BRUNSWICK, Maine – The Brandeis University volleyball team won a pair of four-set matches today in Maine, topping host Bowdoin (20-25, 25-17, 25-20, 25-19) and Maine Maritime (25-19, 27-25, 21-25, 25-18), to improve their winning streak to three in a row.

TEAM RECORDS

• Brandeis, 8-5.
• Bowdoin, 4-4.
• Maine Maritime, 9-1.

HOW IT HAPPENED – BOWDOIN (20-25, 25-17, 25-20, 25-19)

• With the first set tied at 5-all, Bowdoin scored four in a row and six of the next seven points to take an 11-6 lead that they would not relinquish. The Polar Bears were ahead, 20-11, before Brandeis closed the gap a bit, but there wasn't enough time as the hosts won, 25-20.
• The Judges led for the entire second set, taking an early 4-2 lead that they extended to 10-5 after Bowdoin committed three straight errors. The Polar Bears scored four in a row after a timeout, but Brandeis closed on a 14-7 run to even things up with a 25-17 win.
• In the third set, Brandeis trailed, 14-11, but scored five in a row to take a 16-14 lead, thanks to two kills by sophomore Lara Verstovsek (Houston, Texas/Episcopal) and two aces by grad student Sydney Bent (Raleigh, N.C. / Ransom Everglades School (Fla.). Bowdoin answered and tied things up at 17-all, but sophomore Arianna Jackson (Lewis Center, Ohio / Oletangy Orange) stopped the momentum with a kill and then served three straight points to make it 21-17, Judges, and they hung on for the 25-20 win and a 2-1 lead.
• Brandeis came out on fire in the fourth, taking leads of 5-1, 10-5, and 21-9. Bowdoin made a push by winning 10 of 11 points to get within 22-19, but a service error, an ace by junior setter Ines Grom-Mansencal (Cincinnati, Ohio/Wyoming) and a Bowdoin bad set gave Brandeis the final set with a 25-19 win.

HOW IT HAPPENED – MAINE MARITIME (25-19, 27-25, 21-25, 25-18)

• After dropping the first point of the match, Brandeis never trailed again. MMA was able to tie things up at 10-all, but Brandeis won five of the next six points and hung on for a 25-19 win.
• The second set was a back-and-forth affair, as the Mariners took a 6-2 lead, but Brandeis responded with six in a row, taking an 8-6 lead on a block by Jackson and first-year Anna Ertischek (Montgomery, Texas / Lake Creek). MMA responded and tied things at 8-all, but Brandeis had another run to push their lead back to 14-10 on an Ertischek kill.
• Maine Maritime responded with a 5-1 run of their own, tying things up at 15-all. Neither team won more than two-straight points until MMA had three in a row, turning a 21-20 deficit into a 23-21 lead on a Rachel Melampy kill.
• Brandeis answered with kills from Verstovsek and Bent to tie things at 23-all, but another Melampy kill gave MMA set point. Verstovsek answered with a kill, sparking a 4-1 run that gave Brandeis a 27-25 win.
• Another even start to the third set saw Brandeis leading, 11-10, when MMA scored six in a row to take a 16-11 advantage, and the Mariners hung on for the 25-21 win.
• Much like their first match of the day, Brandeis took control in the fourth set, starting with a 3-0 lead on Grom-Mansenecal's serve and extending it to 8-1 with Ertischek behind the line. MMA would get as close as four points, but no closer the rest of the way as the Judges closed it out, 25-18.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORES

• Against Bowdoin, Verstovsek set a team-season high and a career-high with 19 kills. She added 12 digs for her first double-double of the season and the seventh of her career.
• Verstovsek made just five errors in 42 attempts for a .333 hitting percentage.
• Bent added 11 kills and a 20 digs for her third double-double. She also had a team-high four service aces.
• Grom-Mansenecal had 40 assists and nine digs.
• Brandeis had six solo blocks, three coming from junior Rita Lai (Sugar Land, Texas / Clements).
• Against MMA, Ertischek paced the offense with 18 kills, a career-best and one shy of Verstovsek's team-season-high. She made just three errors in 32 attempts for a .432 hitting percentage.
• Ertischek also had one service ace, two solo blocks and one block assist for a team-high 21.5 points.
• Verstovsek recorded her second-straight double-double with 13 kills and a career-high 25 digs.
• Three other players reached double digits in digs: Grom-Mansenecal with 16, senior Stephanie Borr (Westfield, N.J. / Westfield) with 15, and Bent with 14, as the Judges had a season-high 91 digs.
• Grom-Mansenecal had 45 assists, the second-highest total of her career, to finish with her eighth double-double of the campaign.

UP NEXT

• The Judges host their first home match in nearly a month when they take on Clark on Thursday at  6 p.m.