WELLESLEY, Mass. – Wellesley College volleyball fell to Brandeis University, 3-1, in non-conference action at Dorothy Towne Fieldhouse on Thursday. After dropping the first set 25-21, Brandeis won the next three 25-18, 25-21 and 25-16.

TEAM RECORDS

• Brandeis, 7-11.
• Wellesley, 7-8.

The Judges received a match best 20 kills from senior Anna Ertischek (Montgomery, Texas/Lake Creek). She added five digs, four aces, and four blocks. Sophomore Madison Haft-Abromovitch (Stratford, Conn./Rye CDS) recorded 11, while first-year Colette Ejang (Los Angeles, Calif./Taft Charter School) contributed 10 kills. Sophomore Alexa Ho (Queens, N.Y.) ran the offense with 33 assists to go with seven digs. First-year Lara Demoraes (Plantation, Fla./Cypress Bay) picked up a match-high 21 digs.

Sophomore Ella Mancuso led the Blue with a career-high 13 kills and three blocks. Junior Evie Hill was next with eight kills. Senior Kaija Kunze-Hoeg registered 27 assists and 19 digs. Junior Caroline Meyer added 17 digs, three assists and a couple of aces.    

Wellesley held a 9-5 lead in the opening set after an ace by Meyer. The Blue then took a 16-10 lead following two aces in a row by first-year Cassie McMillan. Brandeis rallied to tie the score at 19-19 behind strong serving from Demoraes and a couple of kills by first-year Evelyn Burke (Lake George, N.Y./Lake George). A kill by Ertishcek tied the score again at 21-21, but Wellesley scored the next four points to secure the 25-21 win.

A kill by first-year Natalie Dabrowski gave the Blue an early 10-4 advantage in the second. Brandeis used a 6-2 run, capped by a kill from first-year Claudia Aber (Los Angeles, Calif./Taft Charter School), to pull within 12-10. Wellesley increased its lead back to four, 16-12, after a pair of kills by Mancuso. The Judges then went on an 6-0 run, which included four kills by Ertischek, to take an 18-16 lead. Brandeis carried the momentum and used a 7-2 run to close the set, 25-18. Ertischek posted 10 kills in the set for Brandeis.

Brandeis started strong in the third behind three kills from Haft-Abromovitch for a 10-5 lead. Trailing 17-11, the Blue made a comeback to make the score 18-16 after a Dabrowski kill. That would be as close as Wellesley would get as Brandeis finished the set with a 7-5 run to win set three 25-21.

The fourth set began with back and forth action including four ties. With the score tied 7-7, Brandeis went on an 11-4 run to force a Wellesley timeout at 18-11. The Judges kept the pressure on and cruised to a 25-16 win. Ejang had five kills in the frame to help Brandeis earn the 3-1 victory.

Wellesley remains home next Tuesday, October 14 versus Mount Holyoke College at 7:00 PM. Brandeis will travel to Cleveland, Ohio for UAA conference play with New York University and University of Chicago on Sunday, October 12.