In the first round of the University Athletic Association Round Robin tournament, the volleyball squad posted a 1-2 record and saw their season record slide to 9-12 overall and 1-2 in UAA play.

Hosted by Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, the weekend started poorly for the Judges in losses to both 18th ranked University of Chicago and 9th ranked Washington University in St. Louis on Saturday.

However, the Judges were able to salvage the weekend with a straight set victory over the University of Rochester by margins of 25-20, 25-18 and 25-23.

"Our team played some of the best teams in the country this weekend," said middle blocker Carly Gutner-Davis '15. "[Even though we lost to Chicago and WashU], we came out and played strong, and we got a win against Rochester, which was one of the best feelings in the world."

The Judges' strong, all-around performance carried the day. Three players scored more than five kills and two players had more than 15 digs, including a game high 21 from libero Elsie Bernaiche '15. While the Judges were outscored by a 30-29 kill margin, they were able to ride a complete team performance to victory.

In the opening match against Chicago on Saturday, the Judges saw the return of co-captain setter Yael Einhorn '13 from injury.

Einhorn had not seen action since mid-September and the team went 3-5 in her absence. She had a strong return with 25 assists and three digs.

However, her return could not spur the Judges to victory, falling short in a 25-15, 25-15 and 25-16 defeat. While the Judges managed to convert just 11.5 percent of their kills, the team was bolstered by a game high 13 kills from outside hitter Liz Hood '15.

The match against WashU later that day proved to be even tougher as no member of the Judges had more than four kills in the 25-14, 25-10, 25-17 loss. However, highlights for the Judges came from Einhorn, who recorded 14 assists, and Bernaiche, who had a game high 12 digs. The Judges sputtered to 25 offensive errors, a stark contrast from just nine errors on WashU's side of the court.

Brandeis returns to action Thursday night at Emerson College before the squad returns to the Midwest for the second round of UAA Round Robins, hosted by WashU. The Judges will square off against Carnegie Mellon University and Case Western Reserve University.

Given the performance the team put forth in its win over Rochester, Bernaiche believes that the squad has the potential to keep winning.

"We have the ability to beat these teams if we believe it," she said "Coming off this last win, we are more than pumped to bring it to the court [in our next game against Case Western.]"