A revenge win over New York University Friday propelled the volleyball team to the semifinals at the University Athletic Association championships for the first time since 1990, but a fourth-place finish meant the Judges fell just short of qualifying for the NCAA Tournament. The Judges' 3-0 victory over NYU Friday, their first win over the Violets since 2000, along with a 3-0 victory over the University of Chicago, pushed them into the semifinals, where they fell to Emory University 3-0. After losing to Carnegie Mellon University 3-1 in the third-place match Saturday, the Judges finished 25-10 on the season, their second highest win total in school history.

Despite the historic result, players said they were disappointed about not finishing higher.

"I thought [this weekend] was pretty successful, [but] we didn't play as well as we could have," setter Abby Blasco '11 said. "I was pretty disappointed about the [Carnegie Mellon] loss, but they came out fighting harder than us."

Emory eventually won the tournament, defeating Washington University in St. Louis in the championship game.

"We are all disappointed in losing [to Carnegie Mellon], but we did make an improvement from last year," coach Michelle Kim said. "It's good to know that our players want more, because it's only going to make us better."

The Judges' shutout of NYU was not only their first win over the Violets in seven years, but it also avenged their crushing loss to them Sept. 30, when Brandeis, with a 2-0 lead, led 21-12 in the third game only to drop the match 3-2.

"I think we just went into the game really wanting to beat them," Blasco said. "We wanted to win and we knew we had to make up for our previous loss,"

This time, Brandeis didn't let NYU rally. Though the Judges trailed 3-0 and 4-1 early in the first game, they quickly came back, and, led by Blasco's serving, took six straight points to win the game 30-22.

In the second game, the Judges wasted even less time putting NYU away. They took a 17-7 lead after eight straight points on outside hitter Elizabeth Villalino's '11 serve and eventually went on to win 30-15. The Judges also never trailed in the third game, winning 30-23 as middle blocker Piera Carfagno '10 provided the final kill.

"It was the same lineup [as the previous match versus NYU], but I think our team has improved a lot since then," Kim said. "We were able to execute or skills better."

After shutting out Chicago Friday, the Judges faced Emory in the semifinals, where the Eagles swept the Judges just like they did when the two teams last played Sept. 29.

This time, the Judges were done in by Emory's defense, as no Brandeis player had double-digit kills.

The loss placed the team in the third-place match against Carnegie Mellon, whom they had defeated 3-2 Oct. 13. The teams split the first two games, but the Tartans won the final two 30-20 and 30-18.

Outside hitter Lorraine Wingenbach '09 led the Judges with 19 kills, but Kim said she was held in check by the Tartan defense.

"They were successful keying in on [Wingenbach], and, knowing that's she's our main attacker, they tried to stop her from getting kills for us," Kim said.

Middle blocker Piera Carfagno '10 added 16 kills, while opposite position player Ashley Powers '08 had 14.

Blasco contributed 54 assists and a team-high 26 digs.

Defensive specialist Shannon Trees '08 said the Judges' substitution patterns also doomed them against Carnegie Mellon.

"We probably could have made a change [in rotation] sooner," she said. "We probably could have moved people around."

The Judges' 25-10 record still left them on the outside of the NCAA Tournament bracket Monday.

They instead earned the top seed in the Eastern College Athletic Conference championship, which they won last season. The Judges will begin their title defense with a first-round match against Plymouth State College at home Wednesday at 7 p.m.

Despite not earning a tournament berth, Kim said the fact that the Judges were even under consideration demonstrates the progression of the program.

"Our players are definitely a little disappointed, but in a way, that's good to know, because we know they care. We obviously want more than we have, but at the same time, to keep things in perspective, we've definitely made improvements from where we were a few years ago, and even last season," she said. "Hopefully, that little bit of disappointment will mean we'll be even better next season."



-Mike Prada contributed reporting