Connecticut State University 3-1 and Gordon College 3-2 on Friday, the Judges went on to knock off Plymouth State 3-1, Newbury College 3-0 and Endicott College 3-1 on Saturday. The Judges also avenged three early-season losses to ECSU, Gordon, and Endicott.

The stifling serves of Shannon Trees '08 were a highlight of the tournament. In the third game against Newbury, Trees served 26 points in a row, setting an NCAA Division III record. She recorded eight aces on her way to breaking the previous record of 23 serves set in 2001.

"Usually when I start serving, I just try to serve kind of easy," Trees said. "However, when I was up there against Newbury, I served for so long that I just kept on serving harder, so anything that was hit back was easy to defend and gave us great chances to get points."

Coach Michelle Kim stressed the role of the entire team in reeling off so many consecutive points.

"She served very consistently, but the team also did a great job of playing defense and turning that into an offense to get the ball back to our side," Kim said.

Trees said her position on the team as a libero doesn't usually call on her to serve.

"It was really exciting because I don't always get to serve, so this was definitely a bonus," she said. "Playing libero, you mostly get recognized for getting a kill, so it was nice to be able to do something different."

In her second-to-last tournament at Brandeis, captain Jenna Polinsky '06 led the team with 11 blocks and posted a career-high 20 kills in the match against Plymouth State.

Jenny Sandler '08 tallied 83 digs to anchor the Judges' defense during the tournament, while Lorraine Wingenbach '09 paced the team on offense, averaging 5.46 kills per game.

The Judges' second match against Gordon was its toughest challenge of the weekend, as they grinded out a five-game victory, 30-27, 24-30, 30-22, 30-32,and 15-12, in what was the longest match of the tournament.

Kim said that the team was energized by playing at home for just the third time this season,

"We have been on the road a long time this season, so just knowing that we were home and playing in front of our crowd was a motivating factor," Kim said. "Having lost to those three teams earlier in the season just got our team even more fired up to win this weekend."

Polinsky expressed particular satisfaction in avenging the Judges' early season losses in what was her last regular season tournament as a Judge.

"We are playing as a team now and not as individuals, and as time goes by we get more and more valuable experience as a team," Polinsky said.

The Judges end their season with the UAA Championships at home next Friday and Saturday.

"I hope that everyone will come with the same attitude that we had this weekend and give it their all," Polinsky said.