WALTHAM, Mass. – The Brandeis University volleyball team faced two of the University Athletic Association's traditional powerhouses on the first day of action at the 2025 UAA tournament at home in the Gosman Center today. The seventh-seeded Judges lost to second-seeded Washington University in the first round, 3-0, and took the third set before falling to third-seeded Emory, 3-1, in the consolation semifinals. The Judges will meet eighth-seeded Rochester tomorrow at 9:30 in the UAA seventh place match.

TEAM RECORDS

• Brandeis, 12-18
• WashU, 22-7
• Emory, 19-6

HOW IT HAPPENED vs WASHU (Set scores: 25-19, 25-13, 25-17)

• The Judges got nine kills each from senior Anna Ertischek (Montgomery, Texas/Lake Creek) and sophomore Madison Haft-Abromovitch (Stratford, Conn./Rye Country Day School), but no other Judge player had more than four.
• Meanwhile, the Bears had five players with between six and 10 kills, led by Naya Ohuabunwa's match-high 10.
• WashU out-hit Brandeis, .283 to .056, and had nine blocks to the Judges' three.
• Service aces were 4-3 in favor of the Bears.

HOW IT HAPPENED vs EMORY (Set scores: 25-13, 25-19, 21-25, 25-18)

• Ertischek had another nice match, finishing with a match-high 15 kills against the Eagles. Haft-Abromovitch added seven kills.
• Another balanced attack for Emory saw three players reach double digits kills, topped by Elaine Silberman's 12.
• Brandeis's big third set saw the Judges come from 10-7 down to go on an 8-2 run to take a 15-12 lead on a service ace from sophomore Alexa Ho (Queens, N.Y./Francis Lewis).
• The teams traded points most of the rest of the way, with neither side winning more than two in a row as the Judges hung on for their lone set win of the day, 25-21.
• The fourth set was close at 19-16 in favor of Emory after the Eagles committed a setting error.
• The Judges' home crowd got rowdy, but a call was reversed in favor of Emory on the next point, giving them a 20-16 lead instead of allowing Brandeis to claw within 19-17.
• The Eagles went on to close out the match, 25-18.
• Brandeis had a 9-6 advantage in aces, thanks to three from Ertischek, and 7-4 in blocks, paced by four from first-year Claudia Aber (Los Angeles, Calif./Taft Charter School).
• Emory's biggest advantage was their efficiency, hitting .341 to Brandeis's .127.

UP NEXT

• Brandeis will close out their season tomorrow at 9:30 a.m. in the seventh-place match against Rochester.
• Emory will meet Case Western Reserve in the league's fifth-place match at 9:30, while WashU will play for the UAA title at 12:30 against Carnegie Mellon.