ALLIANCE, Ohio – Closing out the regular season, the Case Western Reserve University volleyball team dropped its first match of the day against Otterbein University in a hard fought five-setter, but rebounded to defeat the University of Mount Union 3-2 in the nightcap of a tri-match on Saturday, October 30.

With the split, the Spartans wrap up the regular season 22-8 overall and will play next on November 5-6 when the University Athletic Association Championships arrive at the Veale Center on the campus of Case Western Reserve University.

The Spartans opened up day's action by dropping the first set against Otterbein, 25-19, before coming back to dominate in sets two and three by scores of 25-14 and 25-15. With the win on the line, however, Case faltered in sets four and five, dropping both a 25-19 and 15-12 decision.

Junior middle hitter Tricia McCutchan (Hamilton, OH/Badin) and Rachael Suchy led the way on the offensive end with 19 and 13 kills, respectively. McCutchan added an efficient .302 hit percentage to go along with four block assists and an ace. Sophomore setter Breana Freeman (Geneva, OH/Geneva) orchestrated the offensive attack with 43 assists.

Defensively, the Spartans saw four athletes reach double-digits in digs led by sophomore libero Rachel Gulasey's (Cleveland, OH/Magnificat) game-high 23. Senior defensive specialist Maggie Nofel (Strongsville, OH/Strongsville) added 19, while senior outside hitter Beth Karpinski (Avon Lake, OH/Avon Lake) tallied 15 and sophomore defensive specialist Kara Monnin (Minster, OH/Minster) contributed 12.

In the nightcap, Case topped Mount 29-27 in the first set before dropping two straight, 25-22 and 25-21. Staring at a second loss, the Spartans rallied for a 27-25 win in the fourth and then took the deciding fifth frame by a 15-10 score.

Sophomore middle hitter/right side Allie Palmer (Avon Lake, OH/Avon Lake) ripped off 17 kills to lead the offense and was supported by Suchy's 14-kill effort and an additional 11 kills by McCutchan. Freeman controlled the offense again dishing out 51 assists, and also added 15 digs.

Four other Spartans reached double-digits in digs, including Gulasey's 27 dig effort. Nofel chipped in with another 17, while Monnin had 15 and McCutchan tallied 10 for a double-double performance.