BEVERLY, Mass. (courtesy Endicott College)- The Brandeis University volleyball team suffered a straight-set loss at the hands of Endicott College tonight, losing by scores of 25-13, 25-15 and 25-14. With the win, Endicott improves to 9-7 on the season while Brandeis falls to 5-10.
Endicott started out on fire offensively and the theme held true throughout the match. The Gulls out-hit the Judges .281 - .032 on the match, getting off to a .323 - .033 start in the first set. Endicott followed that up with a stifling defensive performance in the second, limiting Brandeis to a .000 average (9-9-36) while hitting .290 (12-3-31) themselves. The Gulls then closed the visitors out with a .235 (12-4-34) line in the third, holding Bradeis to a .074 line (7-5-27).
The Gulls were led by sophomore Tori McIntyre (San Diego, Calif.) who recorded 12 kills on 24 attempts with just one error for a .458 line. The outside hitter also chipped in a team high three aces to go along with five digs, one assist block and one assist. Fellow OH Elise Morgan (Holbrook, Mass.) was close behind her, finishing second in the match with 10 kills on 31 attempts. She tied McIntyre with five digs and led the match in blocking with one solo and two assist blocks on the night.
Setter Alleigh VandeMerkt (Riverside, Ill.) racked up a match high 34 assists in the win. The junior added five digs and two aces to her performance. Libero Erika Trudon (Coventry, Conn.) led the Gulls defensively with 12 digs while also adding two aces. Opposite Lexi Watts (San Diego, Calif.) was consistent all night, hitting at a .263 clip while totaling eight kills and picking up four digs and two blocks; one solo and one assist.
The Judges were led by outside hitter Shemira Pennyman (Meriden, Conn./Francis T. Maloney) who finished with a team high nine kills on 22 attempts. The senior was also active defensively, picking up six digs in the match which tied her for second on the team. Freshman outside hitter Jessie Moore finished with seven kills on 24 swings while also recording four digs in the setback. Classmate setter Julie Kim (Fullerton, Calif./Troy) finished the match with 20 assists. Senior libero Elsie Bernaiche (Plantsville, Conn./Southington) was solid defensively, leading the match with 19 digs, well above her 4.48 digs/set average on the season.
The Judges are off until Saturday when they head to Atlanta, Ga. to compete in the first of two UAA Round Robins on the season. Brandeis is scheduled to play Washington U., Chicago and NYU at Emory University.
With the win, Endicott moves to 9-7 on the season and takes to the road on Friday for a pivotal CCC matchup against top team Roger Williams at 7:00 p.m.