WALTHAM, Mass.- The Brandeis Women's Volleyball team finished off their home schedule by defeating Keene State and Westfield State on the final day of competition at the Judges Classic. The Judges finished a perfect 3-0 for the tournament as they ran their record to 19-11 while celebrating their three seniors, Becca Fisher (San Antonio, Texas/ Clark), Lauren Berens (Boulder, Colo./ Fairview), and Susan Sun (Acton, Mass./ Acton-Boxborough). With those 19 wins, Brandeis doubled their win total from 2011.The Keene State Owls fell to 16-15 while the Westfield State Owls fell to 9-20.
In their first match of the day, the Judges faced off against Keene State. Brandeis jumped out of the gate in the first set with a terrific attack orchestrated by junior setter Yael Einhorn (Cherry Hill, N.J./ Cherry Hill East). The Judges had 16 kills to just three errors en route to a .325 attacking percentage and 25-20 win. In the second set Brandeis was almost as good with 13 kills to three errors pulling out another close 25-22 win to take the 2-0 lead. The Judges struggled in the third set, falling behind early and getting within two points multiple times, but never managing to complete the comeback as they fell 25-18. Brandeis rallied quickly with their best offensive set of the match coming up with 17 kills and just five errors for an incredible .387 attacking percentage.
In their final match of the tournament, the Judges cruised to a sweep of Westfield State. In the first set, sophomore libero Elsie Bernaiche (Plantsville, Conn./ Southington) helped break an early 2-2 tie by serving five straight points to give the Judges the early 7-2 advantage. Then, in the middle of the set, sophomore outside hitter Liz Hood (Albuquerque, N.M./ Albuquerque Acad.) had her own run of five straight service points, including three consecutive aces, to help Brandeis pull away for the 25-12 win. In the second set, rookie setter Maggie Swenson (East Lyme, Conn./ East Lyme) took over for Einhorn and led the squad to a 25-18 win while recording six assists. Finally, in the third set, Brandeis dominated with an excellent attack orchestrated by Einhorn that racked up 12 kills to just two errors for a .435 attacking percentage en route to a 25-13 win and 3-0 victory for the match.
Against the Keene State Owls, Hood led the way with 18 kills while Berens joined her in double-digits with 10. Berens also had a career high six service aces for the match. Meanwhile, Bernaiche had a match-high 19 digs as junior outside hitter Si-Si Hensley (Fullerton, Calif./ Troy) just missed a double-double with 11 digs and nine kills. Einhorn recorded 44 assists while leading the squad to a .274 attacking percentage. For Keene State, rookie outside hitter Angela Silveri (Poughquag, N.Y./ Arlington) had a match-high 19 kills as sophomore libero Sammy Dormio (Leesburg, Va./ Loudon County) joined her in double-figures with 14. Rookie libero Kaitlin Boyer (W. Greenwich, R.I./ Cushing Academy) led the team with 18 digs while rookie setter Alexis Michal (Windham, N.H./ Central Catholic) recorded a double-double with 10 digs and a match-high 45 assists.
Against the Westfield State Owls, Berens led the way with a match-high seven kills while Bernaiche racked up a match-high 15 digs. Meanwhile, Einhorn led the offense with 14 assists in two sets and Fisher recorded a team-high four blocks. For the Owls, rookie outside hitter Kendyl Haney (Ashland, Mass./ Ashland) led the team with five kills while sophomore setter Carolyn Cote (Chelmsford, Mass./ Chelmsford) recorded 11 assists. Sophomore defensive specialist Sarah Green (Peabody, Mass./ Bishop Fenwick) led the team with six digs while junior libero Kayleigh Shea (Chelmsford, Mass./ Chelmsford) and rookie outside hitter Renae Hatcher (Marshfield, Mass./ Marshfield) came in a close second with five a piece.
The Judges finish off their season with the UAA Championships at Emory starting on November 2nd. Keene State continues their season on October 30th at the Little East Tournament while Westfield State starts the MASCAC tournament on October 31st.
