Volleyball earns two wins in tri-match
In a tri-match competition against Emmanuel College and Colby-Sawyer College, the Brandeis University volleyball team continued its hot start to the year, winning both of its matches. The Judges topped Emmanuel in straight sets in the opener before battling back from two sets down to win 3-2 against Colby-Sawyer. Brandeis is now 9-2 on the season, matching last season's win total in just its 11th match of the year. Emmanuel falls to 3-9, while Colby-Sawyer moves to 3-6.
Behind a 21-kill effort from sophomore outside hitter Liz Hood (Albuquerque, N.M./Albuquerque Acad.) and a double-double by junior setter Yael Einhorn (Cherry Hill, N.J./Cherry Hill East), the Judges stormed past the Saints in the first contest at Red Auerbach Arena.
Brandeis grabbed the first four points of the first set, eventually jumping out to a 12-3 lead en route to a 25-15 win. The second set was far closer, as the Saints grabbed an early lead and stretched their lead as large as five points. Brandeis answered with a 10-1 run to pull ahead 23-18 led by four kills from Hood,. Kills from seniors Susan Sun (Acton, Mass./Acton-Boxborough) and Lauren Berens (Boulder, Colo./Fairview) sealed a 25-20 win for the Judges. Brandeis never trailed in the third set and clinched the match by a score of 25-21.
Hood finished with 21 kills and just six errors in 33 attempts for a season-high .455 hitting percentage. Einhorn led the team with 10 digs and 39 assists, while senior middle blocker Becca Fischer (San Antonio, Texas / Clark) notched seven kills and a season-high five digs.
The Saints were paced by freshman outside hitter Danielle Rose (Wilkes-Barre, Pa. / Holy Redeemer) who had six kills, and senior libero Yun-Ting Lee (Keelung, Taiwan / Cambridge Rindge & Latin), who finished with nine digs and a match-high two service aces.
The Judges had a much tougher go of it in their match against Colby-Sawyer. CSC won closely contested sets at 26-24 and 25-23 to start the match before Brandeis began to battle back. The teams traded points most of the way in the third set, before kills from Hood and junior outside hitter Si-Si Hensley (Fullterton, Calif. / Troy) sealed the set at 25-20. Brandeis pulled away late in the fourth set as well, forcing a fifth set with a 25-22 win. Three kills apiece from Hood and Hensley gave the Judges the decisive fifth set, 15-11, and the team's fifth consecutive victory.
Fatigue may have contributed to Colby-Sawyer fading down the stretch; in between Brandeis' two matches, the Chargers and Saints went five sets, with Colby-Sawyer eking out the 3-2 victory.
Einhorn led the way for the Judges against the Chargers with a career-high 51 assists to go with nine digs. Hood had a match-high 19 kills, while Hensley recorded a double-double of her own with 15 kills and 14 digs. Rookie middle blocker Maddie Engeler (Sandusky, Ohio / St. Mary Central Catholic) had nine kills in just 15 attempts making just three errors for a .400 hitting percentage. Sophomore libero Elsie Bernaiche (Plantsville, Conn. / Southington) led the team with 25 digs.
The Chargers had a balanced attack on offense, with junior Courtney O'Hara (Mystic, Conn.), sophomore Jackie Keating (Marshfield, Mass.) and junior Emilee McBride (Strafford, N.H.) notching 16, 15 and 14 kills, respectively. O'Hara also had 11 digs to give her a double-double, while junior Ally Le-Bruno's (Medfield, Mass.) 28 digs were a game high.
The Judges will be in action again next weekend with four matches when they cohost the MIT Invitational. Emmanuel and Colby-Sawyer both have matches on Tuesday night. Emmanuel will play host to Framingham State University, while Colby-Sawyer will travel to New Hampshire to take on Keene State College.