COLLEGE
VOLLEYBALL FINAL SCORE
Tufts 3, Brandeis 1 (12-25, 25-22, 25-22,
25-21)
At Waltham, MA
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Match
Statistics
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Caitlin Updike's 11 kills helped Tufts keep a
step ahead of Brandeis for most of the night
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WALTHAM -- The Tufts University volleyball team won its
seventh-straight match tonight as the Jumbos defeated host Brandeis
University, 3-1, in Red Auerbach Arena. Tufts bounced back after
dropping the first set, 25-12, to outlast the Judges in three tight
sets, 25-22, 25-22, 25-21. With the win, the Jumbos improve to 7-1,
while Brandeis falls to 8-4 on the season.
In the first set, Brandeis took advantage of 11 Tufts errors,
including the first four points of the match. The Judges got six
kills from junior outside hitter Paige Blasco (Greeley, CO) and
three service aces from senior defensive specialist Lauren Polinsky
(White Plains, NY). Four of the Jumbos' 12 points came from senior
co-captain Brogie Helgeson (Santa Cruz, CA).
The second set was the first of three competitive affairs, as
there were only two stretches of more than three points in a row
scored by either team. Brandeis took a 3-1 lead after surrendering
the first point of the set, while Tufts rattled off four in a row
after trailing 10-9 to establish a 13-10 lead on a kill by
sophomore Lexi Nicholas (San Diego, CA). Brandeis
battled back to tie the set at 18-18 on a Blasco kill and a Tufts
error, but the Jumbos closed on a 7-4 run. Junior Dawson Joyce-Mendive (Minden, NV) had six kills in the second,
getting the Jumbos to set point, while junior Caitlin
Updike (Manhattan Beach, CA) closed it out with a
kill.
In the third, the Jumbos jumped out to an 8-3 lead, with four
points coming on Judge miscues. Brandeis responded with a 12-4 run
of their own, reclaiming the lead on a block and kill by junior
middle blocker Nicole Smith (Marietta, GA) and going ahead by
three, 15-12, on a block by Blasco and rookie MB Becca Fischer (San
Antonio, TX). Tufts then scored six of the next seven points with
two Helgeson kills and a Brandeis error putting the Jumbos on top,
18-16. Brandeis responded with three straight points of their own
and were ahead 20-19 after a service return by rookie libero Anna
Homitsky (Pittsburgh, PA) found a hole in the tufts defense. The
Jumbos bounced back quickly, winning six of the final eight points,
closing the set out on a block by Joyce-Mendive, who had four kills
in the set.
Once again in the fourth set, neither team was able to hold
serve for long, with three points being the most served by any one
player. Service errors were key, with the teams combining for 10 of
them in the set. Unfortunately for the Judges, three of them came
late in the set. Trailing 19-17, Blasco had a nice cross-court kill
to side out for the Judges. Helgeson responded with a kill for the
visitors. Although the Judges were able to side-out on the next
three Jumbo serves, they gave the ball right back on service
errors, with Updike finally getting a kill for Tufts to close out
the match.
Brandeis was paced by Paige Blasco, who had a match-high 17
kills, and Carfago, who had 12 kills and 12 digs. Smith hit for a
fine .533 percentage (9 kills, 1 error, 15 attempts) and
contributed three blocks. Junior setter Abby Blasco (Greeley, CO)
had 27 assists and 19 digs for her seventh double-double of the
campaign.
Tufts was led by Joyce-Mendive with 16 kills, Helgeson, who
finished with 14 kills, and Updike with 11. Sophomore libero
Audrey Kuan (Los Altos, CA) led the way
defensively with 25 digs, while senior setter Dena Feiger
(Long Grove, IL) had 41 assists and nine digs.
Brandeis is next in action this weekend at Amherst College for the
Amherst Classic, while Tufts is at the MIT Tournament this weekend.
The Jumbos host matches on Friday night at 6 pm and 8 pm as part of
the MIT Tournament.
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