Waltham, MA --- The WPI volleyball team dropped a pair of matches on the road at Brandeis on Saturday. The Engineers opened the day with a tight 3-1 loss (25-22, 25-18, 22-25, 25-17) to the host Judges before falling 3-0 (25-20, 25-19, 26-24) at the hands of Williams. WPI moves to 2-4 on the season, while Brandeis (4-0) and Williams (2-0) each remain unbeaten. 
 
Match 1: Brandeis 3, WPI 1
Brandeis saw Lara Verstovsek (Bellaire, TX) hammer a match-best 19 kills with eight digs to lead the Judges to the win in the first game of the day. Anna Ertischek (Montgomery, TX) had 11 kills and Arianna Jackson(Lewis Center, OH) had nine in the winning effort. Ines Grom-Mansencal (Cincinnati, OH) dished out 24 assists with six digs, while Olivia Nirode (Keller, TX) led the Judges with 16 digs. 
 
For WPI, Catherine Reynolds (Concord, NH) led the Engineers with a 26-assist, 16-dig double-double, adding five kills. Olivia Deckers (Marlboro, MA) notched a team-high 13 kills, adding nine digs, while Audrey Stroupe (Leesburg, VA) had eight kills. Victoria Escuer (Caracas, Venezuela) had a match-high 18 digs, while Alana Harris (Lowell, MA) added 13.
 
WPI had an early lead in the first set, but the tight frame changed hands eight times before a 19-19 tie. From there, an extended serving run from Brandeis saw the hosts grab the momentum down the stretch as the Judges closed out the frame with a 25-22 win. Set two saw Verstovsek and Jackson each tally five kills, as Brandeis pulled away midway through the action to go up, 2-0. 
 
In the third, the Engineers held Brandeis to a .071 attack, closing the match to 2-1 with a 25-22 victory. The Judges had the early advantage, but WPI rallied to tie the match at 16-16 on a Zeala VanDamme (San Diego, CA), From there, WPI got hot serving and a final kill from Hudson to take set three. However, the Judges put the set away in the fourth, hitting .438 to wrap up the win with a 25-17 set victory. 
 
Game 2: Williams 3, WPI 0
For Williams, Marit Hoyem (Menlo Park, CA) led all players with 10 kills, adding six blocks and six digs. Keely Campuzano (Excelsior, MN) added eight kills and Lauren Kauppila (New York, NY) had a 33-assist, 10 dig double-double. 
 
Reynolds and Hudson each tallied eight kills to lead the WPI offense, while Stroupe added seven. Lily Eldridge(Danvers, MA) notched 17 assists, while Escuer led the Engineers with seven digs. 
 
In the opening set, Williams had an early advantage but WPI cut the gap to 13-11. From there, the Ephs pulled away, going up 24-16. WPI again rallied, fighting off four set points to make it 24-20, but Williams got the final point it needed to take the frame 25-20. 
 
The Ephs continued the momentum into the second set, breaking a 4-4 tie with a 9-1 run to go up 13-5. The Engineers cut the advantage to four several times, including as late as 23-19, but Williams won it on an attack error, 25-19, to go up 2-0.
 
The final set was the closest, with WPI taking an early 9-5 lead. Williams battled back to make it 11-11 and the set was tied eight more times. Finally, with the Engineers up 24-23, the Ephs spoiled a set point and then got a kill and a block to take the set 26-24 and the match, 3-0. 
 
WPI is back at home on Thursday night, battling Worcester State at 7pm in Harrington Auditorium. Brandeis next plays on Tuesday, hosting Babson at 6pm, while Williams hosts Union on Tuesday at 7pm.