PITTSBURGH, Pa. – The Brandeis University volleyball team saw its four-match winning streak snapped today as the Judges dropped a pair of University Athletic Association contests at Carnegie Mellon University. Brandeis lost a pair of 3-0 decisions to Case Western Reserve (25-20, 25-17, 25-19) and the University of Chicago (26-24, 25-13, 25-20).

TEAM RECORDS

• Brandeis: 9-7, 0-5 UAA.
• Case Western Reserve University: 12-3, 2-2 UAA.
• Chicago: 10-8, 4-1 UAA.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Judges played close in three of five sets, staying within five points of their opponents.
• Against Case Western Reserve, the Judges were within two points late in each set. In the first, they trailed, 22-20, but the Spartans won the final three points.
• Both of the final two sets saw Brandeis behind by two at 18-16 before the Spartans went on a late closing run.
• The Judges' best chance to win a set came in the opener against Chicago. They led by four, 16-12, and owned a 23-21 advantage when the Maroons called a timeout. UC won three in a row to get a set point at 24-23, but Brandeis first-year Anna Ertischek (Mongomery, Texas/Lake Creek) stopped the momentum to force extra points, but UC took it, 26-24.
• The second set was tight early on, with Brandeis taking an 11-9 lead on a Sydney Bent (Raleigh, N.C. / Ransom Everglades School (Fla.) kill. Chicago answered by scoring 12-straight points to go up, 21-11, and rolled from there. The Judges were also ahead early in the third with a 9-8 lead when UC went on an 8-1 run to go up, 16-10, and never looked back.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORES

• Brandeis had a pair of 10-kill performances on the day. Bent had 10 in the opener against CWRU, while sophomore Lara Verstovsek (Houston, Texas/Episcopal) had 10 against Chicago.
• Bent tied with senior Stephanie Borr (Westfield, N.J./Westfield) with 11 digs, giving Bent her fourth double-double in a Brandeis uniform.
• Verstovsek also had a team-high 13 digs against the Maroons for her third double-double of the season. She also had nine kills, two aces and a block against Case.
•  Junior Ines Grom-Mansencal (Cincinnati, Ohio/Wyoming) had 22 assists and eight digs against CWRU and 21 assists and five digs against Chicago.

UP NEXT

• The Judges meet Endicott and Babson next Saturday for a tri-match at Endicott.