Entering last weekend's Hall of Fame Invitational at Mount Holyoke College, the volleyball team was looking to snap a 13-game losing streak that had lasted for almost two months. Last Friday, the Judges notched their first win in October at the tournament, sweeping Smith College 3-0. However, the Judges were swept in both of their matches the following day, losing 3-0 to Amherst College and Bowdoin College.

Outside hitter Si-Si Hensley '14 viewed the victory over Smith as a sign of the team's strong camaraderie.

"I thought our team played really well together, and at that point, we really just wanted to win a game, and we knew we could," she said. "I think that was one of our best displays of our team skill and our ability to get the job done. I had a lot of fun playing in that game, and I think a lot of my teammates did as well."

 Middle blocker Lauren Berens '13 agreed with Hensley's belief that the win was a result of the chemistry and cohesiveness of the team.

"I thought it was a great team effort," she said. "I think everyone really came together that game and gave it their best. There hasn't really been a game in a while where I thought everyone showed up to play their best. I think if we did that more often, we'd be winning more games."

The Judges ended the tournament with a 3-0 loss to Bowdoin. The Polar Bears dominated the Judges for the first two sets, winning by scores of 25-9 and 25-11. In the third set, however, Brandeis was resilient and took Bowdoin right to the wire. But Bowdoin escaped with a narrow win over the Judges, 25-23, as Brandeis suffered its second loss of the day.

Outside hitter Liz Hood '15 led the Judges with six kills. Setter Yael Einhorn '14 led the team with 18 assists, while libero Elsie Bernaiche '15 accumulated 10 digs in the game.

Earlier in the day, Brandeis suffered another sweep at the hands of Amherst by scores of 25-18, 25-17 and 25-22. In the opening set, the Judges tallied 13 kills and 18 points, yet Amherst outplayed Brandeis en route to a win. A similar story followed in the second set, as Amherst pulled away once again despite a solid effort from the Judges. In the third set, Brandeis kept pace with the Lord Jeffs, but Amherst pulled away at the end and Brandeis fell.

Hood and Hensley shared the team lead in kills with 11. Libero Elsie Bernaiche '15 anchored Brandeis on the defensive front with 12 digs.

Hensley recognized the Judges' spirit and their ability to bounce back and battle until the end.

"One of the things we do before every game is that we talk about our goals individually as players," she said. "When we're in tough situations, what really helps us out is our teammates holding us accountable for all of the things we talk about before the game. We just try our best to support each other. … And generally, that just helps us put up a fight, no matter who we're playing, regardless of whether we're about to win or lose."

Last Friday, the Judges finally managed to snap their losing streak, notching a 3-0 win over Smith. In the first set, Brandeis landed 10 kills in 25 attacks, helping to seal a 25-16 victory. Brandeis was able to outscore Smith in the two subsequent sets as well, defeating the Pioneers 26-24 in the second set and 25-22 in the third set.

Hood led the team with 11 kills, Einhorn contributed 32 assists and middle blocker Becca Fischer '13 added six blocks. Bernaiche also contributed to the win with a team-leading 19 digs.

Berens believed the tournament, especially the win over Smith, was an important experience for the team.

"I think this weekend reminded us all how it felt to win," she said. "If we can take everything we've learned this year, … [that] we've been working on in practice, I think we can do well as a team, and I think we'll be able to show up to play."

Hensley was very optimistic about the team, looking toward the remainder of the season.

"The things we take away from our games are the positive," she said. "We play well together as a team, and we talk a lot of the court which helps us play.

"We'll also point out things that we can do better or things that we can work on in practice. [This weekend], we really kept our attitudes up, which is also a good thing. So we'll definitely take that with us."

The Judges play tonight at Lasell College at 7 p.m. The team will then play a home match against the University of Massachusetts Boston on Saturday at 1 p.m.