CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Case Western Reserve University volleyball team dropped the first two sets to Thiel College (PA) on senior day at Horsburgh Gymnasium, but rebounded to rip off three in a row and earn its 20th win of the season in a five-set thriller on Saturday, October 23.

Case improved to 20-7 overall with seven matches to play as the team honored the careers of departing seniors Maggie Nofel (Strongsville, OH/Strongsville) and Beth Karpinski (Avon Lake, OH/Avon Lake) before the start of the match.

The Tomcats jumped out with a pair of 25-17 victories in sets one and two.

The third set was close with the match locked up as late as 19-19, but Case reeled off two straight points capped by a kill off a long back-and-forth volley by Karpinski. Case then finished off a 5-1 run to win the third set, 25-20.

An equally impressive 25-19 win in the fourth frame put the momentum in Case's corner heading into the fifth and deciding set.

With the match at stake, Case jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the deciding fifth set, forcing a Thiel timeout. Three of the next five points would go to the Spartans, as the team held an 8-3 advantage before switching sides on the court. The team put together another three-point spurt to stretch the lead to 11-3 before putting the match away, 15-8, on a receiving error by Thiel.

Case was led by a trio of double-digit performers on the afternoon. Reigning University Athletic Association Player of the Week, junior outside hitter Rachael Suchy (Venetia, PA/Peters Township), led the Spartans with 16 kills.

Another junior, middle hitter Tricia McCutchan (Hamilton, OH/Stephen T. Badin), added 14 kills to go along with two service aces and two solo blocks. Sophomore Allie Palmer (Avon Lake, OH/Avon Lake) also posted 11 kills to aid the Spartan attack. 

Orchestrating the offense, sophomore setter Breana Freeman (Geneva, OH/Geneva) connected on 45 assists and recorded 12 digs as a total of five Case players reached double-digits in kills. Both seniors scored season-highs in digs on their special day with Nofel recording 17 and Karpinski adding a team-best 29. Sophomore libero Rachel Gulasey (Cleveland, OH/Magnificat) also put up a 26-dig performance for the Spartans.     

Case will stay home for their next matchup with Ursuline College on Thursday, Oct. 28 at 7:00 p.m. for "Dig for a Cure," night at Horsburgh Gymnasium. All proceeds will go to benefit the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation.