Volleyball takes first set before falling to Emerson in four

Carly Gutner-Davis '15 (photo by Sportspix.biz)
Carly Gutner-Davis '15 (photo by Sportspix.biz)

BOSTON, Mass. -- Despite a career- and match-high 15 kills from junior middle blocker/right side Carly Gutner-Davis (Del Mar, Calif./Canyon Crest Acad.), the visiting Brandeis University volleyball team couldn't hold on past the first set as they fell to host Emerson College, 3-1, in a non-conference matchup tonight. Set scores were 25-21, 20-25, 17-25, 16-25. With the loss the Judges fall to 9-13, while the Lions improve to 13-9.

Set one saw the Judges' best performance, as they raced out to an 8-0 lead and put up a .185 attack percentage to EC's .102. Brandeis junior Liz Hood (Albuquerque, N.M./Albuquerque Acad.) led the floor with six kills in the set. She and Gutner-Davis each had two in the opening run. Alyssa Thorne stepped up for Emerson with four of her own, but unforced errors doomed the Lions as they fell 25-21 in the first set.

The Judges fortunes turned in the second set. After 18 kills and just eight errors in the first, Brandeis had 14 kills and 10 errors in the second and 11 kills and eight miscues in the third, hitting .100 and .067, respectively in the two sets. In the fourth set, Brandeis took an early 4-3 lead on a Hood kill, but the Lions rattled off a 12-1 run to put the match away.

For the match, the Judges finished with 53 kills to 47 for Emerson - Gutner-Davis led the way with her 15, while Hood had 14 - but the visitors also committed 31 errors to just 17 for the Lions. Brandeis also had twice as many service errors as their hosts. Sophomore setter Maggie Swenson (East Lyme, Conn./East Lyme) had 38 assists, the second-highest total of her career, while junior libero Elsie Bernaiche (Plantsville, Conn./Southington) had 21 digs to lead all players. Emerson also owned a 9-1 advantage in blocks for the match.

Brandeis is off until next weekend, when they travel to Washington University in St. Louis for the second University Athletic Association round robin of the season. The Judges went 1-2 in their first three conference matches.