WALTHAM, Mass. – The Brandeis University volleyball team dropped its opening match as co-hosts of the 2026 New England Classic today, falling to William Smith College, 3-0. Set scores were 25-21, 25-19, 25-16.
TEAM RECORDS
- Brandeis, 4-5.
- William Smith, 6-1.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The opening set was a back-and-forth affair, featuring 11 ties and six lead changes.
- The largest lead for any team was the four-point final score, 25-21.
- The set was tied at 20-all when WSC went on a 5-1 run to close things out.
- The Herons would not trail again in the match, going up 6-1 in each of the next two sets.
- Brandeis would close within three points at 12-9 in the second on a kill by first-year Kennedy Hillson (Decatur, Ga./Decatur), but the visitors responded with a 7-1 streak to go ahead 19-10.
- The Judges closed back within 22-18, but ran out of time to complete the comeback, falling, 25-19.
- In the third, WSC extended their 6-1 lead to 11-2 and the Herons' deficit was never less than four points the rest of the way en route to a 25-16 win.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Brandeis was paced by sophomore Katya Belyakova (Staten Island, N.Y./St. Joseph Hill Acad.) and first-year Emmory Casto (Castle Rock, Colo./Rock Canyon) with seven kills each. Junior Madison Haft-Abromovitch (Stratford, Conn./Rye Country Day School) added six.
- The Judge defense was balanced with four players notching between six and eight digs, and the team finished with just one fewer than WSC. Senior Ava Ferrigno (Boca Raton, Fla./Boca Raton Community) and first-year Camila Valenzuela (Winter Park, Fla./Bishop Moore Catholic) each had eight.
- Valenzuela added 14 assists, while junior Alex Ho (Staten Island, N.Y./Frances Lewis) had 11. Valenzuela also had a team-high three service aces.
- The Herons were terrific at the net, with nine blocks to just two for the Judges.
UP NEXT
- Brandeis will take on Tufts tomorrow at 12:30 p.m. and UMass Dartmouth at 3 p.m. on Day 2 of the New England Classic.
