NORTON, Mass.  –  The Brandeis volleyball lost a tight first set and captured the third, but hot hitting by host Wheaton College sent the Judges to a 3-1 defeat in Norton, Mass., tonight.

The Judges had two chances to serve for the first set, but were unable to take advantage, dropping a 28-26 decision. After the Lyons led wire-to-wire in the second, 25-19, the Judges did the same in the third, 25-21. Wheaton rallied from an early deficit in the fourth set to claim a 25-19 victory and the match.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The first set was as tight as could be, with neither team ever taking a lead of more than two points.
• Wheaton had the first set point at 24-23, but a service error forced the set to go long.
• The Judges served to go ahead 1-0 at 25-24 and 26-25, but could not convert, with Wheaton winning the last three points.
• The second set saw a modest 4-0 run by Wheaton early, and that was enough for the Lyons. They went ahead by as many as six on a Deirdre Wilson kill at 18-12.
• In the third, Brandeis opened up a 7-1 lead on the serve of rookie Grace Krumpack (Cincinnati, Ohio / Colerain).
• The advantage built to 21-11 on a Shea Decker-Jacoby (Los Angeles , Calif. / Marymount) kill. Wheaton battled back with an 8-0 featuring three Cathryn MacGregor kills, but a Brandeis timeout at 21-19 was enough to halt the momentum.
• In the fourth, the Judges used a 9-1 run, with six points served by Decker-Jacoby, to build a 12-7 lead.
• Wheaton scored the next five points to even the set at 12-all. It was still tied at 18-18 when the hosts scored seven of the final eight points to clinch the match.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• The Judges were outhit, .313 to .052, for the match.
• Krumpack led the team with eight kills, but no other Judges had more than four.
• Kendall Jacobs of Wheaton led all players with 14 kills, while Elise Waelder had 10.
• Rookie libero Yvette Cho (San Diego, Calif. / Rancho Bernardo) had a match-high 17 digs, the third time in four matches she has had exactly that many.
• Decker-Jacoby finished with five service aces, two shy of a career-best.
• Rookie setter Leah Pearlman (El Paso, Texas/El Paso) had 18 assists.

TEAM RECORDS

• Brandeis falls to 2-6 on the season
• Wheaton evens its record at 3-3
• Brandeis still leads the all-time series with the Lyons, 19-12, despite seeing a three-match winning streak in the series snapped.

UP NEXT

Brandeis returns to Shapiro Gym on Friday night as they co-host the MIT Invitational with matches against Cabrini College at 4 p.m. and Colby at 6 p.m.