The women's volleyball team had little problem with the competition last Friday and Saturday, dropping just one set in three wins in the Judges Classic at Brandeis, improving its record to 17-13 (1-6 in University Athletic Association play).Brandeis swept the University of Maine-Machias and Keene State College at the tournament, which also saw Brandeis beat the State University of New York at Oneonta 3-1.

The Judges' were led throughout the tournament by captain and right setter Piera Carfagno '10, who was named the tournament MVP. It is the second year in a row that Carfagno was named MVP of the tournament.

Coach Michelle Kim was pleased with how Carfagno played.

"[Carfagno] had a great tournamen," Kim said in an e-mail to the Justice. "She played a combination of middle hitter and rightside hitter this weekend in an adjusted line-up we're trying, and she did a great job. She is naturally a middle hitter, so this was an easy adjustment for her."

Carfagno and fellow captain and setter Abby Blasco '11 were selected to the all-tournament team, as Brandeis was the only school that had more than one representative on the five-player honorary team.

The Judges' most resounding win of the tournament was their opening match last Saturday. The team shut out the University of Maine-Machias in the opening set and outscored them 75-18 overall, winning in straight sets 25-0, 25-12, 25-6.

In the first set, the Judges were proficient offensively, as they posted an 80-percent hitting percentage.

For the match, Carfagno had a team-leading seven kills and six digs and posted a perfect hitting percentage.

After handling Maine-Machias, the?Judges faced their toughest challenge of the tournament in SUNY?Oneonta. The Judges went ahead by winning the first two sets by a combined six points before dropping the third set by only three points. The team heightened its focus in the fourth set and won by 12 points. The final score of the match was 25-21, 25-23, 22-25, 25-13.

"The last set against Oneonta was our strongest set against them," Kim said in her e-mail. "We had the matchup we wanted as far as our blockers against their hitters, and we were very successful being able to sideout quickly and run off several points in each rotation."

Carfagno led the way for the Judges with 12 kills, while outside hitter Paige Blasco '11 contributed nine kills of her own. Abby Blasco had 33 of the team's 34 assists.

On the defensive side, outside hitter Nicole Smith '11 had a team-leading four blocked shots. Fellow middle blocker Becca Fischer '13, along with Smith, had four block assists to fuel the Judges.

Last Friday, the Judges hosted Keene State for the second time this season and again won in straight sets by a score of 25-17, 25-12, 25-19. The Judges also defeated?Keene State Oct. 10 in straight sets as part of a doubleheader against the U.S.?Coast Guard Academy.

Carfagno and Abby Blasco again led the effort for the Judges last Friday. Carfagno recorded 11 kills and just one error in 17 attempts, while Blasco had 28 assists, nine kills and nine digs. Carfagno also had nine digs in the win.

The Judges close out the regular season this weekend at the University Athletic Association Championships in Chicago. The squad is 1-6 in UAA play this season after struggling through two round-robin tournaments earlier this season.

"This weekend at UAA's will be a good tournament for us," Kim said in her e-mail. "It'll be important for us to serve aggressively while reducing our errors, ... so that we can run a balanced offense."



-Josh Asen contributed reporting