On day two of UAA round robin, Brandeis comes up short

On day two of UAA round robin, Brandeis comes up short
Posted: Oct 17, 2010

Waltham, Mass.--Brandeis volleyball dropped two games this afternoon in the final day of the University Athletic Association round robin.  The Judges (13-11, 1-6 UAA) were defeated  by the No. 2-ranked Emory University Eagles and came up short in their match against the Carnegie Mellon University Tartans.

Brandeis started out strong but ultimately suffered a loss 3-0 (19-25, 9-25, 17-25) to Emory.  The Judges were able to keep up with the nationally ranked Eagles (24-4, 6-1 UAA) in the first set.  The Judges led their opponent 12-9 before an Emory timeout allowed the Eagles to regain control of the set.  Later in the set the Judges rallied back to within two points, but were unable to take the lead.

Senior outside hitter Paige Blasco (Greeley, Colo./Frontier Acad.) led the Judges against Emory with nine kills and an ace, earning 10 points. Sophomore outside hitter Lauren Berens (Boulder, CO/Fairview) recorded five kills and an ace for five points.

In their match against the Tartans (11-13, 2-5 UAA) the Judges were able to push the match to four sets, ultimately falling, 3-1 (18-25, 20-25, 25-16, 14-25).  In the third set, the Judges posted 11 kills to earn the win.  Senior middle blocker Nicole Smith (Marietta, GA/Alan C. Pope) played a solid game, with 13 kills, two solo blocks and three block assist.  Paige Blasco had 12 kills and 12 digs, while twin sister Abby notched two aces and 15 digs.  Sophomore libero Susan Sun (Acton, Mass./Acton-Boxborough) had three aces and 19 digs for five points against the Tartans.

With five blocks against the Tartans and 17 overall for the weekend, senior Nicole Smith became Brandeis's all-time leader with 409, surpassing Becca Segal '05.

The second day of UAA action saw a few big upsets.  Most notably, No. 23-ranked NYU defeated the No. 1-ranked Washington University, 3-2 (20-25, 25-16, 21-25, 25-23, 15-12).  In their next match, 40 minutes later, Wash U fell to Case Western Reserve University, 3-1 (24-26, 25-14, 31-29, 25-19).  The Violets' win over the Bears pushed them to second place in the UAA, while the Bears fell from first to third.

The Tartans play next at the Elizabethtown Tri-Match on October 23.  The Judges are next in action at the Hall of Fame Invitational on October 22 and 23.