NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Brandeis University volleyball team clinched a winning record for the first time since 2017 today with a four-set win over Clark University (23-25, 25-17, 25-15, 25-12) and a sweep of host Coast Guard (25-21, 25-19, 25-17) in a tri-match in New London, Connecticut. The Judges saw a school record set in the second match, as senior Lara Verstovsek (Houston, Texas/Episcopal) had 25 kills, the most ever by a Judge in a three-set match.

TEAM RECORDS

• Brandeis, 16-11.
• Clark, 14-12.
• Coast Guard, 17-10.

HOW IT HAPPENED, vs Clark (23-25, 25-17, 25-15, 25-12)

• The Judges fell behind early in the first set, going down 3-1 and 6-2.
• The Cougars would eventually lead by as many as eight points at 19-11.
• Brandeis rallied with 11 of the next 13 points, taking a 22-21 lead on a kill by junior Anna Ertischek (Montgomery, Texas/Lake Creek). Clark responded, closing the set on a 4-1 run to take a 1-0 lead.
• The Judges never trailed in the second set, going on an 8-3 run after a 5-all tie to go up, 13-8.
• Clark took five of the next seven points to climb within 15-13, but  Verstovsek served a 6-0 run that saw two kills each by Ertischek and first-year Kennedy Lilly (Atlanta, Ga./Eagle's Landing Christian Academy) to pull away at 21-13. Brandeis won the second, 25-17.
• Junior Julia Liang (Sugar Land, Texas/Clements) served an 8-0 run with six service aces to open the third set as the Judges rolled to a 25-15 win.
• Brandeis also never trailed in the fourth set as they doubled up the Cougars, 25-12.
• The Judges had a balanced offensive attack, led by Verstovsek's 16 kills and 12 from Ertischek. Senior Alina Nowakowski (Mansfield, Mass./Mansfield) had nine kills, while Lilly and classmate Madison Haft-Abromovich (Stratford, Conn./Rye Country Day School) each had eight.
• Liang just missed a triple double with 23 assists, 11 digs and seven service aces. First-year setter Alexa Ho (Queens, N.Y./Frances Lewis) also had 23 assists, while the defensive effort was paced by sophomore Ava Ferrigno (Boca Raton, Fla./Boca Raton Community) with 16 digs.
• Brandeis outhit Clark, .328 to .133, and owned a 14-4 edge in service aces.

HOW IT HAPPENED vs. Coast Guard (25-21, 25-19, 25-17)

• Verstovsek was the story of the second match, finishing with 25 kills in just three sets. She broke her own three-set record of 22 kills, set last September 29^th against Roger Williams.
• Verstovsek had more than half of the Judges' 46 kills, finishing with 54 percent of the team's total. She had just five fewer kills than the entire Coast Guard roster.
• It was the second-highest kill total in a three-set match in Division III this season, trailing only Molly Harrison of Middlebury's 30 against Connecticut College.
• She also had just five errors in 47 attempts for a .426 hitting percentage. This was her sixth 20-plus kill match of the season and the 12^th of her career. She also finished with 10 digs.
• Haft-Abromovich added seven kills and Ertischek had six.
• Liang also had a double-double performance with 21 assists and team-high 12 digs.

TEAM RECORDS

• With the two wins, Brandeis clinches its first winning season since 2017.
• Their 16 wins are the second-most under head coach Alesia Bennett in her 11-year tenure. Only the 2017 squad that went 17-15 and went to the ECAC Tournament has had a better season since 2012.

UP NEXT

• The Judges will close out the season next weekend at the University of Rochester for the 2024 University Athletic Association tournament. The seventh-seeded Judges meet second-seeded Case Western Reserve in the opening round on Saturday. The teams went five sets in their previous meeting, with the fifth decided by a 15-11 score.