ATLANTA – The University of Rochester avenged an earlier season defeat at the hands of Brandeis University to claim a 3-0 win and seventh place at the University Athletic Association Championships on Saturday morning at the Woodruff P.E. Center at Emory University.
Rochester (19-11), the #8 seed in the tournament, topped seventh-seeded Brandeis with set wins of 25-23, 25-16 and 25-20.
The Yellowjackets attack was strong in the match, with UR ending with a .225 hitting percentage overall.
Ashley Cook led UR with a double-double, finishing with 11 kills and 13 digs.
Ruby Moore spiked nine kills, while
Myla Nover-Estes added 8 kills, 5 digs and 3 blocks.
Areti Tsirikaki closed out her season with seven kills and eight digs, while
Bri Jones chipped in three kills and a team-high four blocks.
McKenzie McDonald dished out 27 assists and had nine digs.
Lydia Weeks matched that total, finishing with nine digs and five assists.
Set one was a nail biter, with Brandeis (10-18) going up 22-20 following a pair of kills from Anna Ertischek. Rochester responded well, answering with the next four points to earn a set point. Nover-Estes had two kills in the run, while Weeks recorded an ace.
Brandeis swiped the next point, but Cook ended the set with a kill off a pass from McDonald.
After the Judges jumped out to an early 5-1 lead in set two, it was all Rochester after that. UR won 13 of the next 16 points, going up 14-8. The lead extended to eight following a 4-point burst featuring two more Nover-Estes kills and a block from Jones and Nover-Estes at the net.
Rochester led Brandeis get back within five, down 20-15, but scored five of the remaining six points in the set to earn the 25-16 win. Moore finished off the set win with a kill for the final point.
Set three featured several runs early on to reach a 10-10 deadlock. Rochester edged ahead by two points after back-to-back kills from Moore and Tsirikaki before the teams traded the next few points to reach 19-17 UR.
The Yellowjackets followed with two more points to go up by four, but Brandeis answered with two kills to pull back within a pair at 21-19. Rochester's
Paige Stephenson smacked one of her three kills to regain the momentum and Tsirikaki followed with a kill to put UR ahead by four again.
An attack error by Brandeis gave UR a match point and Stephenson finished off the match with a kill.
