Brandeis Volleyball falls to Babson, 3-1, and holds on to beat ECSU, 3-1, on Senior Day

Brandeis Volleyball falls to Babson, 3-1, and holds on to beat ECSU, 3-1, on Senior Day

Game Leaders

Eastern Conn. St.
K: Adrianna Mihalek - 20
B: Hannah Koehler - 4
D: Allie Luppi - 19
SA: Allie Luppi - 2
Brandeis
K: Jessie Moore - 19
B: Jessica Kaufman - 5
D: Elsie Bernaiche - 30
SA: Julie Kim - 2

Team Stats

Eastern Conn. St.
Brandeis

Hitting %

.127
.085

Blocks

8.0
11.0

Digs

72
80

Aces

3
5
full stats

Game Leaders

Babson
K: 2 Players (#3, #8) - 8
B: Brittany Goldschmidt - 4
D: Elizabeth Sullivan - 22
SA: Elizabeth Sullivan - 3
Brandeis
K: Jessie Moore - 12
B: 3 Players (#11, #18, #20) - 2
D: Elsie Bernaiche - 11
SA: Elsie Bernaiche - 2

Team Stats

Babson
Brandeis

Hitting %

.259
.065

Blocks

7.0
4.0

Digs

46
35

Aces

5
3
full stats
Posted: Nov 01, 2014

In their final home matches of the season, the Brandeis University volleyball dropped a 3-1 decision to Babson College (21-25, 25-20, 25-18, 25-13) before wrapping up their slate against Eastern Connecticut State with a 3-1 win (25-20, 25-21, 16-25, 26-24). The Judges ended the day with a record of 8-21, while Babson is now 23-8 and ECSU is 15-17.

 Brandeis made sure the seniors finished their careers with a 3-1 home win against Eastern Connecticut (25-20, 25-21, 16-25, 26-24). The team pulled out to an early 4-0 lead but saw that disappear as the Warriors we able to get six straight points. The Judges and Warriors traded points and the lead until Brandeis was able to pull away and secure the first set, 25-20.
 
The second set began with the Warriors putting themselves ahead and losing it to the Judges and fall for a second straight set, 25-21.
Eastern Connecticut took an early lead in the third set and didn't look back. A Brandeis timeout had been called to stall the onslaught of points from the Warrior side but it did little as ECSU took the third set 25-16.
 
In the last set, Brandeis had seen Eastern Connecticut take a big lead halfway through with a score of 20-15 but the Judges were able to rally and come within two points of the Warriors. After a Brandeis timeout, the Judges finally took the lead and held on for the win, 26-24.
 
The Judges finished with a .085% kill percentage that was boosted by freshman Jessie Moore who had 19 kills to lead the team. Freshman Julie Kim (Fullerton, Calif./ Troy) and senior Elsie Bernaiche (Plantsville, Conn./ Southington) also played a role in the victory with 33 assists and 30 digs, respectively.
 
The Warriors' sophomore Adrianna Mihalek (Woodbury/ Holy Cross) was a standout as she got 20 kills on the day. Senior Allie Henry (Middleton/ Mercy) and junior Allie Luppi (Tewksbury/ Tewksbury Memorial) lead the team with 38 assists and 19 digs, respectively.
 
 
Against Babson, the Judges got off to a strong start in the opener, hitting .379 with 14 kills and just three errors on 29 attempts. The set featured five ties and two lead changes, with the last coming with sophomore Jessica Kaufman (Tucson, Ariz./Cienaga) on the serve. Trailing, 16-14, Brandeis rattled off five straight points, including two on blocks by junior Maddie Engeler (Sandusky, Ohio/St Marys Catholic Central) and rookie Lia Goldberg (Springfield, N.J./Union County Magnet H.S.). Though the Beavers halted momentum with a timeout, it wasn't enough to climb back into the match as Brandeis won, 25-21.

The second set was nearly an epic comeback by the Judges. Babson opened on a 16-2, thanks to kills from six different players. Sophomore Kristen Haislip (Waterford, Va./Woodgrove) had three in the run to top the visitors. Brandeis clawed their way back to 16-8 after their next sideout, and following some back-and-forth play, the Judges went on a 9-1 run that culminated with a Jessie Moore kills that cut the deficit all the way to 21-20 after a Babson timeout. The Beavers' Jenny Karnes (Houston, Texas/Memorial) stopped the home team's roll with a kill as Babson won the last five points of the second to win, 25-20, and even the match at 1-1.

In the third and fourth sets, Babson controlled play, hitting a combined .356 to finish off the match, 25-18, 25-13.

For the Judges, Moore led the way with a match-high 12 kills, two shy of her career-best, while Engeler had 10 kills and Goldberg posted a career-high nine. Goldberg was the team's most efficient player, finishing with .286 hitting percentage (9 K-3 E-21 TA). Senior libero Elsie Bernaiche (Plantsville, Conn./Southington) led Brandeis with 11 digs, while rookie setter  Julie Kim (Fullerton, Calif./Troy) had 30 assists, a match-high. Goldberg, Engeler and senior Carly Gutner-Davis (Del Mar, Calif./Canyon Crest Acad.) each had two block assists.

Babson had a balanced attack, with Karnes and Brittany Goldschmidt (Delray Beach, Fla./Boca Raton Community) each delivering eight kills and Krissy Robertson (Dedham, Mass./Ursuline Acad.) adding seven. Goldschmidt also had four block assists. Elizabeth Sullivan (Quincy, Mass./No. Quincy) led all players with 22 digs, while Robertson had 26 assists to pace the visitors.

The second match of the day featured Babson earning the win over Eastern Connecticut, 3-1. 

Before the match against Eastern Connecticut, Brandeis honored its four members of the Class of 2015 who played in their final home contests today: Elsie Bernaiche, Carly Gutner-Davis, Liz Hood, and Shemira Pennyman.