NORTHAMPTON, Mass.- Over the weekend, the Brandeis University volleyball squad competed at the 2013 Hall of Fame Invitational hosted by Smith College. The Judges dropped all three of their matches against Tufts, Trinity (Conn.), and the host Pioneers to fall to 9-20 on the season.
In their first match on Friday, Brandeis faced off against Tufts in a rematch from earlier in the year at the Brandeis Invitational. On that day in September, the Judges could not complete a comeback down two sets to one and lost in the five sets to the Jumbos. On Friday, Brandeis suffered the same fate falling in straight sets to the Jumbos, 25-17, 25-14, 25-17. Junior outside hitter Liz Hood (Albuquerque, N.M./ Albuquerque Acad.) led the squad with eight kills while senior outside hitter Si-Si Hensley (Fullerton, Calif./ Troy) had six digs.
The Jumbos were led by sophomore outside hitter Esme Nulan (Kansas City, Mo./ Pembroke Hill School) with 10 kills while sophomore libero Carolina Berger (Fort Lauderdale, Fla./ Pine Crest School) recorded a match-high 10 digs.
On Saturday, the Judges took on Trinity in their first match of the day. Despite a close second set, Brandeis could not keep up with the Bantams as they lost three sets to none (25-17, 25-23, 25-15). In this match, Hensley had an excellent performance with a double-double featuring 18 digs and 10 kills. Sophomore defensive specialist Amaris Brown (Brooklyn, N.Y./ Brooklyn Friends) joined Hensley in double-digit digs with 14.
Trinity was led by senior outside hitter Hannah Brickley (Melrose, Mass./ Melrose) with 13 kills while rookie setter Randi Whitham (South Weymouth, Mass./ Notre Dame Academy) had a team-high 11 digs to go with 14 assists.
In the Judges final match of the invitational, Brandeis matched up with the host Smith College Pioneers. The Pioneers jumped on the Judges early, taking the first set 25-15. In the second set, the Judges played much better but came up short, losing 26-24. However, in the third set, an excellent 31.0% attacking percentage featuring 17 kills to four errors led Brandeis to a 25-19 win to cut the deficit to two sets to one. Unfortunately, Smith rebounded to take the fourth set 25-16 and win the match three sets to one. The Judges were led by Hood who recorded a double-double with 17 kills and 18 digs. Brown and rookie outside hitter Rachael Dye (Broomfield, Colo./ Broomfield) set career-highs with 28 and 19 digs respectively. Hensley also reached double-figure digs with 18 for the match.
The Pioneers featured three players with double-digit kills led by senior middle blocker Rosa Drummond (Rye, N.H./ Portsmouth) who recorded 20. Smith had four other competitors reach double-figure digs led by rookie libero Julie Voorhes (Ramona, Calif./ Ramona) who had a match-high 31.
The Judges continue their season on Tuesday October 29th at Lasell with a 7:00 p.m. start.