South Hadley, Mass.--Brandeis University women's volleyball dropped two games this past Saturday at the Hall of Fame Invitational, hosted by Smith College.  The Judges fought hard, despite playing without starting setter Abby Blasco (Greeley, CO/Frontier Acad.). Brandeis fell to MIT, 3-1 and were bested by Wellesley College 3-1.  Brandeis' record falls to 13-14.

For their first match of the day on Saturday, Brandeis faced off against MIT. The Judges were able to win the second set 25-11 but were unable to attain a victory.  The Engineers (18-12) topped them 3-1, (25-19, 11-25, 25-23, 25-15).  Senior outside hitter Paige Blasco (Greeley, CO/Frontier Acad.) led the Judges' scoring, posting 14.5 points with 13 kills, an ace and one block assist.  Senior middle blocker Nicole Smith (Marietta, GA/Alan C. Pope) made three solo blocks, two block assists and six kills for 10 points.

Against Wellesley(16-7), the Judges started out strong, winning the first set 25-19, notching 12 kills, with just one error in 24 attempts. Ultimately the Judges were unable to hang on and were defeated by the Blue 3-1, (19-15, 25-20, 25-18, 25-15). Smith led the team in scoring, making 15 kills, two aces, two block assists and a solo block for 19 points.  Rookie outside hitter Si-Si Hensley (Fullerton, CA/Troy) made 10 kills, for 10 points in the match.  Sophomore defensive specialist Susan Sun (Acton, MA/Acton-Boxborough) played a fine match, leading the team with 18 digs.

Wellesley faces of against conference foe, United States Coast Guard Academy on Tuesday, Oct. 26.  MIT also plays on Oct. 26 against WPI. The Judges' next match is Friday, October 29 against UMass Boston at the Brandeis University Classic.