Salve Regina's ECAC run ends at Brandeis

Salve Regina had a couple of match-high performances, as sophomore outside hitter Jennifer Duggan (Merrimack, N.H.) led all players with 12 kills and senior libero Megan Clancy (Chelmsford, Mass.) had 17 digs. Sophomore Taylor Violet (Tiverton, R.I.) also played well, dishing-out a team-high 27 assists.

The Judges had a balanced attack, with four players registering at least five kills, and three of those hitting for a .364 percentage or better. Junior setter Yael Einhorn(Cherry Hill, N.J.) orchestrated the offense with 32 assists while also registering five kills with one error in her seven attacks for a .571 percentage. Einhorn led the team to a .269 hitting percentage overall (39 K-11 E- 104 TA).

All three sets were tightly contested. In the first, the largest lead in the early going was three by Brandeis at 13-10, but SRU answered with four in a row to take a 14-13 lead. The Judges were ahead, 18-17, when an SRU service error made it a two-point difference. At that point, Hensley stepped back to serve and rattled off the final six points of the set, with a Fischer kill wrapping it up, 25-17. The Judges had their most efficient set of the match, with 14 kills and just one error in 27 attempts for a .481 percentage.

The second set saw another see-saw affair, with runs lasting no more than three points – except for one – and most of those strings answered by the opposition. The crucial stretch came late in the set. With Salve Regina leading, 19-17, Brandeis coach Michelle Kim called a timeout. After the break, Gutner-Davis came up with a kill to return possession to the Judges. She then delivered a service ace to tie the match, and spark a 5-0 run, capped by a Berens kill that made it 22-19. Salve snapped the string with an Erin McGloin (West Islip, N.Y./West Islip), but the teams traded points the rest of the way for a 25-23 Brandeis victory.

In the third set, the Seahawks jumped out early to a 5-1 lead, and were still ahead at 12-10. Brandeis then embarked on a 6-1 streak of their own, with an Einhorn tip kill and Hood service ace supplementing four errors by the visitors to make it a 16-13 lead. The Judges would allow Salve back into the match at 18-17, but two more errors gave momentum back to the hosts, who closed it out at 25-20 on Hood's tenth kill of the match.

Courtesy of Brandeis Information