AMHERST, Mass. (taken from an Amherst College press release) --
The Brandeis University volleyball team dropped its second-straight
road match tonight, falling to Amherst College, 3-1 (25-23, 19-25,
25-17, 25-23). With the loss, Brandeis falls to 8-3 on the season,
while Amherst improves to 10-1.
Trailing 12-7 in the first set, Brandeis got its act together and
stormed back to take a 16-15 lead, but it was neck-and-neck the
rest of the way. The Jeffs regained the lead at 21-20 and managed
to hang on for a thrilling 25-23 first-set victory, with first-year
Katherine Kanoff driving home the winning kill on a set from senior
captain Claire Holton-Basaldua.
With the teams deadlocked at 14-14 in the second set, the Judges
took control and went on a 10-3 run en route to a 25-19 win to tie
the match at one set apiece. Kanoff and sophomore Laura Hyman got
Amherst going in the third set by combining for blocks on each of
the Jeffs’ first two points, with Hyman also closing out the
set with a kill to seal her team’s 25-17 win.
Hyman continued to come up big at the right times, as her kill in
the fourth set broke an 11-11 tie and ended what was one of the
longest rallies of the night. After Hyman ignited a 3-0 run that
was met by three straight points from the Judges, Amherst senior
Alison Munzer capped off another 3-0 run with a spike to give the
Jeffs a 17-14 advantage.
Brandeis continued to find answers for every Amherst surge, as the
teams found themselves knotted at 18-18 and 19-19 before the Judges
regained the lead at 20-19. After a Brandeis ball-handling error
gave Amherst a 24-23 lead, Hyman put the match away with her 13th
kill of the night, marking a new career high for the sophomore
middle hitter.
Junior right-side Piera Carfagno (Los Angeles,
Calif.) led the Brandeis attack with 14 kills, while sophomore
outside hitter Paige Blasco (Greeley, Colo.) paced
the defense with 25 digs. Junior defensive specialist
Lauren Polinsky (White Plains, N.Y.) added 16
digs, senior tri-captain Violette Ruggiero
(Paradise Valley, Ariz.), filling in at setter for Abby Blasco, had
39 assists and a pair of service aces, and sophomore middle blocker
Nicole Smith (Marrieta, Ga.) totaled six blocks to
go along with her 10 kills.
The Judges take on Middlebury College and Westfield State College
tomorrow at 11 and 2.
Volleyball falls to Amherst, 3-1
Posted: Sep 26, 2008