The women’s volleyball team played incredibly well this past week but came up just short against a strong Worcester Polytechnic Institute team on Thursday.

Brandeis held their own against the WPI team that had 17 wins on the season coming into the match, but they ultimately lost 3-2 by scores of 15-25, 25-19, 25-22, 22-25 and 6-15.

Having lost five straight matches, things were not looking up for the Judges after the first set.  They put up a sub-zero -.121 kill rate and seemed to be in trouble right from the start.  However, this first set was not representative of the Judges’ performance on this day.  They came back with an astounding .355 kill rate to take the second set and then won the third set to go up 2-1 in the match.  Although the Judges were unable to come out on top in this match, they fought admirably and were able to push it into the winner-take-all fifth set.

Outside hitter Jessie Moore ’18 had a double-double with a team-high 14 kills and 11 digs; outside hitter Shea Decker-Jacoby ’19 had 10 kills and five digs; and middle hitter Emma Bartlett ’20 registered 13 kills.  Liberos Yvette Cho ’19 and Doyeon Kim ’20 were all over the court defensively with 25 and 17 digs respectively.  Cho and Kim also combined for four service aces for the match.

There were many standout performances on the day, but none matched the incredible double-double from setter Marlee Nork ’19.  Nork had a remarkable .444 kill rate for four kills, a game-high 42 assists (19 more than anyone on WPI) and 13 digs.  With fellow setter Leah Pearlman ’19 out with injury, Nork has had to step it up from her position.  She has done far more than that and quickly become a leader on the court for the Judges with yet another 40-assist performance.

The Judges are now on a six-game losing streak and have yet to win a game in their conference for the second straight season.  However, fans should not be dismayed.  The squad already has two more wins this season than they did all of last year.  In addition, they have a plethora of incredibly young and talented players who have already shown that they can make a significant difference for this team moving forward.

Furthermore, comparing this season’s statistics to those of last season’s, the squad has already shown drastic improvements.  They are averaging 1.32 more kills per set than last year with more than two times as high of a kill percentage.  They are also averaging more assists, blocks and digs per set this year than last year.

The Judges now have a 7-15 record on the season, but this record does not tell the whole story.  Although their record has room for improvement, this squad should be very proud of the way they have played all year.  They have shown exponential growth from last season and have serious potential for greatness moving forward.

Brandeis will look to get back on track this Tuesday at home against Rivier University at 7 p.m.