After a vital conference win against Rhode Island College, the Beacons welcomed the Brandeis University Judges for their third straight home game Oct. 16. The Judges stood with a deceiving 11–10 record; they play in the super-competitive University Athletic Association with two nationally ranked teams.
It was Rock the Vote & Domestic Violence Awareness night at the Clark Center, with around 120 fans in attendance.
UMass Boston started the match off slow as Brandeis rained down the points. The Beacons could only muster consecutive points thrice, losing set one 25–19.
The second set was the same story. The Beacons fought back from a 12–7 deficit, shrinking Brandeis’ lead to just one — both teams would trade punches, with one refusing to let the other break away. With the score 19–18 in favor of the Judges, the momentum left UMass Boston, and Brandeis closed on a 6–1 run, again winning 25–19.
Set three was quite the change of pace, with ultra-competitive play. Brandeis jumped out to a 9–7 lead early, but the Beacons took off on an 8–0 run to take the lead 15–9. They refused to take their foot off the gas pedal and won the set in a close 25–22.
The Judges finished what they started in set four, going on an early 7–0 run to take the lead 13–7 and winning the match 3–1.
After the game, head volleyball coach Stacy Cheney said, “We showed a lot of fight. Brandeis is a really good — team they’re competing in a conference with a lot of nationally ranked squads. They bring quite a battle, and I thought we played really well. I am proud of our team.”
Next, the Beacons traveled to Keene, NH, to take on LEC rivals, the Keene State Owls. The Owls were an up-and-down team with a mediocre 9–12 record heading into the match.
Both teams came to play in the first set, as the Owls traded small little bursts of consecutive points and the Beacons pulled away late, 25–23.
The next set followed a similar script, but this time, Keene State were the ones to pull away, 25–22.
In set three, UMass Boston went on a 6–0 run to take an 11-6 lead, but later on, the Owls would come back to knot it at 17. With the set tied, both teams went back and forth until Keene State was able to close it out with a 3–0 run.
The Beacons yet again had their backs against the wall, down 2–1. However, in set four, UMass Boston was simply on fire. They went on two runs of eight and six points, running away with the win, 25–11. The Beacons come comeback hopes were still alive.
Keene State had the 7–6 lead in the race to fifteen. UMass Boston responded with yet another dramatic 8–1 run, and the Owls were only able to punch in one more point to make it 14–9. Lauren Westlund closed it out with the final stamp for the Beacons, winning the match 3–2.
UMass Boston now has just six games left before the LEC tournament, and a potential NCAA tournament berth. Look out for when the Beacons welcome Rivier University Wed, Oct. 30 for Breast Cancer Awareness Night.
