BRISTOL, R.I. (courtesy RWU sports information) – The Roger Williams University Women's Volleyball team came away with a hard-fought 3-1 win over Brandeis University Tuesday evening, snapping a two-match skid.
The first set saw seven ties and three lead changes. Both teams traded points early on, yet Brandeis was able to pull away midway through with a 7-0 run, breaking a 7-all tie. RWU would manage to pull back into the match, eventually taking a 21-19 lead and forcing a Brandeis timeout. The Judges came out of the break with five straight points and appeared ready to take the set, but the Hawks persevered with a 5-0 run of their own for the 26-24 win.
In the second set, Brandeis managed to stall any RWU rally throughout the set. The Judges scored the first point of the set, and despite Roger Williams tying the game four times, they would never take the lead. The Hawks were within one late in the set (17-18), but Brandeis closed things out with a 7-3 run to tie the match up.
Roger Williams came out hot in the third set, opening with a 5-2 run before eventually going up 11-6 and forcing a Brandeis timeout. The Judges closed the gap within two, making it a 15-17 game. However, RWU used a pair of blocks and a pair of kills as part of an 8-1 run to win the set 25-16.
Brandeis came close to forcing a fifth, staying close to RWU throughout the fourth set. Both teams would combine for seven ties and five lead changes. The Judges held a 21-18 lead and had the momentum, but five consecutive attack errors—two of which came on RWU blocks—pushed RWU back to a two-point lead. The final point of the game came on a Brandeis service error that just missed hitting the back line, giving RWU the 25-23 victory.
Serving and defense was the name of the game for both teams as the two squads combined for 23 service aces (Brandeis 14, Roger Williams 9) and 129 digs (Brandeis 66 , Roger Williams 63).
Senior Shea Decker-Jacoby (Los Angeles, Calif./Marymount) led all players with 17 kills for Brandeis, while junior Emma Bartlett (Duxbury, Mass./Duxbury) added 13. Sophomore Marissa Borgert (Blaine, Minn./Spring Lake Park) handed out 27 assists, while Kaitlyn Oh (Santa Clara, Calif./Cupertino) and senior Yvette Cho (San Diego, Calif./Rancho Bernardo) finished with 18 and 13 digs, respectively.
Lara LoIacono (Lynbrook, N.Y.) and Julia Fields (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y.) each finished with double-doubles for RWU, as LoIacono had 14 kills and 10 digs, while Fields went for 31 assist and 13 digs. Katherine Pickard (St. Petersburg, Fla.) had seven kills and four blocks, with Kate Grabowski (Hebron, Conn.) adding 12 digs and two aces.
Roger Williams (8-6) steps back into CCC play Thursday against Wentworth. Brandeis will host the UAA Round Robin #1 beginning Saturday against Chicago and Washington University at St. Louis.