Despite struggling down the stretch, the volleyball team's season concluded on a high note on Saturday with a 3-1 win over the University of Rochester, earning the team seventh place at the University Athletic Association Championships.Earlier Saturday, the squad was shut out by Carnegie Mellon University. In both matches on Friday, Brandeis was swept 3-0, both by New York University and No. 1 Washington University in St. Louis.

"The tournament started out pretty rough, but in the last match, we came together and were able to pull it out," middle blocker Becca Fischer '13 said.

The squad finished the season 15-19 overall and 2-9 in UAA play.

"I thought we had some positive moments this season," Coach Michelle Kim wrote in an e-mail to the Justice. "One thing that I was very proud of this season was our team's ability to fight. We've had some great come from behind wins this season, and that was great to see."

In their final match of the season, the Judges rallied from a set down to win three straight sets by margins of 17-25, 25-12, 25-20 and 25-16. Brandeis was sloppy to start, committing seven errors while notching just five kills en route to dropping the first set.

However, from there, the Judges settled down and began to gain momentum. They dominated the second set, limiting the Yellow Jackets to just 12 points. Rochester made it close in the third and fourth sets, but outside hitters Paige Blasco '11, Lauren Berens '13 and Si-Si Hensley '14 led the offense in rolling off 25-20 and 25-16 victories.

Setter Abby Blasco '11 notched 37 assists and 17 digs in the match while Hensley contributed 10 kills and 10 digs. Berens tallied 11 kills and Paige Blasco had a dominant final game of her career with a double-double of 15 kills and 12 digs.

In the first match Saturday, playing for the fifth spot, Brandeis fell to Carnegie Mellon, losing in straight sets 25-20, 25-20 and 25-17.

The Judges matched the Tartans point-for-point in the first and second sets, but Carnegie Mellon was able to pull away to win them both. The Tartans controlled the third set, winning the set and the match 25-17.

Paige Blasco had another double-double with 15 kills and 11 digs, while Abby Blasco collected 26 assists and five digs. Middle blocker Nicole Smith '11 also contributed eight digs and two kills to the team effort.

Last Friday, Brandeis faced off against WashU and NYU, two of the top 25 ranked squads in the nation. In their second match Friday, the Judges were dominated by the Bears by scores of 25-8, 25-10 and 25-13.

Abby Blasco managed to pull together nine assists and two digs while Hensley notched two kills and three digs. Setter Yael Einhorn '14 led the team with five digs in the match.

In their first match of the tournament, the Judges were pitted against the second-seeded Violets and were shut out by margins of 25-21, 25-17 and 25-13. In the first set, Brandeis and NYU exchanged the lead up until the end of the set, but NYU went on a run to clinch the set. The Judges faded in the next two sets, and NYU capitalized with decisive 25-17 and 25-13 wins.

Defensive setter Susan Sun '13 set the pace in the match with a team-leading 10 digs. Abby Blasco displayed an impressive showing with seven kills, 19 assists and four digs, while Paige Blasco notched seven kills and seven digs. Hensley also contributed to the effort with two kills and eight digs. It was the final match for the three seniors on the team, Abby Blasco, Paige Blasco and Smith.

"They're all fantastic, and they each contributed on so many levels," Fischer said. "Abby [Blasco] was a great captain. It won't be the same team without them. Next year will be a completely different team."

"The dynamic of the team will drastically change, because they led us in stats in every single area," Bella Hu '13 said. "They all are phenomenal players and led us in every single stat. It's definitely going to change without them."



-Jeffrey Boxer contributed
reporting.