Volleyball returns to winning ways with sweep of Regis

Marissa Borgert '21 (Photo by Norman Cohen, P'20)
Marissa Borgert '21 (Photo by Norman Cohen, P'20)

WESTON, Mass. (Info taken from a Regis press release) – The Brandeis University volleyball team got back to its winning ways tonight as the Judges rolled past host Regis College, 3-0 (25-11, 25-17, 25-20), in a non-conference match at Higgins Court.

Brandeis (8-10) received a double-double from sophomore Marissa Borgert (Blaine, Minn. / Spring Lake Park) for the third match in a row, as she posted 13 kills and 12 assists. Borgert made only two attack errors for a .458 hitting percentage. Classmate Belle Scott (Portland, Ore. / Oregon Episcopal School) finished with seven kills on 13 attempts for a .538 hitting percentage - the second best of her career - along with three block assists. Senior Shea Decker-Jacoby (Los Angeles, Calif./Marymount) also earned seven kills. Senior setter Marlee Nork (Chicago, Ill./Walter Payton Collegiate Prep) dished out 20 assists, and senior DS Yvette Cho (San Diego, Calif./Rancho Bernardo) led the Brandeis backline with 13 digs.

Katryna Veasey (Quincy, Mass.) led the Pride with 14 kills, two service aces, and two total blocks. Tori Ondris (Mineola, N.Y.) and Emily Fagundo (Dover, N.H.) collected 13 assists apiece, with Ondris also earning 11 digs for a double-double, and Mica van der Meulen (Colorado Springs, Colo.), starting as the libero for the first time this season, led Regis with 14 digs.

The Judges won six of the first seven points of the match to take the early lead, and then put together a 9-1 scoring run later in the opening set to extend their advantage to 21-6. After two kills by Veasey and a Brandeis attack error, the Judges closed out the first set on a kill by Scott. 

The early part of the second set was back-and-forth until Brandeis scored four straight points, three of them on kills by Borgert, to open an 11-6 lead. After a kill by Julia Pelland (Brockton, Mass.), Brandeis rattled off five straight points to extend its lead to 21-11, and then a kill by rookie Kaisa Newberg (Reno, Nev./Sage Ridge School) finished off the second set in favor of the Judges.

Brandeis jumped out to a 14-5 lead in the third set, led by two kills and a block each from Borgert and Scott. Down by 10, Regis cut that deficit in half with a 6-1 scoring run, but the Pride could not get any closer than four points behind the rest of the way, as Borgert earned two kills to bring about match point, which was clinched on a Regis service error.

The Judges made just one attack error in the first set and finished with a .294 hitting percentage as a team, plus they earned five service aces while making just four service errors. Meanwhile, although Regis's offense improved as the match went along, it gave away too many free points with nine service errors and five block errors during the night.

Brandeis, now with its first win in six matches, heads to Pittsburgh, Pa., for a UAA round robin, starting Saturday, Oct. 13, with contests against Rochester at 10:30 a.m. and host school Carnegie Mellon at 4:30 p.m.

Regis (8-11, 1-5 GNAC) travels to Wentworth for a non-conference match Thursday, Oct. 11, at 7 p.m. before returning to league play Saturday, Oct. 13, at Albertus Magnus beginning at 11 a.m. The Pride's next home contest is next Wednesday, Oct. 17, against Anna Maria starting at 6 p.m. at Higgins Court.