PRINCE ATHLETIC COMPLEX – University of Rochester women's volleyball wrapped up University Athletic Association (UAA) play with a split of their two matches at Round Robin #3, falling in straight sets to No. 8 New York University before bouncing back to defeat Brandeis University, 3-0, to pick up their first conference win.
 
Rochester wraps up conference play 11-11 (1-6 UAA), while the Violets earn the No. 1-seed in the UAA conference tournament, moving to 18-4 (6-1 UAA) and Brandies drops to 9-12 (0-7 UAA).
 
MATCH ONE: #8 NYU 3, ROCHESTER 0
Olivia Lewandowski got things started for the Violets in set one, notching the first point of the match with a kill. NYU would jump out to an early lead In the opening set, scoring four straight to force UR to take a timeout down 8-2.
 
NYU though would keep things rolling out of the timeout, scoring five of the next seven and 10 of the next 13 to race out to a 17-6 lead.
 
Sonia McGaffigan's kill slowed the Violets' roll, but not for long as Taylor Odum made it 18- and Gabriella Spaethling made it 19-8 before three-in-a-row from NYU made it 22-9 and forced Rochester to use its final timeout.
 
UR would twice avert set point on Gillian Reeder's kill and an attack error, but another attack error finished off the set for NYU, 25-13, to give the Violets a 1-0 match lead.
 
New York would again jump out to an early lead in set two, but Rochester responded with a 4-0 run, taking a 6-4 lead on four-straight errors by the Violets.
 
NYU pulled ahead with a run of their own, taking an 11-8 lead and forcing Rochester to use its first timeout on Ella Weider's kill.
 
From there, the Violets and Yellowjackets traded blows, before three straight kills by Ana Cerezer and Alexia Nelms, and an attack error made it 14-13 NYU.
 
But again, the Violets has an answer to Rochester's run, pulling away with a 5-1 run of their own, before finishing off the second set, 25-17, with a block from Eveliena Pasmooij and Odum.
 
After a back-and-forth start to the third set, UR opened an 8-6 lead behind a 4-0 run, keyed by kills from Ruby Moore and Reeder.
 
NYU would pull ahead with a run of their own, but the 'Jackets kept things close trailing by no more than two until the Violets opened up their largest lead of the set, 20-13, behind a 7-0 run.
 
Out of a timeout, UR pulled within five and twice held off match point with Moore's kill and an attack error, but Odom and the Violets took the set and match, 25-18, with another kill, finishing off the straight-sets victory.
                                                                          
McGaffigan led Rochester with seven kills, while Nelms tallied 17 assists. Defensively, Cerezer totaled a team-high 14 digs, while Nelms and Caroline Hoag joined the senior with double-figure digs, notching 13 and 12 digs each, respectively.
 
MATCH TWO: ROCHESTER 3, BRANDEIS 0
With a match under the belts, the Yellowjackets started hot, opening the first set with a kill from Reeder and racing out to an early 9-3 lead.
 
Rochester forced Brandeis to use an early timeout as three kills from McGaffigan highlighted the early run, but the Judges battled back with a run of their own, scoring six straight to pull within a point, 12-11 and force UR to use a timeout.
 
UR regrouped and scored three straight to extend their lead back to four, but Brandeis made another run, this time coming back to tie the set at 16-all on a block by Rita Lai and Anna Ertischeck.
 
After another timeout though, Rochester made another run, as two McGaffigan kills bookended a 5-2 run and forced the Judges two spend their second timeout down 21-18.
 
The two sides then traded points, with Rochester holding the lead until they finished off the set, 25-22, with Moore's kill to take a 1-0 lead.
 
Rochester and Brandeis then went back and forth in the early going of set two until UR's opened up a four-point lead, 12-8, with help from two Areti Tsirikaki aces.
 
The Judges slowly chipped away at Rochester's lead, coming as close at two, 16-14, on Lara Verstovsek's kill and an attack error, but the 'Jackets battled back with another ace from Tsirikaki as well as a win making it 22-16 and forcing another Brandeis timeout.
 
Brandeis scored the first point out of the timeout, but with three kills from Julia Chotiner, Cerezer and McGaffigan, UR finished off the set, 25-18, to take a 2-0 match lead.
 
The Judges controlled the early goings of set three, leading by as many as four, 11-7. The Yellowjackets though would pull back within one, 11-10, on kills from Moore and Tsirikaki, before taking the lead in the third set, 16-15, on back-to-back McGaffigan kills and forcing Brandeis to take a timeout.
 
Brandeis again pulled ahead, scoring five of six out of the timeout, but Rochester answered with five of the next six following a timeout of their own.
 
All tied up at 22, kills from Cerezer and McGaffigan set up match point, but Brandeis called a timeout, regrouped and answered with four to take a 26-25 lead.
 
But after Cerezer won back the serve with a kill, evening the match at 26-all and preventing set point for the second time, McGaffigan gave UR a 27-26 lead and a Judges' attack error gave Rochester the set, 28-26, and the match in straight sets.
 
McGaffigan led the 'Jackets with 21 kills, while Nelms tallied a match-high 38 assists. Tsirikaki notched a career-high six assists to go along with 10 digs, while Katie Westerheim totaled a team-high 11 digs.
 
As a team, UR tallied 45 kills and 10 aces, outhitting the Judges who had 29 kills.
 
Rochester will wrap up their regular season slate on Saturday, Oct. 29 with a tri-match against St. John Fisher University and Buffalo State in Buffalo, NY, beginning at 2:00 p.m.