WALTHAM, Mass. -- For the second day in a row at their Brandeis
Invitational, the Brandeis volleyball team split a pair of matches.
Playing in the Shapiro Gymnasium for the first time this season,
the Judges fell to Tufts, 3-0, but bounced back to defeat Babson by
the same score for the second time this season.
Against the Jumbos, Brandeis fell behind early in set one, 8-5,
but rallied to knot the set at 9-9. The two teams stayed close
until the Judges opened up a three-point lead of their own at
21-18. The margin stood at four, 23-19, on an Abby
Blasco (Greeley, Colo./Frontier Acad.) kill, but the
visitors won the next three points to claw within one. After
Brandeis coach Michelle Kim called a timeout, Paige
Blasco (Greeley, Colo./Frontier Acad.) followed with a
kill to bring up set point at 24-22, but the Jumbos responded with
kills on four of the next five points and taking the set on a
Brandeis error. The Jumbos were able to take advantage of Brandeis
errors in set two, and junior Caitlin Updike had six kills to lead
the visitors to a 25-15 win. In the third set, tied at 8-8, Tufts
went on to 6-1 run to claim a 14-9 lead and never looked back en
route to a 25-18 victory.
Brandeis was paced by junior middle blocker Nicole
Smith (Marietta, Ga./Alan C. Pope) led the Judges against
Tufts with seven kills and just one error in 14 attempts for a .429
hitting percentage. Paige Blasco added eight kills and nine digs to
lead the team in both categories, tying with senior Bridget
McAllister (Santa Clara, Calif./Presentation) in digs.
Rookie middle blocker Becca Fischer (San Antonio,
Texas/Clark) added five blocks (one solo).
The Judges responded against Babson with a 25-20, 25-9, 25-20,
victory. They took advantage of Beaver errors to win despite a .128
team hitting percentage. Brandeis was able to overcome 15 hitting
errors by recording nine team blocks and nine service aces.
McAllister led the squad with seven kills, while Paige Blasco
had 12 digs. Fischer and senior Piera Carfagno
(Los Angeles, Calif./Campbell Hall School) each had five blocks,
while Abby Blasco had 21 assists.
For her efforts in the tournament, Smith earned All-Tournament
honors. She had 27 kills, tied for third-most on the squad, but led
the way with a terrific .440 hitting percentage (27 kills, five
errors, 50 attempts). Smith also contributed 12 blocks (two solo).
TUFTS
BOX SCORE
BABSON
BOX SCORE
COMPLETE
RESULTS
