WALTHAM, Mass. -- The Brandeis volleyball team bounced back from
its first defeat of the season to defeat Smith College, 3-0, in the
opening match of the Brandeis Invitational today. The Judges were
convincing 25-15, 25-17, 25-8 winners.
Brandeis trailed, 6-2, early in the first set before running off
five straight points. Junior right-side Piera
Carfagno (Los Angeles, Calif.) had a kill to start the run
and then served four straight points to give the Judges the lead.
The Pioneers ralied to take a 12-11 lead on a kill by junior
Bethany Weiss (Windham, N.H.). Brandeis responded as junior middle
blocker Bridget McAllister (Santa Clara, Calif.)
had a kill on three of the next four points to give the Judges a
15-12 lead and force Smith into a timeout. The visitors scored a
point out of the break, but only had two more after than as the
Judges closed on a 10-2 run for the 25-15 win.
Set two started with Brandeis winning the first four points and
leading by as many as 12 points, 19-7, following a service ace by
sophomore setter Abby Blasco (Greely, Colo.), and
the Judges cruised to the 25-17 win. In the third set, the Pioneers
scored two of the first three points. Brandeis answered with runs
of seven and nine straight points on the serves of senior DS
Danielle Friedman (Peoria, Ariz.) and Carfagno to
take an 18-3 lead and the eventual 25-8 win.
Sophomore outside hitter Paige Blasco (Greely,
Colo.) just missed a career-high with 16 kills, but made just three
errors in 48 attempts for an outstanding .464. Senior
Violette Ruggiero (Paradise Valley, Ariz.) led the
way defensively with nine digs, while Paige Blasco had eight.
Sophomore Nicole Smith (Marietta, Ga.) was a force
at the net, making five block assists, while Carfagno had four
assists and McAllister had one solo block and two assists.
Volleyball downs Smith, 3-0, in Brandeis Invitational opener
Posted: Sep 12, 2008