WALTHAM, Mass. – Brandeis University volleyball senior outside hitter Anna Ertischek (Montgomery, Texas/Lake Creek) had 43 kills in two matches today as the Judges split a tri-match with Endicott and UMass Dartmouth today. The Judges won the opener over the Gulls, 25-19, 25-13, 24-26, 25-20, before falling to the Corsairs, 21-25, 25-16, 15-25, 25-18, 6-15.

TEAM RECORDS

• Brandeis, 5-6.
• Endicott, 6-7.
• UMass Dartmouth, 8-6.

HOW IT HAPPENED vs ENDICOTT (25-19, 25-13, 24-26, 25-20)

• The Judges were in control for most of the first two sets, which saw just four ties and three lead changes combined.
• The Gulls took an early 7-3 lead in the first set, but Brandeis went on an 11-2 run to charge ahead, 14-9. Senior setter Julia Liang (Sugar Land, Texas/Clements) served six points in a row in the run, including two service aces, and the hosts never looked back, taking it 25-19.
• In the second set, after the teams traded the first four points, junior libero Ava Ferrigno (Boca Raton, Fla./Boca Raton) stepped behind the line and served for a 6-0 run to put Brandeis ahead, 8-2, and they cruised from there. A second 8-2 run established a 16-4 lead as the Judges went up, 2-0, after winning the second, 25-13.
• Sophomore Madison Haft-Abromovitch (Stratford, Conn./Rye Country Day School) and first-year Colette Ejang (Los Angeles, Calif./Taft Charter School) each had four kills, as they combined for more kills than the full Gull lineup. Brandeis hit  .387 set in the set, compared to .000 for EC.
• The third set was by far the most competitive, seeing 11 tied and four lead changes. Neither team was able to establish momentum in the early going, with the sides tied at 9-all before EC's Reagan Mitchell served four in a row to match the visitors' largest lead of the match at 13-9.
• The Gulls kept Brandeis at bay and eventually took their biggest lead at 23-17 on a kill by Ava Grace Dresback, one of her six in the set.
• Despite being six points from dropping the set, Brandeis battled back to tie it at 23. They held off the first set point on a Gull attack error to reach extra points, but EC's Hadley Helenbrook had back-to-back kills to give the visitors their first set win, 26-24.
• Brandeis reestablished control early in the fourth, taking a 6-2 lead after a kill from sophomore Kennedy Lilly (Atlanta, Ga./Eagle's Landing Christian Academy).
• The Judges extended their lead five on an Endicott error that made it 16-11, but the visitors won five in a row to knot things up at 16-all.
• An attack error by the Gulls gave Brandeis the lead back, and Ertischek made sure they didn't lose it, delivering three straight kills as part of a 6-0 run, and the Judges took the final set, 25-20.
• Ertischek finished with a season-high 18 kills, two shy of her career best. She also tallied 10 digs for her first double-double of the season, while adding four blocks and three service aces for a season-best 23 points.
• Lilly added 14 kills, while Haft-Abromovitch had 12.
• Liang paced the offense with 44 assists, while Ferrigno's 13 digs topped the defense.

HOW IT HAPPENED vs. UMASS DARTMOUTH (21-25, 25-16, 15-25, 25-18, 6-15)

• The back-and-forth second match came down to which team was more efficient in each set. UMD outhit Brandeis in the first, third and fifth sets, while Brandeis had the advantage in the second and fourth.
• The opener was the closest set, with the Corsairs' .389 hitting percentage came without the visitors making an error (14 kills-0 errors-36 total attacks), while Brandeis hit .326 (18 K-4 E-43 TA).
• The Judges had a .385-.156 edge in the second set, while UMass Dartmouth took the third, .500 to .143.
• After Brandeis bounced back to even things in the fourth with a .257 to .147 hitting percentage margin, the Judges were unable to keep up the momentum in the fifth.
• UMD scored the first seven points of the final stanza, with Brandeis just missing the line a couple of times and the Corsairs' Maddie Carter picking up a block in the string.
• The visitors connected on six of their seven attempts for an .857 hitting percentage in the final set, while Brandeis had four kills and seven errors in 18 attacks.
• The Judges fell despite a career-high 25 kills by Ertischek, who became just the third different Brandeis player to reach 25 kills in a match, joining Lorraine Wingenbach Maxwell '08, who did it five times, and former teammate Lara Verstovsek '25, who achieved it four times.
• Ertischek had just six errors in 51 attempts for a .373 hitting percentage for the match.
• With the 43 kills across the two matches, Ertischek now has 993 for her career and can become the 11^th Judge with 1,000 for her career next time out.
• Haft-Abromovitch added 11 kills.
• Liang had 33 assists, while sophomore Alexa Ho (Queens, N.Y./Francis Lewis) had 17.
• Junior defensive specialist Olivia Nirode (Keller, Texas/Keller) had three service aces. Lilly, Ejang, and her twin sister Claudia Aber (Los Angeles, Calif./Taft Charter School) tied for team-high honors with four blocks each. Ejang had the team's lone solo block.
• Ferrigno and first-year Lara Demoraes (Plantation, Fla./Cypress Bay) each had 11 digs.
• Among the notable performances for UMD was Olivia Seutter, who had 21 kills without an error in 31 attempts for a .677 hitting percentage.

UP NEXT
The Judges will take on Tufts University at home on Wednesday evening at 5:30 as Ertischek goes in search of her 1,000^th career kill.