LEWISTON, Maine – The Brandeis University volleyball team dropped a tight four-set decision to Colby College tonight, but the Judges bounced back to sweep host Bates in their second contest of the evening.

TEAM RECORDS

• Brandeis, 6-5
• Colby, 7-1
• Bates, 4-4

HOW IT HAPPENED, COLBY (L, 1-3 - 25-19, 22-25, 25-22, 27-25)

• Colby jumped out to a 4-0 lead and extended it to 6-2 in the first set. The Mules never trailed, although Brandeis tied the set up at 12-all and 14-all. Colby went on a 5-1 run after the second tie and held on for the 25-19 lead.
• The Mules held an early 7-4 lead in the second when Brandeis scored six in a row on the serve of sophomore Arianna Jackson (Lewis Center, Ohio / Oletangy Orange), capped by an ace that made it 10-7. The Judges held the lead the rest of the set, going up by as many as six points at 15-9. Colby closed to within one point on five occasions, including at 23-22, but a block followed up by a kill from sophomore Lara Verstovsek (Houston, Texas / Episcopal) closed things out, 25-22.
• Colby took the third set by the same 25-22 score. The Judges led, 19-16, but the Mules closed on a 9-3 run to take the 2-1 lead.
• The fourth set was close throughout, with neither team going up by more than four points. That came when Colby took a 22-18 lead, but Brandeis answered with four of the next five to get with 23-22.
• The Mules had a kill to bring up two match points, but Brandeis answered with another Verstovsek kill and a service ace by junior Gracie Lerian (Manhasset, N.Y. / Manhasset Secondary School) to knot things up at 24-all. Colby would win three of the next four points, however, to claim the 27-25 set and the match.

HOW IT HAPPENED, BATES (W, 3-0 – 25-23, 25-17, 25-15)

• Against the hosts, Brandeis looked to be in trouble at the outset, as Bates raced out to a 13-5 lead. The Bobcats extended their lead to 19-10 when senior Stephanie Borr (Westfield, N.J. / Westfield) stepped to the service line. Borr served 11 straight points, including a pair of service aces, to give Brandeis a 21-19 lead. The teams traded the next eight points, but the Judges hung on for the 25-23 comeback.
• The Bobcats took an early 3-0 lead in the second, and though Brandeis answered with five in a row to go ahead with Borr on the serve, Bates got the lead back. The hosts were up, 12-10, when Brandeis embarked on a 10-2 run, highlighted by two Verstovsek aces to make it a 20-14 lead. The Judges cruised to the 25-17 win.
• The third set was never in question, as Brandeis took leads of 7-1, 12-2 and 16-3 en route to their easiest set win of the night, 25-15.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORES

• Verstovsek paced the offense, scoring 28.5 points in the two matches. She had a match-high 14 kills against Colby and nine against Bates. She also had four aces against the Bobcats, and three block assists across the two matches.
• The Brandeis net defense was excellent against Colby, accounting for 13 blocks, a season-high. Junior Rita Lai (Sugar Land, Texas / Clements) had a season-high eight blocks (one solo), one shy of her career-high, while graduate student Sydney Bent (Raleigh, N.C. / Ransom Everglades School (Fla.) had five and Jackson had four.
• First-year Anna Ertischek (Montgomery, Texas / Lake Creek) added 12 kills and three blocks against Colby, while Bent was second on the team in kills against Bates with eight.
• Bent led the team with 16 digs against the Mules, while Borr had a season-high 16 digs against Bates. Borr also had five service aces against the Bobcats.
• Junior setter Ines Grom-Mansencal (Cincinnati, Ohio/Wyoming) just missed back-to-back double-doubles. She had 35 assists and 14 digs against Colby and 23 assists and nine digs against Bates.  

UP NEXT

• The Judges take on Bowdoin and Maine Maritime in Brunswick, Maine, tomorrow.