South Hadley, Mass.--Brandeis University women's
volleyball dropped two games this past Saturday at the Hall of Fame
Invitational, hosted by Smith College. The Judges fought
hard, despite playing without starting setter Abby Blasco (Greeley,
CO/Frontier Acad.). Brandeis fell to MIT, 3-1 and were bested by
Wellesley College 3-1. Brandeis' record falls to
13-14.
For their first match of the day on Saturday, Brandeis faced off
against MIT. The Judges were able to win the second set 25-11 but
were unable to attain a victory. The Engineers (18-12) topped
them 3-1, (25-19, 11-25, 25-23, 25-15). Senior outside hitter
Paige Blasco (Greeley, CO/Frontier Acad.) led the Judges'
scoring, posting 14.5 points with 13 kills, an ace and one block
assist. Senior middle blocker Nicole Smith (Marietta, GA/Alan
C. Pope) made three solo blocks, two block assists and six kills
for 10 points.
Against Wellesley(16-7), the Judges started out strong, winning
the first set 25-19, notching 12 kills, with just one error in 24
attempts. Ultimately the Judges were unable to hang on and were
defeated by the Blue 3-1, (19-15, 25-20, 25-18, 25-15). Smith led
the team in scoring, making 15 kills, two aces, two block assists
and a solo block for 19 points. Rookie outside hitter Si-Si
Hensley (Fullerton, CA/Troy) made 10 kills, for 10 points in the
match. Sophomore defensive specialist Susan Sun (Acton,
MA/Acton-Boxborough) played a fine match, leading the team with 18
digs.
Wellesley faces of against conference foe, United States Coast
Guard Academy on Tuesday, Oct. 26. MIT also plays on Oct. 26
against WPI. The Judges' next match is Friday, October 29
against UMass Boston at the Brandeis University Classic.