The Case Western Reserve University volleyball team turned in a dominant performance on Friday night, picking up its third-straight sweep with a 3-0 (25-11, 25-16, 25-22) win over John Carroll University to open play at the CWRU Invitational at Horsburgh Gymnasium in Cleveland, Ohio.

The Spartans improved to 3-1 overall with the win, while John Carroll dropped to 4-2 with the loss.

Case Western Reserve looked strong from the start, opening the match on a six-point rally on senior setter Faith Ellis' serve.  Senior outside hitter Karley King amassed three kills during the opening run, and a fourth termination by King later in the first set helped the Spartans expand their lead to 8-2.  The Spartans, who turned in a hitting percentage of .310 (10-1—29) in the first set, won eight of the final nine points in the frame to go ahead 1-0 behind the 25-11 victory.

The Spartans' strong play continued into the second set, as the team hit .357 (13-3—28) in the frame to secure a 25-16 win and take a 2-0 lead.  Midway through the set, CWRU won seven of eight points to take a 10-point advantage, 18-8, and locked up the set on a kill by senior outside hitter Brianna Lemon.

The third set was played tighter between the two teams.  The Spartans trailed early, but a six-point run off junior libero Anna Jaskoviak's serve helped propel CWRU to an 11-7 lead.  John Carroll eventually regained an advantage, and led 21-20, but the Spartans closed out the victory by scoring five of the last six points, including three-straight to end the match with a 25-22 third set triumph.

King led all Spartans players with nine kills, and Lemon registered a .368 (8-1—19) hitting percentage for the match.  Ellis tallied a team-best 17 assists, and Jaskoviak led all Spartan players with nine digs.

CWRU finished with an edge in hitting percentage, finishing with a mark of .273 (33-9—88) compared to John Carroll's .072 (26-19—97).  The Spartans also finished the match with a narrow edge in digs, 42-41.

Case Western Reserve will continue play at the CWRU Invitational on Saturday, hosting Muskingum University at 10:00 a.m. and SUNY Geneseo at 2:00 p.m. inside Horsburgh Gymnasium.