With a two-game lead and a 21-12 point advantage in the third game of its match against host New York University Sunday, it seemed like the volleyball team was well on its way to a winning record at last weekend's University Athletic Association round-robin tournament. But once the Judges gave the Violets new life, the entire match slipped from their grasp.NYU mounted a furious comeback, winning 21 of the next 31 points in the game and then seizing the next two frames to complete a shocking 3-2 victory over the Judges in Brandeis' third match of the round-robin. The Judges had rebounded from a 3-0 loss Saturday to No. 4 Emory College by defeating the University of Rochester 3-1 earlier Sunday, but the loss to NYU dropped their record to 11-4 on the season.

Some players were at a loss for words when trying to describe what went wrong against NYU.

"I honestly don't know what happened," outside hitter Katie Wrynn '08 said.

"We played really well as a team for the first few games," outside hitter Lorraine Wingenbach '09 said. "Then, things started falling apart, and we couldn't pick it up."

Brandeis held a comfortable 23-16 lead in the third game before the Violets rallied, winning nine of the next 10 points. After the Violets closed the gap to 24-20, Wingenbach had a crucial serving error and NYU regained serve.

The Violets then won four consecutive points on freshman Erin Noonan's serve, but the Judges hung around and finally had a match point at 31-30. Noonan, however, ended that threat with a key kill, and senior Samantha Bivens served consecutive aces to give the Violets a 33-31 victory in the game.

Coach Michelle Kim explained how NYU's rally demoralized the Judges.

"I think NYU stepped up their play, [but] just mentally, when we lost the third game we sort of lost the edge," she said.

The Violets won the fourth game easily, jumping ahead 14-8 and winning 30-26. They also got off to a fast start in the final game, going up 4-0 on Bivens' serve. The lead eventually grew to five points, and a kill by Noonan clinched a 15-11 game victory and the match.

"In the fifth game we started out with some errors," Kim said. "[When you need] 15 points to win, starting out with errors is a tough thing to overcome."

Rookie setter Abby Blasco '11 had match-highs in assists (46) and digs (19) in the defeat. Wingenbach added 21 kills, but only seven of those came in the final two games.

In their win against the University of Rochester earlier Sunday, the Judges lost the first game 30-11, but rallied to win the next game 30-14 and the final two by 30-20 apiece.

"We had some trouble passing [in the first game against Rochester]," Kim said. "But I think we woke up after that first game and did much better."

The Judges fought hard in their match against highly ranked Emory Saturday, but lost in three games by 30-20, 30-10, and 30-18.

"I think we had the wrong mindset coming in the game," captain and libero Shannon Trees '08 said. "I think a lot of people came out with the mindset that we were going to lose the game."

Prior to the UAA round-robin, the Judges picked up a 3-2 victory over Endicott College Tuesday. The team fell behind 2-1 after losing the third game 30-23, but rallied to win the fourth game 30-18 and the fifth game 15-8. Wingenbach led the team with 17 kills to go along with five aces and five digs. Blasco chipped in 49 assists and libero Violette Ruggiero '09 added 15 digs.

Kim said she doesn't think the Judges always play to their full potential.

"When we do play well, we are a very good team and we have a lot of talent on our team," Kim said. "But consistency is one of the things that we need to work on, especially with our passing. When we have our passing we play really well."

The Judges play next in the Midcoast Classic tournament in Brunswick, Maine Friday at 6 p.m.