On Nov. 15, the Brandeis’ women’s volleyball team fell to Washington University in St. Louis in the quarterfinals of the 2025 University Athletic Association Championships and to Emory University in the consolation semifinals. The team lost all three sets to WashU but managed to win one set against Emory. The next day, the Judges took a match win against the University of Rochester, securing the seventh seed out of eight in the 2025 UAA Championships. 

The Judges lost each set against the WashU Bears, with the final scores being 19-25, 13-25 and 17-25 respectively. Anna Ertischek ’26 and Madison Haft-Abromovitch ’28 led the Judges with nine kills each; however, the Bears ultimately out-hit and out-blocked the home team. WashU completed the match with a total of 44 kills to the Judges’ and nine blocks to the Judges’’ three. The Bears opened the first set strongly with a service error on the Judges’ part, and used this momentum to gain a promising three to four point lead for the rest of the set.

During the second set, a combination of attack and service errors made by the Bears allowed the Judges to briefly attain a three-point lead, which put the score at 6-3, until three kills and an attack error tied the score. One kill made by Colette Ejang ’29 put the Judges ahead by a point, but WashU ultimately recovered and commanded the lead for the rest of the set. A nearly uninterrupted series of kills and attack errors put WashU at 22 points with Brandeis trailing by 11. Katya Belyakova’s ’29 score afforded the Judges another point, but the Bears were undeterred, scoring another six points that put them ahead by 13 points. After a block from Haft-Abromovitch and a kill landed by Ejang, the Bears scored one last time, ending the set 13-25.

Through a combination of service errors, a service ace and a kill, WashU took the lead going into the match’s final set. Kills landed by Ertischek, Haft-Abromovitch and Belyakova — alongside a few attack errors on the Bears’ part — allowed the Judges to briefly tie the score at 9-9. However, another short series of kills provided WashU with a three-point lead. The Judges were unable to recover the lead, but additional scores made by Ertischek, Haft-Abromovitch and Claudia Aber ’29, ultimately put the Judges at 17 points by the time the Bears claimed the set.

The Judges’ match against the Emory Eagles was also a strong showing for Anna Ertischek as she secured 15 total attacks, a match-high score. The Eagles took the first set, the score ended at 13-25 after several shorter sequences of kills progressed their score from two to seven, nine to 14 and 16 to 25. Meanwhile, the Judges’ score was mostly stagnant between these sequences, remaining at two, seven and ten for several rallies at a time. Towards the end of the set, the Judges attained three points, granted by an Eagles attack error plus a service ace and kill from Ertischek. On the other hand, the second set's score was more balanced, though the Eagles maintained an apparent lead over the Judges throughout its duration. The game concluded with the Eagles winning by six points, the final score being 19-25. 

The Judges attained their first set win of the weekend in their third set against the Eagles with a final score of 25-21. Throughout this set, the teams traded scores between rallies with neither team holding a consistent lead. Scores made by Ertischek, Ejang, Haft-Abromovitch and Kay Menendez ’28, as well as some attack and serving errors, brought the Judges’ score from 18 to 25. At the same time, the Eagles saw a slow ascent between rallies, the team’s kills became fewer and farther between by the time the Judges’ score reached 21. This victory for the Judges initiated another set to break the tie.

The Eagles won the final set of the match, the end score being 18-25. Much like the previous set, the teams traded scores throughout the rallies with neither managing to conserve a notable lead until a Judges’ serving error, an Eagles’ serving ace and a kill gave way for the team to pull four points ahead of the Judges’ 10 points. At a minimum, Emory’s team maintained this lead for the duration of the game, claiming the match with two more kills and a point gained from Brandeis’ tight set.

On Nov. 16, the Judges defeated the Rochester Yellow Jackets to claim the seventh seed in the championship. The University won all three sets in this match, and Alexa Ho ’28 stood out with a notable 24 total assists — the highest number out of the set. In the first set, the Judges deftly secured a promising lead, gaining 11 points before the Yellow Jackets landed their first. Assisted by serving errors made by Rochester, continuous scores made by Menendez, Ejang, Haft-Abromovitch and Ertischek secured Brandeis’ win 25-9.

The second set against the Yellow Jackets had more balanced rallies in comparison to the first. The teams traded small leads of about one to two points before a kill and serving ace by Ertischek, a score made by Aber and an attack error by the Yellow Jackets granted the Judges a four-point lead. After the back-and-forth, the score was 14-17 and Brandeis preserved its lead for the remainder of the set, the score concluding at 25-19. 

Finally, the last set saw another Judges’ win, the score concluding at 25-18. At the beginning of the set, five attack errors and two scores put the Yellow Jackets ahead by three points, but the Judges immediately made up for these points and claimed the lead. For Brandeis, a combination of kills and serving aces produced a score of 11–8, giving the team the lead it would protect for the rest of the set. Consistent scores gave Brandeis the game win, concluding the volleyball team’s run at the UAA Championships.