The Justice

Middle blocker Piera Carfagno '10, center, slams the ball Tuesday. Photo by David Sheppard-Brick/the Justice

The volleyball team's first University Athletic Association round-robin tournament last month was the low point of its season, featuring a collapse in a 3-2 loss to New York University. The Judges' second UAA round robin this weekend, however, ended in a completely different fashion.

With a 3-0 win over host Case Western Reserve University Sunday, the Judges clinched the third seed in their postseason conference tournament, their highest in several years. The squad went 3-1 during the tournament, with victories over the University of Chicago and Carnegie Mellon University Saturday and a loss to No. 7 Washington University in St. Louis Sunday, finishing UAA play with a 4-3 record. Brandeis now stands at 18-6 on the season following a 3-1 loss to Tufts University Tuesday.

"The players definitely came to play, and we just came out on fire," coach Michelle Kim said.

In a Sept. 30 match against NYU in their first UAA round robin this season, the Judges won the first two games and led 21-12 in the third, but the Violets mounted a furious comeback and won 3-2, dropping Brandeis' match record to 1-2 at that tournament.

The Judges' 4-3 UAA record tied them for third place with Carnegie Mellon, but they earned the third seed thanks to their earlier win over the Tartans. Brandeis will get a chance to avenge its crushing loss to NYU when the Judges play sixth-seeded Violets in the first round of the tournament Nov. 2.

In their second match Sunday, against Case Western, the Judges won three straight games, 30-19, 30-27 and 30-24. Outside hitter Lorraine Wingenbach '09 led the way with 19 kills, 12 digs, two aces and two blocks. Setter Abby Blasco '11, who won the UAA Volleyball Player of the Week award for her performance in last weekend's Midcoast Classic, picked up where she left off by contributing 36 assists, 15 digs, six kills and three aces.

"We were able to take them out of their game pretty quickly, and we never let up," setter Violette Ruggiero '09 said. "We were serving tough against them, and they couldn't respond to our offense."

While the win over Case Western clinched the third seed for the Judges, their most important victory may have been their win over Carnegie Mellon Saturday.

Continued...

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