The Justice

Media Credit: David Sheppard-Brick Right-side hitter Piera Carfagno '10 reaches up toward the ball en route to a 3-0 sweep of Endicott College last Thursday.

After nearly blowing a 19-11 lead in the first set of last Thursday's game against Endicott College, the volleyball team found itself trailing 20-15 in the second set and in danger of letting Endicott back into the match.

Yet a 10-3 Brandeis run sparked a 25-23 second-set comeback win, and the Judges finished off Endicott 25-19 in the third set for its fifth sweep of the season. With the victory, the Judges improved their record to 8-1 and increased their winning streak to five games.

Falling behind early in key sets before staging a comeback is nothing new for the Judges this season. They lost the first eight points in the first set against Trinity College Sept. 13 before rallying to win the set and the match and also rallied from a 9-4 deficit to win the fifth and decisive set against New England powerhouse Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sept. 6.

While wary of her team's slow starts, coach Michelle Kim was pleased with the squad's ability to battle when behind.

"It's good to know that we can come back and fight until the very end, and we've been fortunate to come back in close games," she said.

The Judges jumped out to an early 19-11 first-set lead, but it quickly shriveled to 19-16 before Kim called a timeout to stop the bleeding. The timeout did exactly that, as the Gulls never got closer than three points and the Judges closed out the set 25-19.

"[The timeout] was more of just a way to stop their momentum and take the ball over and make the run ourselves," Kim said.

In the second set, Brandeis fell behind 15-20 before its outside hitters helped spark the comeback. Outside hitter Lorraine Wingenbach '09 began the rally with a kill, and outside hitter Paige Blasco '11, a University Athletic Association player of the week last week, added three of her game-high eight kills during the run. Right-side hitter Piera Carfagno's '10 ace with the Judges leading 24-23 closed out the set.

In the third set, the Judges built an early lead before completing the sweep. After the Gulls tied the score at five, Brandeis went on a 9-1 tear to jump ahead 14-6 en route to a 25-19 third-set victory.

Continued...

Page 1 of 2 next >

Article Tools