MEDFORD, Mass. (courtesy Tufts Univ. sports info) -- The
Brandeis University volleyball team gave host Tufts all it could
handle in the first two sets tonight, but the Jumbos, the
top-ranked team in New England ultimately prevailed, 3-0. Tufts won
by scores of 26-24, 25-22 and 25-18.
In a hard-fought battle, the Jumbos picked up their sixth
straight win to go to 6-2 for the season while the Judges suffered
just their third defeat to fall to 8-3.
The first set was the closest of the match as it saw 13 ties and
four lead changes. Tufts built a four-point advantage at 14-10
before Brandeis battled back to take a 19-17 lead. The Jumbos
tallied two straight to tie the set at 19 and then there were ties
at 20, 23 and 24 before Tufts finished the set off, 26-24.
In the second set, Tufts jumped out to a 4-0 lead, but Brandeis
stayed resilient and came back to hold leads of 7-6, 9-7 and 12-10.
The Judges scored four straight before Senior Caitlin Updike's
(Manhattan Beach, CA) kill stopped the streak. The lead would then
change hands three more times before Tufts took control of the
second set. Back-to-back aces reestablished a three-point lead for
the Jumbos, but again the Judges came back to tie the score, this
time at 22. Tufts answered with three consecutive points to
hold Brandeis off to pick up the second set win, 25-22.
The third set began with ties at 1-1, 2-2 and 3-3. Brandeis held
just two leads during the final set, with the largest advantage
being at 10-8. Using a block and and a pair of aces, the Jumbos
took a 14-10 lead. There ended up being seven ties in the set as
Brandeis would not go quietly, forcing stalemates at 15-15 and
16-16, but the Jumbos as they scored nine of the final 11 points to
take the match, 25-18.
For Brandeis, senior Paige Blasco (Greeley, Colo./Frontier
Acad.) led the way for the Judges with nine kills, while sophomore
Susan Sun (Acton, Mass./Acton-Boxborough) accumulated 14 digs.
Senior captain Abby Blasco (Greeley, Colo./Frontier Acad,) finished
with 17 assists. Senior Nicole Smith (Marietta, Ga./Alan C. Pope)
chipped in with a team-high four blocks.
Senior Caitlin Updike's (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) match-high 19
kills helped bring the Jumbos to their sixth straight win. She also
added a team-high 12 digs. Sophomore Kendall Lord (La Jolla,
Calif..) added a match-high 33 assists, while senior Natalie
Shrodes (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) had a good night with seven
kills, one ace and just one error in 25 attempts.
The Judges return to action this weekend at the Amherst Classic
against the hosts on Friday night, their fourth NESCAC opponent of
the season.