BEVERLY, Mass. -- Behind the first collegiate double-double by sophomore outside hitter Liz Hood (Albuquerque, N.M./Albuquerque Acad.), the Brandeis University volleyball team completed a road sweep of the Endicott College Gulls. The Judges improve to 7-2 with the win, while EC falls to 1-6. Set scores were 25-9, 25-19, 25-18.
Hood finished with 15 kills and just four errors in 34 attempts for a fine .344 hitting percentage. She also matched her career-best with 12 digs, one short of classmate Elsie Bernaiche's (Plantsville, Conn./Southington) 13 for team high. Junior setter Yael Einhorn (Cherry Hill, N.J./Cherry Hill East) finished with 28 assists, guiding the team to a .211 hitting percentage with 37 kills and just 14 errors in 109 attempts. The Judges featured a balanced attack, as after Hood's 16 points, four different players had five.
The Judges only trailed twice in the match, early in each of the first two sets. The opening set features two long runs at the service line by sophomore outside hitter Carly Gutner-Davis (Del Mar, Calf. / Canyon Crest Acad.), who finished the match with five service aces. In the second set, Brandeis hit for a match-high .250 percentage (15 K, 4 E, 44 TA). The third set featured a 7-0 run that started with a Hood kill and continued with her serving the next seven points in a row.
The Gulls were led defensively by senior libero Ashley Norley who finished with 20 digs. Offensively, the Gulls kill leader was Fayln Torelli, as she ended the night with six kills. Endicott also received a solid performance from freshman Mackenzie Guerre who finished with five kills on 13 swings.
Brandeis is back in action on Saturday with a tri-match featuring Emmanuel College and Colby-Sawyer College that kicks off at 12 noon. EC opens Commonewealth Coast Conference play at Roger Williams Saturday 1 p.m.