CLEVELAND, OH – The University of Rochester volleyball team saw its season end on a high note, as the Yellowjackets captured 7th place at the UAA Championships on Saturday, defeating Brandeis University 3-1 at Case Western Reserve's Veale Courts.
 
The win avenges Rochester's narrow five-set loss to the Judges from UAA Round Robin #3 a few weeks ago, with Saturday's win being another tight match. Rochester (7-19) pulled out a 25-17, 26-24, 23-25, 25-23 win.
 
UR's leaders for the match were Megan Gatz and Sonia McGaffigan who finished with 14 and 11 kills, respectively. Kellie McCrea added eight and Kaylin Williams had six. Gatz also led UR with four blocks in the match, while McGaffigan added three to her total.
 
Defensively, Megan Hauer had 20 digs to lead the Yellowjackets and Ella Sokolowski added 14. Diana Karosas also picked up ten digs. Hauer and Zaira Reyes combined for six aces in the match as well. Isabelle Miranda was the primary setter for UR, dishing out 26 assists, while Reyes added 19.
 
Brandeis (8-20), saw Lara Verstovsek finish with a team-high 10 kills. Kaisa Newberg had nine while Ines Grom-Mansenecal had 32 assists and 15 digs. Kaitlyn Oh had 25 digs and Rita Lai had three blocks for the Judges.
 
In the opening set, Rochester used a key seven-point run thanks to some Brandeis attack errors, to break open an 8-7 score putting the Yellowjackets up 15-7. Brandeis was never able to recover in the set, leading to the UR eight-point win.  
 
The second set was tight throughout. UR edged ahead 14-8 after a block by Willams and Gatz, but Brandeis scored five straight to pull back within one at 14-13. With the score 24-21 after a Gatz kill, UR surrendered the next three points allowing Brandeis to force extra points in the set. Fortunately for the Yellowjackets, Areti Tsirikaki notched a kill and Brandeis made an error, giving the set to Rochester 26-24.
 
Despite trailing early in the third set by as many as six points, Rochester clawed its way back into the set with small bursts, eventually tying the score at 16-all. UR edged ahead at times shortly after, but the Judges closed strong, recording four of the last five points in the set to earn the 25-23 set win and stay alive in the match.
 
Set four was a set of runs for each side. Rochester led 9-6 after five straight points, only to see that lead evaporate when Brandeis scored four straight. UR followed with three of four points to go back ahead by one, but the Judges responded with another five-point burst to lead 16-12.
 
Trailing 20-16, Rochester rattled off four points in a row, two coming on kills from McGaffigan and Gatz, to close within one. Another three-point sport evened the score at 22-all, and Rochester finished the match in style, with a Gatz kill, Reyes ace and Sokolowski kill to earn the victory.