The volleyball team breezed through the first two games of its match against Johnson and Wales College at the Amherst College Classic this weekend, but after the Judges fell behind 17-11 in the third game, coach Michelle Kim sensed a problem and called timeout to try to fix it."I wanted us to refocus and just finish the game," Kim said.

Her strategy paid off, as the Judges rallied to win the game 30-23, clinching a 3-0 victory in the match.

The win gave the Judges a 3-1 record at the tournament as they also defeated Middlebury College 3-0 Friday and Westfield State College 3-0 Saturday after losing their tournament opener to Amherst College 3-0 Friday. The team's record now stands at 9-2 this season.

The Judges won their first two games against Johnson and Wales 30-21 and 30-17, respectively, but said they began to let up at the beginning of the third game.

"We just needed to regain form," captain libero Shannon Trees '08 said. "We came into the third game a little too confident, [but] after that we got back into form and pulled it out."

Things changed after Kim's timeout, as the Judges won 19 of the next 25 points to retake control of the game.

Setter Abby Blasco '11 led the way with 28 assists and outside hitter Lorraine Wingenbach '09 paced the team in kills with 15. Libero Violette Ruggiero '09 added 11 digs in her second tournament since returning from an ankle injury last weekend.

The Judges also won their second match of the day, defeating Westfield State 3-0. Brandeis won the first game easily, 30-11, before closing out with two straight 30-23 wins.

Blasco spurred the team again with 43 assists, and Wingenbach had 17 kills, two service aces and eight digs. Rookie middle blocker Nicole Smith '11 also contributed with eight kills.

The Judges split two matches Friday, losing 3-0 to host Amherst College before defeating Middlebury College 3-0.

The first game against Amherst stayed close, with the teams combining for six ties and three lead changes.

The Judges held a 10-9 lead, but the Lord Jeffs pulled ahead by six on two separate occasions, taking the lead for good. Brandeis got as close as 23-21, but Amherst went on a five-point run and eventually put away the game 30-23.

"We came out really flat. [Amherst] played really well against us," Trees said. "We weren't playing our best and you need to play your best against a team like that."

The second game was even tighter.

With the score tied at 22, Amherst took a one-point lead on a kill by junior Claire Holton-Basaldua. The Judges fought back to regain the lead and had a chance to clinch the game with the score 29-28. But their lead slipped away, as the Lord Jeffs regained serve and took the next three points to win 31-29.

The Judges seemed to lose some steam in the third game. The Lord Jeffs led by as many as nine points and were never threatened in closing out the match with a 30-23 game victory.

"They definitely outplayed us." Kim said. "We have to learn from these games against tough competition."

Kim added that the Judges' defense needs to improve going forward in the season.

Despite the loss, Blasco played well again, notching 26 assists and 13 kills. Ruggiero had a match-high 20 digs, while Wingenbach added 12 kills and five service aces.

The Judges rebounded in their second game of the night to defeat Middlebury College 3-0. The Panthers were able to make every game competitive, but Brandeis still completed the sweep, winning 30-28 in the first game and 30-26 in each of the next two.

Trees said she was happy with the team's performance throughout the tournament, even though the loss to Amherst snapped a six-match winning streak dating back to the Brandeis Invitational Sept. 7 and 8.

"I think we did really well [this weekend]," she said. "We learned how to win in each game. It was definitely a stepping stone for us."

The Judges play next at Endicott College today at 7 p.m. Following that match, the team opens their University Athletic Association season Saturday at the UAA Round Robin No. 1 at New York University at 10 a.m.