BEVERLY, Mass. – In a back-and-forth match, the Brandeis University volleyball team fell behind early in the fifth set and couldn't quite come all the way back, dropping a 3-2 decision to Endicott College. Set scores were 14-25, 25-14, 25-19, 18-25, 11-15. Brandeis falls to 5-4 on the season, while the Gulls improve to the same record.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Endicott raced out to a 9-1 lead in the first set, while Brandeis got off to a 10-3 start to the second, as each team won by a 25-14 score.
• Another quick start to the third set saw Brandeis open up a 7-1 advantage, but Endicott battled back to tie the set at 15-all. Brandeis got the next five points thanks to the serving of sophomore Marissa Borgert (Blaine, Minn./Spring Lake Park) and a pair of Emma Bartlett (Duxbury, Mass./Duxbury) kills, and the Judges won 25-19 to take a 2-1 lead in the match.
• After a tight start to the fourth set, Endicott rattled off seven-straight points to extend a 7-6 lead to 14-6, and the Gulls rolled to a 25-17 win to even the match at 2-all.
• In the decisive fifth set, Endicott opened on a 4-0 run and never looked back. The hosts were ahead 9-3, and Brandeis got within four points on a couple of occasions. The Judges held off a couple of match points, getting to within 14-11, but an untimely service error gave the match to Endicott.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Bartlett led the Judges with 16 kills, making just eight errors in 38 attacks for a .211 hitting percentage. She also recorded a match-high seven blocks (three solo).
• Borgert and sophomore Belle Scott (Portland, Ore./Oregon Episcopal School) each had eight kills.
• Senior Marlee Nork (Chicago, Ill./Walter Payton College Prep) had 25 assists, while Borgert added 19.
• Senior libero Yvette Cho (San Diego, Calif./Rancho Bernardo) led all players with 22 digs, surpassing 1,600 for her career and moving into second place on Brandeis's all-time list with 1,608. She moved past Lorraine Wingenbach '09 (1,596 digs) and Marni (Kutok) Friedman '04 (1,605 digs) in the process.
• Brandeis had 12 blocks, one shy of their season-high, but Endicott outdid them with 13.
• The Judges hit at a .400 clip in the second set and .297 in the third, but were held to negative hitting in the three sets they lost.
• Endicott's Emma Mancini led all players with 21 kills, while the Gulls' Zoey Gifford had 42 assists.

UP NEXT

• Brandeis returns to action with a mid-week match against Emerson College next Thursday evening at 7 p.m.
• Endicott also faces Emerson next as part of a trimatch in Boston with Coast Guard.