The women's volleyball team was able to rebound after starting out 1-2 at the Brandeis Invitational last weekend by defeating Babson College last Saturday in the team's final meet. The Judges' victory concluded the two-day annual invitational that hosted nine teams from across New England.Brandeis defeated Rhode Island College 3-0 to open the invitational but lost to Williams College and Tufts University, 3-1 and 3-0, respectively, before beating Babson 3-0 to finish the invitational with a 2-2 record.

In the game against Babson, the Judges took three straight sets, 25-20, 25-9 and 25-20. The offensive attack was led by outside hitter/middle blocker Bridget McAllister '10, who led the team with seven kills. Right setter Piera Carfagno '10 was second to McAllister in kills, as Carfagno had six kills in the win.

In the first set of the match, the Beavers served five shots into the net, aiding the Judges to a tight win. The first set highlighted middle blocker Nicole Smith's '11 defensive game, where she contested and blocked several of the Beavers' attempted kills. Smith, who earned All-tournament honors, had 12 blocks in the entire tournament, to go along with 27 kills.

"[Smith] had a great weekend," coach Michelle Kim said. "She blocked really well, which helped out our defense. She was a big part of our offense too. She was very efficient getting kills and missing errors."

The second set was an easy victory for the Judges, as Babson continued to be plagued by errors. Brandeis also fed off of the hustle and play of middle blocker/right setter Becca Fischer '13, who fueled and energized the team.

Kim said she has been very pleased with Fischer's play as a rookie this season.

"[Fischer] is definitely coming along," Kim said. "She is very coachable. She is still improving, and as long as she continues to improve, I think she will have a good future."

Smith, who plays the same position as Fischer, also highlighted Fischer's improvement since the beginning of the season.

"I think she has improved greatly," Smith said. "She has played very well at the net, blocking-wise."

In the third and final set, the Judges prevailed again by the same score as the first set. Despite controlling the beginning of the game, the Beavers pulled within a few points toward the end of the match, making it 23-20. However, the kills and overall play of McAllister and Fischer preserved the win, ending the Judges' two-game losing streak.

Earlier in the day the Judges were unable to take a single set from Tufts, as the Jumbos won 27-25, 25-15, 25-19. Tufts was able to control the flow of the game in each set, forcing Brandeis to play from behind for most of the match.

Despite the tough loss, Kim recognized that her team needs to improve on certain aspects of its game in order to beat Tufts, a team they face at home on Sept. 22.

"[To beat Tufts], we need to clean up our passing and defense," Kim said. "Our blockers need to be disciplined. We know we have it in us to challenge them."

In their first game of the tournament last Friday, the Judges defeated Rhode Island College in three sets by scores of 25-14, 25-12, 25-20. Setter Abby Blasco '11 had 39 of the team's 40 assists in the match, and the offensive attack of outside hitter Paige Blasco '11, Fischer, McAllister, and Smith were able to finish off the Anchorwomen.

Later, the Judges faced the Ephs of Williams College, who defeated the Judges in a tight four-set match. The Judges won the first set 25-20, but after losing the second set 25-23, Brandeis was unable to gain another set, losing 25-13, 25-22 in the process.

Despite the fact that the team went 2-2 on the weekend, Smith recognized the team's resiliency.

"We didn't reach our goal of winning the tournament, but we did overcome losing to Williams and Tufts," Smith said.

While Kim was happy with how the team performed in its wins, she still thinks it could have played a more consistent and better overall game in the tournament.

"I don't think we had the best showing this weekend," she said. "We had a really strong start to the season, and we have definitely played better than we have shown this season."

The team, now 7-3 after defeating Wellesley College in four sets last Wednesday, continues its season at Endicott College Thursday.