The women’s volleyball team began the season strong, coming out victorious on two out of its three games, giving it a starting overall record of 2-1 for the season.

Judges 1, Franklin 3

On the first Saturday of the year, the Judges struggled to maintain a lead as the match resulted in a 3-1 victory for Franklin College  with scores of 17-25, 25-19, 15-25 and 23-25. In the first set, the Judges could not hold the lead over Franklin as they lost by eight. In the second set, however, they regained their power and showed their greatness with a win. Their burst of power was short lived as the remaining two sets ended in defeat. Even though the Judges could not come out on top, their motivation for the sport helped them stay close right to the end.

Although the average team stats were lower this game than in the previous, the team still pulled out some great plays. The total digs the team pulled off was incredible as libero Yvette Cho ’19 had 24, outside hitter Clare Meyers ’21 had 18, outside hitter Jillian Haberli ’18 had 12 and many others were in the double digits for total digs. Assists were high as well from setters Marlee Nork ’19 and Leah Pearlman ’19 as they had 12 and 5, respectively. Middle hitter Emma Bartlett ’20 scored the most points throughout the sets with a total of 10.

Judges 3, Smith 0

In the second game on Friday, the Judges proved their endurance and resilience by completely sweeping the match against Smith College 3-0, with scores of 25-10, 25-16 and 25-18. Brandeis topped Smith with hitting percentages of .438, .239 and .094, respectively. The Judges overall had an average kill percentage of .223, 47 total digs and 29 total assists — all impressive statistics for the beginning of the year that can only be improved upon throughout the remainder of the season.

Again, the team showed another exemplary performance even during its second game of the day. Cho continued to show her skills with the most digs on the team with a total of 17. In her debut performance, middle hitter Belle Scott ’21 showed her great potential with a dominant kill percentage of .571 along with Bartlett, who continued to show her strength with a .444 kill percentage. Setters Pearlman and Megan Osorio Moran ’21 each excelled in assists as they each had 16 and 10 respectively, which shows the great potential rookie Osorio Moran will bring to the team moving forward.

Judges 3, Wellesley 1

On the first Friday of the season, the Judges started their season with a strong win 3-1 against Wellesley College, with scores of 25-17, 25-15, 26-28 and 25-19. The Judges came out strong, taking the first two sets with hitting percentages of .190 and .207, respectively. The third set, however, was a close one for the Judges as they only lost by two. By the fourth set they came back much more powerful, ultimately sweeping the competition.

Throughout the sets, Bartlett shined with a fantastic kill percentage of .300 and scored a total of 16 points. Nork gave a stellar starting performance with a total of 23 assists and two service aces, starting her season of serving strong. Cho came out on top with a total of 24 digs, while right side hitter Marissa Borgert ’21 began her debut with the Judges with a total of 22 assists to lead Brandeis to victory.