BOSTON, Mass. – Brandeis University senior outside hitter Lara Verstovsek (Houston, Texas/Episcopal) reached the 20-kill plateau for the fourth time this season to lead the Judges to a 3-1 non-conference victory over UMass Boston on the road. Set scores were 25-19, 25-19, 22-25, 25-16.

TEAM RECORDS

• Brandeis, 12-10.
• UMass Boston, 10-8.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Judges only trailed once in the first two sets after dropping the first point of the match. They went on to hit .314 in the first set and .196 in the second while holding the Beacons below zero in the first and .191 in the second.
• Verstovsek had 14 kills through the first two sets as Brandeis won each by a 25-19 score.
• UMB avoided the sweep by raising their hitting percentage to .238 in the third and holding Verstovsek to just one kill as they hung on for a 25-22 win.
• The third set featured six ties and four lead changes
• Brandeis did not let the match go to a fifth set, as they hit a match-high .333 and kept the hosts below zero for the second time. Verstovsek added six more kills as the Judges took it, 25-16.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Verstovsek led all players with 21 kills as she reached 20 for the third time in the last four matches and the 10^th time overall in her career. She also had a team-best two service aces and added a block assist to finish with 23.5 points.
• She moved past Marni Kutok '04 into sixth place on the Judges' career kills list with 1237, and stands 10 shy of fourth place Piera Carfagno '10.
• Verstovsek had 11 digs for her 12^th double-double of the campaign.
• Brandeis had two other players reach double figures in kills and nearly added a fourth, as first-year Kennedy Lilly (Atlanta, Ga./Eagle's Landing Christian Academy) and junior Anna Ertischek (Montgomery, Texas/Lake Creek) both had 10 and senior Arianna Jackson (Lewis Center, Ohio/Oletangy Orange) added nine.
• Jackson hit a team-high .500, while Ertischek was just behind at .450.
• Junior Julia Liang (Sugar Land, Texas/Clements) served as the team's primary setter and came up with a season-high 42 assists. She was two shy of her career-high, previously achieved in a five-set match.
• Sophomore libero Ava Ferrigno (Boca Raton, Fla./Boca Raton Community) had a career-high 23 digs to lead the defensive effort, while first-year Isabella Irizarry (Guaynabo, P.R./Cupeyville School) had 22.  
• Senior Tatiana Wainer (Miami, Fla./Schech Hillel Community) had three blocks (one solo) to pace the net defense. Jackson and Ertischek each had two block assists.

UP NEXT

• The Judges are off for more than a week before hosting Wentworth on October 25^th in their final home match of the season at 6 p.m.