PITTSBURGH, PA – University of Rochester women's volleyball wrapped up regular-season conference action with a pair of matches against the New York University Violets and the Brandeis University Judges on Sunday at UAA Round Robin #3, hosted by Carnegie Mellon at the Highmark Center. The 'Jackets fell in four sets to the Violets, 3-1, before falling in straight sets to the Judges, 3-0, to wrap up conference play at 10-15 (0-7 UAA), while the Violets now sit at 17-10 (3-4 UAA) with Brandeis at 8-18 (1-6 UAA) on the year.
 
Match One: NYU 3, Rochester 1
A 7-0 run gave the Violets the early lead in the opening set against UR, as three-straight kills from Chloe Hynes off Ava Laundsbach's serve helped NYU out to a 9-2 lead. A kill from Rylee Bergeron and a block from the junior and Caroline Hoag helped slow NYU's run, but the Violets increased their lead to eight just a few serves later.
 
Trailing 17-9, Bergeron smashed another kill, and down 20-11, the 'Jackets rallied for three-straight points of their own, pulling back within six on Bergeron's ace. But three-in-a-row from the Violets forced Rochester to use its last timeout, and despite scoring the first two points out of the timeout, NYU finished off a 25-16 set-one win with another Hynes kill and a service ace.
 
Rochester would respond quickly in set two though, racing out to a 7-2 advantage. The 'Jackets started off the set with another block from Ashley Cook and Hoag, before kills from Bergeron and Ruby Moore brought UR's lead out to five. The Yellowjackets kept things rolling midway through the second set, matching the Violets point-for-point until NYU was forced to take a timeout down 12-7.
 
Two straight from the Violets brought NYU within three, 14-11, but Bergeron and Cook notched the next two points on kills, while another Cook kill made it a 17-13 lead after NYU scored the next two. The Violets would again pull within three, this time on a kill from Jessica Spierenburg, before the Yellowjackets finished the second set with a huge run.
 
After the Violets cut UR's lead to three, Rochester scored the next two points and kept things rolling after NYU took a timeout, scoring eight of the final nine points down the stretch to clinch a 25-15 set-two victory.
 
Cook and Myla Nover-Estes each hammered a pair of kills over the 8-1 run, while Cook's ace finished off the set, 25-15.
 
And with the match now tied at one set apiece, UR and NYU traded points in the early goings on the third, before a quick four points from the Violets put NYU up 9-5 and the 'Jackets took a timeout. UR regrouped and would later pull within a point, 13-12, on Nover-Estes' kill after Cook sent over another ace, but back-to-back kills from Grace Nelson and Hynes put the Violets up three.
 
Rochester though, kept the Violets within striking distance and again made a late run, with Hoag's kill pulling UR within two, 20-18, before an attack error again made it a one-point game. However, the Violets responded out of a timeout and held UR to just two points down the stretch, bringing up set point with a Nelson kill before an attack error finished the set off for NYU, 25-21.
 
The fourth set would prove to be just as competitive, with Rochester leading early, 9-5, following Katie Westerheim's service ace, before a 6-0 run from the Violets brought NYU out to an 11-9 lead.
 
Rochester again kept things close midway through the fourth set, but this time tied it up at 15-all after a block from Hoag and Nover-Estes, as well as a bad set from NYU. However, the Violets again answered with a run, taking a 20-16 lead with five of the next six points.
 
Down 20-16 after a timeout, kills from Bergeron, Moore and Nover-Estes cut the Violets' lead to three, before NYU notched the next two points to bring up match point, leading 24-19. UR twice held off match point with a Cook kill and bad set from NYU, but an attack error gave the Violets the set, 25-21, and the match, 3-1.
 
Bergeron led UR offensively with 19 kills, adding 16 digs, while Cook tallied 16 kills and eight digs to go along with a team-high three aces. Defensively, Lydia Weeks notched a team-high 19 digs, while Alexia Nelms tallied 41 assists and 12 digs.
 
Match Two: Brandeis 3, Rochester 0
The Yellowjackets and Judges traded barbs early on in the first set, with neither side able to build much of a lead. Kills from Bergeron and Moore made it a 9-8 UR advantage, before a service ace and error allowed the Judges to retake the lead.
 
After Cook smashed a kill, the 'Jackets and Judges stood tied at 10, and after two more points, again at 11-11 and later at 12-all. But Brandeis went on a run, scoring five of the next six points to take a 16-13 lead on Julia Liang's ace.
 
Rochester made their way back, pulling within two on another kill from Moore before Cook and Moore combined for a block to make it a one-point game, but the Judges responded with three-straight points to go back up by four, 21-17, and force UR to take a timeout.
 
Down the final stretch, the Yellowjackets again pulled within two, 22-20, prompting Brandeis to use one of its timeouts, but the Judges matched UR point-for-point down the stretch finishing off the set, 25-22, with all three of the final three points coming on Lara Verstovsek kills.
 
The Yellowjackets then jumped ahead early looking to even the match as they did against NYU, racing out to a 4-0 lead and leading 8-3 before the Judges took a timeout. Kills from Nover-Estes and Cook got the 'Jackets rolling, while Week's service ace two points after Brandeis took a timeout made it a 10-3 game.
 
Rochester led by as many as 10 in the second set, 17-7, after Nelms sent over a kill, but the Judges wouldn't go away quietly and made a 5-0 run to cut UR's lead in half and prompt a Rochester timeout. UR brought their lead back out to seven, 21-14, with three-straight kills from Bergeron and Nover-Estes, but another Brandeis run, this time a 6-2 run, pulled the Judges within three.
 
Up 23-21 after the Brandeis run, UR took a timeout, but the Judges kept the salvo coming, scoring seven of the final nine points down the stretch, turning what was once a 17-7 deficit into a 27-25 set-two win to take a two-set lead.
 
Brandeis would then take the lead early and use a pair of runs to finish off the sweep, scoring six of the first eight points in the early going against UR, and after Rochester came back to level the fourth set at seven, the Judges scored 9-of-11 to take a 16-10 lead.
 
UR again took a timeout and looked to regroup, but after Lilly Kraemer's kill cut the deficit to five, Brandeis notched four straight to take a 20-11 lead, eventually finishing off the set and match with a block by Tatiana Wainer and Anna Ertischek, 25-16.
 
Cook and Nover-Estes each led UR with nine kills, while Cook added a team-high 10 digs. Weeks fell a dig shy of her second-straight match with double-digit digs with nine, while Nelms had 34 assists.
 
The Yellowjackets will look to bounce back when they host DeSales and SUNY Morrisville for a tri-match on Saturday, Nov. 2 beginning at 11:00 a.m. inside the Louis Alexander Palestra.