Waltham, Mass. – The Brandeis volleyball team hosted Vassar and Babson this weekend for out of conference play. The Judges faced Vassar just after Vassar's loss to the Babson Beavers. Though they fought hard on the court, the Judges were unable to take more than a set off the Brewers and lost in 4 sets (18-25, 19-25, 25-17, 18-25). Later on, Brandeis faced a Babson squad fresh from their win over Vassar. The Judges battled with the Beavers attempting to swing the match their way, but were unable to gain an upper-hand and lost in 3 sets (17-25, 22-25, 20-25).

 VS.  Vassar

• The Judges opened up slowly against the Brewers with Brandeis falling to a 10-3 start. They then bounced back with a 10-1 run to reinvigorate the squad. The judges pushed to a further 18-14 lead over Vassar. However, Vassar turned a corner and fired up their offense. The Judges pushed, but couldn't get a lucky break and lost to the first set 18-25.
• The second set saw the Judges fall to a 7-2 beginning from some offensive hiccups. The Judges attempted to get their offensive rhythm, but the Brewers didn't let off the pedal. The judges fell 25-19 in the second set.
• Set three was much more exciting for the home crowd as the Judges kept pushing forward under the attacking prowess of Zara Platt (Fountain Valley, Calif/Fountain Valley) and Shea Decker-Jacoby (Los Angeles, Calif/Marymount) who combined for 7 kills in the set.  The Brandeis squad pushed forward, firmly in control of the set, to a 25-17 victory.
• The fourth set saw a Brandeis team bent on taking control of the match. However, as hard as they fought, they were unable to get out in front of the Brewers. Eventually falling 25-18 to conclude the match.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• For the Judges, Platt and Decker-Jacoby were the offensive leaders with 7 kills each, while Maddie Engeler (Huron, OH /St. Mary Central Catholic) added four kills. 
• Maddie Engeler (Huron, OH /St. Mary Central Catholic), Kirsten Frauens (Rye, N.Y./ Rye) and Jessica Kaufman (Tucson, Ariz/ Cienaga) each took part in at least 3 blocks to lead the defensive effort at the net.
• Allison Harmsworth (Bradenton, Fla/ Newsome) and Leah Pearlman (El Paso, TX/ El Paso) took care of the setting for the Judges, finishing with 14 assists, while Pearlman added 12.  
• Defensively, Yvette Cho (San Diego, Calif/ Rancho Bernardo) had 20 digs to lead the judges defensive effort on the floor.

VS. Babson

• Brandeis was overpowered by an efficient Babson offense in 3 sets hitting a combined .237 average.
• In the opening set, the Judges and the Beavers were neck and neck, getting their offensives into motion. The Beavers pulled ahead to a 22-12 lead over the Judges. Several tough serves from Shea Decker-Jacoby (Los Angeles, Calif/Marymount) resulted in one ace and pressure on the Beavers giving the Brandeis squad some momentum going into the second set.
•  Set two was a riveting one, with strong play from the judges who recovered from a 7-1 deficit. The Judges rallied back and tied the set at 15 apiece. The two squads continued to battle and were still tied by the time they got to 20 points each.  Coach Vaccari then subbed Jessie Moore (Rye, N.Y./Rye) who delivered a kill in her first play. However, the Beavers finished out the set at 25-22.
• In the third set, the judges tried to rally back, moving ahead to a 9-0 lead over Babson. The two squads were never more than 5 points away from each other with three lead changes occurring in the set.  Babson closed the match out with a 6-1 run after the judges gave up the lead at 19-19.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Freshman outside hitter Shea Decker Jacoby notched 11 digs throughout the match to keep the judges alive through a fantastic defensive effort and added 4 kills to the Brandeis offense.
• Calling the shots for the Brandeis offense was freshman setters Leah Pearlman (El Paso, Texas/El Paso) and Allison Harmsworth (Bradenton, Fla/Newsome) with 8 and 12 assists respectively.
• Jessie Moore (Rye, N.Y./Rye) lead the Judges attacking effort with 9 kills in the match.
• Rookie Libero Yvette Cho (San Diego, Calif/ Rancho
•  Bernardo) and Decker-Jacoby each had 5 service aces that put pressure on the Babson side of the net. 

UP NEXT

• The Judges will next travel to Rochester, N.Y. to compete in the UAA championship tournament starting with their match against Emory at 12:00 P.M. on Saturday, November 6^th.