MONTCLAIR, N.J. – The Brandeis University volleyball team traveled to New Jersey to meet Montclair State University as a tune-up for this weekend's University Athletic Association Round Robin #2. The Judges dropped their first-ever meeting with the Red Hawks, 3-1. Set scores were 20-25, 25-15, 25-21, 25-22.
TEAM RECORDS
- Brandeis, 7-10.
- Montclair State, 12-6.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Judges got off to a hot start, producing 15 kills and just three errors in 30 attacks in the first set for a .400 hitting percentage to win it, 25-20.
- Junior Madison Haft-Abromovitch (Stratford, Conn./Rye Country Day School) had seven of the team's 15 kills in the opening set.
- Montclair State bounced back in the second set, with 11 kills and no errors in 24 attacks for a .458 percentage, while limiting Brandeis to .062, as the Red Hawks led wire-to-wire to even things up with a 25-15 win.
- The third set saw five ties and two lead changes. Brandeis junior Kennedy Lilly (Atlanta, Ga./Eagle's Landing Chrisitan Acad.) tied things up at 13-all, but MSU answered with a 6-1 run to take a 19-14 lead.
- Trailing, 24-18, the Judges fought off the first four set points, but they could not complete the comeback, with the Red Hawks taking it, 25-21.
- The fourth set was the closest of the match, featuring nine ties and five lead changes.
- Brandeis raced out to a 6-1 lead, which they maintained until the Red Hawks tied things up at 11-all.
- Neither team was able to pull away, with the largest lead the rest of the way just three points. The set was tied at 21-all when MSU forced a couple of Brandeis errors to take a 23-21 lead. The hosts were able to convert their first match point, winning the final set, 25-22.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Three Judges finished in double figures in kills, led by Haft-Abromovitch and Lilly with 14 each. First-year Kennedy Hilson (Decatur, Ga./Decatur) added 10 kills.
- Haft-Abromovitch also led the team with four service aces, as Brandeis had nine aces to seven for Montclair State.
- First-year Camila Valenzuela (Winter Park, Fla./Bishop Moore Catholic) finished with 26 assists, while junior Alexa Ho (Queens, N.Y./Frances Lewis) had 23. Valenzuela added three aces.
- Junior Taylor Lewis (Haverhill, Mass./Haverhill) had 13 digs.
- MSU had a marked advantage at the net, with seven blocks to just one for the Judges.
UP NEXT
- The Judges will take on Case Western Reserve and #15 Chicago on Sunday at NYU.
