MEDFORD, Mass. – The Brandeis volleyball team returned to New England after their first University Athletic Association action of the season. The Judges faced Colby and Tufts in a trimatch on the Jumbos home court. Though they got off to a fast start, winning their first set of the afternoon, they were unable to hold the momentum, falling to Colby, 3-1, (22-25, 25-23, 25-20, 25-17) and Tufts, 3-0.

VS. COLBY

• In the opening set, Brandeis went out to a 4-1 lead, but after the Mules scored the next five in a row to take the lead, neither team was able to go ahead by more than two until the end of the set.
• The Judges took a 17-15 lead on three-straight Colby errors and never trailed again.
• The set was tied at 21-all, but the Brandeis used two errors by their opponents and kills from sophomore Jessie Moore (Rye, N.Y./Rye) and senior Maddie Engeler (Huron, Ohio/St. Marys Central Catholic) to take a 25-21 win.
• In the second set, the Mules jumped out to leads of 5-2 and 9-5 before rookie libero Yvette Cho (San Diego, Calif. / Rancho Bernardo) served five straight points, including two service aces, to put the Judges ahead, 10-9.
• Again the set stayed within two points until the last stages, but Colby pulled it out in the end, snapping a 22-22 tie with three of the last four points on kills to even the match, 25-23.
• The third set followed a similar pattern, with an early Colby lead at 4-2.
• Brandeis followed with an 11-4 run, including a 5-1 string that culminated in a Zara Platt (Fountain Valley, Calif. / Fountain Valley) kill to put the Judges ahead 13-8.
• The Mules called timeout and went on a 6-1 string of their own to tie it.
• Brandeis was able to take an 18-16 lead on an Engeler kill, but Colby finished strong with a 9-2 run to take the third, 25-20.
• Colby controlled the fourth set, jumping out to a 6-2 lead that expanded to 16-8 before taking the 25-17 victory.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• The Judges had their second and third double-doubles of the season, as setters Allison Harmsworth (Bradenton, Fla / Newsome) and Leah Pearlman (El Paso, Texas/El Paso) achieved the feat. Harmsworth had 17 assists and 10 digs (a career-high), while Pearlman had 10 assists and 10 digs.
• Engeler led the team with 10 kills, her first match reaching double digits this season.
• Rookie Grace Krumpack (Cincinnati, Ohio/Colrain) led the team with 19 digs, while Cho had 18.

VS. TUFTS (taken from a Tufts press release)

• The Jumbos opened up strong , and after exchanging points to open up the first set, the Jumbos jumped out to a 14-2 lead with 13 straight points behind the serve of senior Kyra Baum.  
• The streak ended with a service error by Baum.  Brandeis scored a point here and there, but the Jumbos moved to a 25-4 win in set one.
• Set two was the exact opposite, as the Judges bounced back and played similar to their Colby match.  
• The score was tied ten times, as the Jumbos and the Judges traded the lead for the duration of the set.  
• With the score tied at 20, the Jumbos got a kill from senior Maddie Kuppe and two errors on the Judges to move to a 25-20 win.
• In set three, the score was tied four times early in the match, but the Jumbos scored four points behind the serve of senior co-captain Carolina Berger to move out to a 14-10 lead.
• The Judges never gave up, and stayed within six, but the home team that was able to hold on to the lead and pick up the 25-20 win in set three.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• For the Judges,  Platt was the offensive leader with six kills, while Kirsten Frauens (Webster, N.Y. / Webster Schroeder) added four kills. 
• Marlee Nork (Chicago, Ill./ Walter Payton College Prep) took care of the setting for the Judges, finishing with ten assists, while Harmsworth added five.  
• Defensively, Cho had 12 digs and Krumpack turned in eight of her own.  
• Frauens also added two blocks. 

UP NEXT

• The Judges return to UAA action next weekend when they head to Cleveland for the second UAA Round Robin of the season, opening with the University of Rochester.