CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Brandeis University volleyball team opened University Athletic Association play today with a pair of matches against nationally-ranked opponents. The Judges dropped both, falling to #10 NYU and #12 Washington University by 3-0 scores. Matches were played at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland.

TEAM RECORDS

• Brandeis: 5-5, 0-2 UAA.
• NYU: 12-1, 2-0 UAA.
• Washington U: 10-4, 2-0 UAA.

HOW IT HAPPENED VS NYU (Set scores: 25-17, 25-11, 25-15)

• The Judges had a couple of leads in the first set, going up 4-3 early on the serve of senior Ella Pereira (Redondo Beach, Calif./Rolling Hills Prep) and 14-13 after a kill from junior transfer Alina Nowakowski (Mansfield, Mass./Mansfield).
• The Violets closed with a 12-3 run to end the set, 25-17, and take a 1-0 lead.
• NYU never trailed in the second set. Brandeis was within 7-6 and 9-8, but the Violets allowed just three points the rest of the way in the stanza to win, 25-11.
• The Judges' largest lead of the match came at 6-4 in the third set on a kill by junior Lara Verstovsek (Houston, Texas/Episcopal). Another Verstovsek kill made it 8-7, Brandeis, but NYU ran off nine of the next 10 points to run away with the match, 25-15.

HOW IT HAPPENED VS WASHINGTON U. (Set scores: 25-20, 25-17, 25-20)

• The Judges were much more competitive with WashU in the early going. The match went back-and-forth, with the Judges taking an 11-7 lead after winning four in a row on the serve of Verstovsek.
• Another 3-0 mini-run with senior setter Ines Grom-Mansencal (Cincinnati, Ohio/Wyoming) gave Brandeis their largest lead of the day, 15-10. The Bears closed within 16-15 before Brandeis halted their momentum briefly, but a 6-1 run gave WashU a 21-18 edge.
• The Judges closed within 21-20 on a kill by junior Tatiana Wainer (North Miami Beach, Fla./Schech Hillel Community), but the Bears won the last four points to take the first set, 25-20.
• The second set was another close affair through the early going, but WashU rattled off six in a row to extend a 14-13 lead to 20-13 and take the 25-17 win.
• In the third set, Brandeis was ahead, 8-5, on a Verstovsek service ace. WashU answered with four points in a row to reclaim the lead, which they extended to 12-9.
• The Judges battled back to knot the score at 14-all and were still in the set at 17-16 after a Wainer solo block, but the Bears won the next six points and won the set, 25-20.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORES

• Verstovsek paced the Brandeis offense, posting 10 kills against NYU and eight against Washington.
• Sophomore Anna Ertischek (Montgomery, Texas/Lake Creek) had seven kills against NYU and five against WashU.
• First-year Olivia Nirode (Keller, Texas/Keller) topped the defense with nine digs against the Violets, while Pereira had eight against the Bears.
• Wainer led the defense at the net, totaling seven blocks, including two solo against WashU.

UP NEXT

• The Judges meet host Case Western Reserve tomorrow at 10 a.m.