The women’s volleyball team went 2-1 in the final home games of their season this week, with wins against Lasell College on Tuesday, Eastern Connecticut State University on Saturday and a loss against Babson College on Saturday. The team now sits at 8-21 overall.

The seniors left the Red Auerbach Arena triumphantly for the final time on Saturday. Their last career home match saw a four-set win against ECSU, 25-20, 25-21, 16-25, 26-24. Outside hitter Jessie Moore ’18 led the attack with 19 kills, while middle blocker Maddie Engeler ’16 complemented Moore with 10 of her own. 

The solid defense was once again led by libero Elsie Bernaiche ’15, who had 30 digs in her last home match. Outside hitter Shemira Pennyman ’15 also had an impressive stat line with 15 digs and five kills. 

Bernaiche was full of emotion after the match. 

“It feels good knowing I can step off the court with pride,” she said. “Winning our last home game was the best way to walk off Auerbach Court. 

“It’s just been a crazy four years with the seniors, and I’m happy to have shared my final games with them,” she continued.

The first match of the day did not go as well for the Judges. The team dropped their first home match on Saturday to Babson in four sets, 25-21, 20-25, 18-25, 13-25. 

The Judges found themselves in a large early hole in the second set when they fell behind 16-2. The team held their composure and brought the deficit to 21-20 with the help of a 9-1 run, but Babson took the set with the final four points. 

Even though in the next two sets the Judges were defeated relatively easily, the team still had solid individual performances. Moore and Engeler again led the offensive side with 12 and 10 kills each. 

Bernaiche was still upbeat about the team’s chances after the match. 

“We have developed patience and endurance as a team to ride out tough games and always fight,” she said. “Even after losing to Babson, we were able to come back and stay strong against Eastern Connecticut.”

The Judges came out of their long slump and ended their 13-match losing streak with a win at home against Lasell. The match was a three-set sweep as the Judges took the competition by scores of 25-18, 25-13, 25-13. 

The team dominated the first two sets as they led throughout both sets entirely. Pennyman, Moore and setter Maggie Swenson ’16 contributed to the offense with six kills apiece. 

Once again, setter Julie Kim ’18 continued her strong inaugural season with 23 assists and four service aces. Bernaiche also contributed solid defense with 12 digs, a match-high. 

The team as played remarkably well as a whole to compliment the strong individual performances. The Judges set a season high for hitting percentage at .272 percent, and also a season-low with only 10 attack errors. 

The Judges will end their season next weekend, at the single-elimination University Athletic Association Championship hosted by Carnegie Mellon University. 

Bernaiche said still believes in the team’s ability to pull off an upset at the tournament. 

“I expect us to go into our final UAA tournament with the same stress-free mentality we have been playing with this half of the season,” she said. 

The team will go into the competition as the eighth seed in the eight-team tournament, squaring off against Washington University in St. Louis on Friday afternoon.