BOSTON, Mass. – The Brandeis University volleyball earned its second-straight road win tonight as the Judges defeated host UMass Boston in three sets, 25-22, 25-19, 25-14. With the win, Brandeis is off to its best start since the 2010 campaign.

TEAM RECORDS

• BRANDEIS, 5-1. UMass Boston, 2-6.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Set one was a back-and-forth affair featuring nine ties and three lead changes. The Judges used a 5-1 run midway through the set to take an 11-6 lead, but UMB answered with five in a row of their own to tie things at 11. The Beacons eventually took a 15-14 lead, but Brandeis answered with the next three point and never trailed again. The set was tied at 19-all, and UMB was within 23-22 before a kill from graduate student Sydney Bent (Raleigh, N.C. / Ransom Everglades School (Fla.) and a service ace from junior libero Ella Pereira (Redondo Beach, Calif./Rolling Hills Prep) closed things out, 25-22.
• In the second set, the host Beacons jumped out to a 5-2 lead, and they were still ahead at 9-8. Brandeis scored the next four in a row and did not look back. The Judges led by as many as eight on a kill by Tatiana Wainer (North Miami Beach, Fla. / Schech Hillel Community) that made it 22-14 before hanging on for the 25-19 win.
• The visitors wasted no time in the third set, opening up on a 4-0 run on the serve of Pereira. UMass Boston scored twice to get within 4-2, but Bent rattled off 10 in a row from the service line to make it 14-2 and the Judges never looked back in a 25-14 win to close things out.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• First-year outside hitter Anna Ertischek (Montgomery, Texas/Lake Creek) had a career-high 14 kills, making just two errors in 23 attempts for an outstanding .522 hitting percentage. She also had two block assists and three digs.
• Sophomore outside hitter Lara Verstovsek (Houston, Texas/Episcopal) added seven kills, 10 digs, two service aces and two blocks (one solo).
• Bent and sophomore Arianna Jackson (Lewis Center, Ohio / Oletangy Orange) each had six kills.
• Bent also had 13 digs, her third straight match in double figures and tied with Pereira for match-high honors.
• Junior setter Ines Grom-Mansencal (Cincinnati, Ohio/Wyoming) posted 26 assists and had four kills in nine attempts.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• Brandeis is off to its best start since 2010, when they went 7-1 in their first eight matches.
• Ertischek has now hit above .400 in each of the Judges' five wins, with this being her second match above .500.
• The Judges hit .277 as a team, their fourth time over .270 this season.

UP NEXT

• The Judges head to St. Louis this weekend for the first of three University Athletic Association Round Robin meets. They will face Carnegie Mellon and defending champions NYU on Saturday, and host Washington University on Sunday.
• UMass Boston hosts Eastern Connecticut State University Friday at 7 p.m. in their Little East Conference opener.