NEW YORK, N.Y. --The Brandeis volleyball team finished the regular season of the University Athletic Association with four straight losses at the second UAA round robin at New York University. The Judges finish at 1-7 in the conference to earn the seventh seed in the UAA tournament, which will be held at the University of Chicago on Nov. 6-7.
Brandeis went 0-2 on the first day, playing tough, with four of the seven sets being decided by two points. Unfortunately, the Judges went 1-3 in those sets as they fell to Carnegie Mellon (25-27, 23-25, 18-25) and the University of Chicago (27-25, 26-24, 20-25, 26-24).
Junior outside hitter Paige Blasco (Greeley, Colo./Frontier Acad.) was the star for the Judges, recording 18 kills against Carnegie Mellon and 13 against Chicago. Unfortunately, no other player was able to get more than 13 kills across the two matches. Paige had 18 kills against the Tartans and 13 against the Maroons. She also had 14 digs in each match, marking her seventh and eighth double-doubles of the season.
Paige's twin sister Abby also had a double-double - her 10th of the season - against Carnegie Mellon, with 27 assists and 14 digs, tying for team-high honors. Senior Bridget McAllister (Santa Clara, Calif./Presentation) had the top defensive performance of the day, with 19 digs, a season-high, against Chicago. Brandeis also had a fantastic match at the net against the Maroons, coming up with 14 blocks. Junior Nicole Smith (Marietta, Ga./Alan C. Pope) led the way with three solo blocks and four assists, while rookie Becca Fischer (San Antonio, Texas/Clark) had one solo and five assists.
On the second day of action, the Judges were swept by third-ranked Emory (14-25, 17-25, 18-25) and host NYU (18-25, 19-25, 22-25). The offense struggled in both matches, as no Brandeis player reached double figures in kills and Abby Blasco was held to her two season-lows in assists, with 19 and 16 respectively.
Paige Blasco had six kills against Emory and eight agains NYU to lead the team both times. Against the Eagles, McAllister had a fine defensive match, leading the squad with 12 digs and adding three block assists, tied with Smith for the team lead. McAllister also had five kills in the match. In the NYU match, Paige Blasco led the Judges with 16 digs, while Fischer had five block assists for the fourth time this season, matching her career-best. Senior right side Piera Carfagno (Los Angeles, Calif./Campbell Hall School) was second on the squad against the Violets with six kills.
The Judges are next in action at Smith College for the Hall of Fame Invitational. The fifth-seeded Judges will take on fourth-seeded MIT in the opening round.