WALTHAM, Mass. – The Brandeis University volleyball team picked up its first two wins of the season today, as the Judges swept Salve Regina (25-14, 25-13, 25-23) and outlasted Regis College in five (23-25, 26-24, 25-20, 17-25, 15-12).

TEAM RECORDS

• Brandeis, 2-1.
• Salve Regina, 0-3.
• Regis, 2-2.

HOW IT HAPPENED, SALVE REGINA

• The Judges flew past the Seahawks, 25-14, 25-13, 25-23, thanks to a terrific hitting day. Brandeis hit .414 in the first set with 14 kills and just two errors in 29 attacks. They hit at a .385 clip (14 K-4 E-26 TA) in the second before dipping to .190 in the third (16 K-8 E-42 TA), finishing at .309 for the match (44 K-14 E-97 TA).
• Leading the way with her second-straight double-double this season was senior outside hitter Lara Verstovsek (Houston, Texas/Episcopal), who finished with a match-high 14 kills and 10 digs. She also had four service aces and two block assists to finish with a team-high 19 points. Verstovsek hit for a .370 percentage, making just four errors in her 27 attempts.
• Senior middle blocker Tatiana Wainer (Miami, Fla./ Schech Hillel Community) had a terrifically efficient day, finishing with nine kills and no errors in 15 attempts for a .600 percentage.
• First-year Kennedy Lilly (Atlanta, Ga./Eagle's Landing Christian Academy) reached double-digit kills for the second-straight match, finishing with 10. Lilly had four errors in 20 attempts to post a .300 hitting percentage.
• A trio of first-years paced the defense and setting duties. Libero Isabella Irizarry (Guaynabo, P.R./Cupeyville School) led all players with 13 digs, while classmates Samantha Lin (Menlo Park, Calif./Menlo-Atherton) and Alexa Ho (Queens, N.Y./Frances Lewis) had 17 and 16 assists, respectively.
• At the net, Brandeis finished with just three team blocks, but sophomore Alina Nowakowski (Mansfield, Mass./Mansfield) contributed to all three.

HOW IT HAPPENED, REGIS

• The Judges and Pride went the distance before Brandeis prevailed, 23-25, 26-24, 25-20, 17-25, 15-12. Brandeis hit above .200 in each of their set wins, including a .333 percentage in the decisive fifth set, when 12 of their 15 points came by the way of kills.
• After the two squads split the first two sets by the minimum two points, it marked the seventh time in 10 sets over the weekend that the Judges played a two-pointer. The Judges took their 2-1 lead thanks to three kills each from Lilly and Verstovsek in the third set. Regis took advantage of a good net play and some wildness on the part of the Judges, forcing Brandeis into 10 attack errors as they evened up the match.
• In the fifth set, it was all Verstovsek and junior Anna Ertischek (Montgomery, Texas/Montgomery), as they each had five kills, both finishing with as many as the entire Regis roster had in the set.
• Ertischek finished with a team-high 19 kills, just missing out on reaching 20 for the first time this season. She had just nine errors in 40 attempts for a .250 hitting percentage. She also had a team-high three service aces to finish with 22 points.
• Verstovsek finished with 17 kills and only five errors in 41 total attempts for a .293 percentage. She also produced 25 digs to lead all players and match her career-high. She recorded her third double-double in as many matches.
• Lilly added seven kills and Nowakowski had six without an error in 13 attempts for a .462 percentage.
• At the net, Wainer finished with five blocks (one solo), while Irizarry had 19 digs on defense.
• Lin recorded a career-high 30 assists, while Ho added 21.

UP NEXT

• The Judges travel to Simmons on Wednesday evening at 6 p.m. for a non-conference contest.