Judges Get Over the Hump, Pull Reverse Sweep to Defeat Conn. College

9/6/2025 6:30:00 PM

Adam Levin '94

The Brandeis University volleyball team pulled off a reverse sweep today, coming form two sets down to outlast Connecticut College, 3-2, in their second match at the MIT Invitational. Set scores were 21-25, 20-25, 25-15, 25-17, 16-14.

TEAM RECORDS

Brandeis, 4-2.
Connecticut College, 2-1.

HOW IT HAPPENED

In the first set, Brandeis held a slim advantage at 8-7, but Conn. College rattled off six-straight points to take a 13-8 lead they would never relinquish. They extended it to 18-11 before taking it, 25-21.
The second set was tied up at 19-all, but the Camels' Aubrey Letourneau had a kill, a service ace and two assists down the stretch as they closed on a 6-1 run to take it, 25-20.
The Judges responded in the third set, never trailing. Sophomore setter Alexa Ho (Queens, N.Y. / Francis Lewis) had three service aces and two assists as they scored the first five points. Conn. College closed within a point a few times early and were within three at 18-15 when junior Olivia Nirode (Keller, Texas/Keller) served out the set. Nirode had one service ace and senior Anna Ertischek (Montgomery, Texas/Lake Creek) had four kills in the final stretch, while Ho had a kill to give Brandeis the 25-15 win.
In the fourth set, Brandeis trailed, 10-9, and eventually edged ahead, 13-12, before the decisive run. The Judges won 10 of the next 11 points with Nirode and Ertischek serving. Sophomores Madison Haft-Abromovitch (Stratford, Conn. / Rye Country Day School) and Kay Menendez (Madrid, Spain / American School of Madrid) each had two kills in the run as Brandeis took the stanza, 25-17.
In the decisive fifth set, Brandeis got off to a hot start, taking an 8-4 lead into the changeover. Ertischek had two kills and Menendez had a kill and a block in the early going.
Brandeis never trailed again, but the Camels battled back to tie things at 12-all. The sides traded points until 14-all, when Menendez delivered a kill and Ertischek served match point.
This was the Judges' first five-set match of the season. They were 4-4 last season in five-setters

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

For the fourth time in six matches, the Judges placed three players in double-digit kills. Ertischek tied for match-high honors with 15, Haft-Abromovitch added 13 and sophomore Kennedy Lilly (Atlanta, Ga. / Eagle's Landing Christian Acad.) had 12.
Menendez notched a career-high seven kills, while first-year Claudia Aber (Los Angeles, Calif. / Taft Charter School) was particularly efficient, drilling six kills without an error in nine attempts, for a .667 hitting percentage.
Brandeis finished with a .261 hitting percentage as a team, while holding Conn. College to .183.
Ho contributed 37 assists and tied for team-high honors with three service aces, matched by first-year DS Lara Demoraes (Plantation, Fla. / Cypress Bay).
Defensively, Nirode tied for match-high with 12 digs, while sophomore Taylor Lewis (Haverhill, Mass. / Haverhill) had eight.
Ertischek had four blocks (three solo), earning a spot on the All-Tournament team..