WALTHAM, Mass. – The Brandeis University volleyball
suffered a pair of losses in today's second University Athletic
Association Round Robin. Playing in Shapiro Gymnasium instead of
their usual home in Auerbach Arena, the Judges fell to Case Western
Reserve, 3-1 (25-18, 25-21, 22-25, 25-19), to open the day, before
suffering a 3-0 defeat (25-20, 25-21, 25-15) at the hands of
23rd-ranked NYU in their second match.
The Judges dropped their first two sets to Case, who is coached
by Brandeis alumna Karen Chambers Farrell '93,
25-18 and 25-21. In the second, Brandeis led, 8-5, before the
Spartans went on a 9-2 run that gave them the lead at 14-10. They
were still ahead, 19-15, when four in a row by the Judges knotted
the set, 19-19, on a kill by senior outside hitter Paige
Blasco (Greeley, Colo./Frontier Acad.). The teams traded
points to get to 20-20, but the visitors scored five of the last
six points to go up two sets to none.
In the back-and-forth third set, it was a 7-0 run on the serve
of rookie outside hitter Si-Si Hensley (Fullerton,
Calif./Troy) that turned a 17-15 deficit into a 22-17 lead that the
Judges were able to close out, 25-22, as Blasco recorded kills on
three of the set's last four points. The Spartans bounced back,
however, to finish off the fourth set, 25-19.
Against rival NYU, Brandeis pushed the Violets in the first two
sets, 25-20, 25-21. The first half of the first set was tight, with
neither side gaining momentum and the score knotted at 13-13. At
that point, NYU went on an 8-1 run, taking a 21-14 lead. Violet
sophomore Sally Downs (Coppell, Texas/Coppell) had a pair of key
service aces in a 5-0 run, and after a tip kill by Brandeis rookie
Yael Einhorn (Cherry Hill, N.J./Cherry Hill East),
the visitors scored three more in a row, helped by two Brandeis
errors.
Brandeis got off to a fast start in the second set against NYU,
scoring the first seven points on the serve – including three
aces - of senior Abby Blasco (Greeley,
Colo./Frontier Acad.), who was playing libero. The Violets were
able to get strong serving of their own. An ace by junior setter
Mina Baban (Westborough, Mass./Westborough) tied
the set at 13-13, and a Brandeis error gave NYU their first lead of
the set.
The Violets went on to take a 17-15 lead before Brandeis's
blocking went on a tear. A 5-0 run included three Brandeis blocks,
with senior middle blocker Nicole Smith (Marietta,
Ga./Alan C. Pope) – second on the Judges's career blocks list
- involved in three of them. Sophomore Susan Sun
(Acton, Mass/Acton-Boxborough) was involved in two of Smith's
blocks and Paige Blasco in another. The last pushed the Brandeis
lead to 20-18, forcing Violet coach Chris Pinto to call time
out.
Out of the timeout, Brandeis was called for a controversial
error call, giving the visitors a sideout. A kill by NYU rookie
Erin McLaughlin (Mountain View, Calif./Castilleja) to tie the set
was answered by Smith, and the Judges led, 21-20. Unfortunately,
Brandeis gave the ball right back on a service error, and NYU's
McLaughlin served out the set, 25-21.
The Violets got off to a hot start in the third set, opening up
an early 8-1 lead. They extended it to as many as 11 points at
15-4, and the Judges were unable to overcome the deficit.
In other key UAA matches today, in a battle of the American
Volleyball Coaches Association's top two teams in the nation,
top-ranked Washington University rallied to topple No. 2 Emory, 3-2
(25-22, 18-25, 17-25, 25-21, 15-6). NYU blasted Chicago, 3-0, in
another meeting of top-25 teams, with the No. 23 Violets taking a
25-18, 25-22, 25-14 decision from the No. 17 Maroons. Chicago
almost went down twice today, but they overcame a two-set deficit
to defeat Farrell's Case Western Reserve team, 23-25, 13-25, 25-22,
25-19, 15-11. The Maroons overcame a 10-7 deficit to win the
decisive fifth set.
Tomorrow, Brandeis will take on Emory University at 10 a.m. and
Carnegie Mellon at 2 p.m.