ATLANTA, Ga. – The Brandeis University volleyball team opened its 2023 University Athletic Association tournament with a match that included their longest set of the year, but the Judges dropped their quarterfinal, 3-0, to seventh-ranked NYU.
TEAM RECORDS
- #7 seed Brandeis: 10-16.
- #2 seed NYU: 27-4, #7 ranking in Division III by AVCA.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Judges struggled to find their offensive rhythm in the first set, as they had more errors than either team had kills as the Violets took it, 25-11.
- The second set proved to be epic. The largest lead for either team was four when NYU went ahead by scores of 15-11 and 16-12, the last on a kill by Haley Holz.
- After that point, the Judges embarked on a 7-1 run, taking advantage of four straight NYU errors to tie the set and a kill by sophomore Anna Ertischek (Montgomery, Texas/Lake Creek) to pull ahead.
- After Brandeis took a 20-18 lead on a kill by junior Arianna Jackson (Lewis Center, Ohio/Oletangy Orange), NYU scored four in a row to take a two-point lead of their own, 22-20.
- Brandeis scored the next three points on two kills by Ertischek and one by junior Lara Verstovsek (Houston, Texas/Episcopal), but a Holz kill knotted things at 23-all.
- Brandeis saw the first set point at 24-23 on another Verstovsek kill, but neither team was able to put the stanza away.
- The sides saw eight more set points averted – four for each team. Brandeis had chances to win it at 31-30 and 33-32, but the Violets finally strung together three in a row to take the third set, 35-33. It was Brandeis's longest set of the season.
- Brandeis got off to a fast start in the third set, going ahead 5-1 thanks in part to a kill and a block each from Jackson and senior Rita Lai (Sugar Land, Texas/Clements).
- The Judges maintained the lead at 13-11 after another Lai kill, but NYU scored three in a row to claim their first lead of the third set, 14-13.
- The squads traded sideouts and runs until the score was tied at 21-21 after an Ertischek kill. NYU got the lead back on an Elise Curtin kill and closed things out on three-straight service aces by Ava Launsbach to end the match with a 25-21 set.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Brandeis was paced by Ertischek, who had a match-high 14 kills and just five errors in 27 attempts for a .333 hitting percentage.
- It marked her 11th-straight match with double-digit kills and 14 out of 15.
- Verstovsek added 11 kills, seven digs and one block assist.
- Sophomore Julia Liang (Sugar Land, Texas/Clements) had 31 assists and eight digs, while senior Ella Pereira (Redondo Beach, Calif./Rolling Hills Prep) led the defense with 10 digs.
- Brandeis's defense had 48 digs compared to 37 for NYU.
- Junior Tatiana Wainer (North Miami Beach, Fla./Schech Hillel Community) paced the net defense with three block assists.
- Both teams finished with 35 kills, but NYU had 12 fewer attack errors (27-15). The Violets also had a 14-3 advantage in service aces and 12-4 in team blocks.
UP NEXT
- The seventh-seeded Judges will meet third-seeded and ninth-ranked Washington University in the consolation semifinals at 6 p.m. this evening, as the Bears were upset in three sets by sixth-seeded Case Western Reserve, coached by Karen (Chambers) Farrell '93.
