The Case Western Reserve University volleyball team won both of its matches during the third University Athletic Association Round Robin on Sunday at the Goergen Athletic Center in Rochester, New York, defeating Carnegie Mellon University and upsetting #4 Washington University in St. Louis in five sets each.

With the two wins, the Spartans improved to 20-4 on the season and finished conference play with a record of 4-3. The Tartans ended the day with a record of 13-5 overall and 3-4 in the UAA, while the Bears concluded the round robin with an overall record of 22-3 and a 5-2 mark in the conference. The 20 wins are the most for a Spartan squad since the 2016 squad went 21-10. The win over WashU is the first for CWRU since 2010.

CWRU will be the fifth seed in the UAA Championship Tournament, held on November 4 and 5 in Brooklyn, New York, and will face fourth-seeded Emory in the quarterfinals.

CWRU 3, Carnegie Mellon 2 (25-16, 18-25, 20-25, 25-22, 17-15)

Leading 8-6 early in the first set, the Spartans won six of the next seven points to lead 14-7. The Tartans were able to cut their deficit to five, 18-15, but CWRU responded with a 5-2 run, capped by a service ace from junior libero Alyssa Blessinger, to force a second CMU timeout. With the Spartans two points away from winning the set, Carnegie Mellon earned a kill, but Case Western Reserve ended the set with two points to lead 1-0.

The Spartans took an early lead in the second set, 6-2. Both teams went on 4-0 runs to put the score at 10-6 in favor of CWRU, before Carnegie Mellon took a 13-12 lead. A kill by sophomore outside hitter Rea Marfatia tied the score at 13 following a Spartan timeout, but the Tartans took the next point and led for the rest of the set, tying the match at 1.

After the Spartans led by as many as four points early in the third set, CMU used a 7-1 run to take a 19-16 lead. Following a Spartan timeout, first-year outside hitter Kalli Wall ended the run with a kill. The teams traded 3-0 runs to prompt a CMU timeout, which was followed by a second 3-0 Tartan run to give Carnegie Mellon a 2-1 lead in the match.

Needing to win the fourth set to stay alive in the match, Case Western Reserve opened with a 7-1 run on the service of Blessinger. The Tartans eventually tied the score at 11, with a series of kills from both teams leading to a 17-15 score in favor of CMU. The Tartans later led 22-19, just three points away from winning the match, but a 6-0 set-ending CWRU run pushed the match to a decisive fifth set.

Carnegie Mellon opened the final frame by winning four of the first five points. Battling for every point, CWRU took an 8-7 lead into the mid-set break. A block by Wall and junior middle blocker Jennifer Ngo made the score 14-11, putting the Spartans one point away from winning the match. The Tartans won the next three points to fight off the loss before a kill by Wall again put Case Western Reserve a point away. CMU tied the score, but a Ngo kill and CMU attacking error gave the Spartans the come-from-behind win over their rival.  

Wall led the Spartan attack with a career-high 16 kills. Four other CWRU players recorded at least 10 kills, including Marfatia (13), Ngo (12), senior outside/right side hitter Gianna Lambert (10), and sophomore outside hitter Carly Scott (10). Marfatia added 17 digs for her fourth double-double of the season. Sophomore setter Ansley Yamaato directed the offense, pacing the squad with 33 assists and adding 12 digs. Blessinger led the team with 21 digs, and sophomore defensive specialist Maria Tuepker added a season-high 13 digs.

CWRU 3, #4 WashU 2 (18-25, 25-20, 25-22, 18-25, 15-13)

The Spartans trailed by as many as nine points in the first set, before cutting the deficit to five with a kill by first-year middle blocker Amanda Ngo. The Bears finished the set by winning eight of the final 13 points to lead 1-0.

Trailing 11-10 in the second set, CWRU won 11 of the next 14 points to claim a seven-point advantage. The Bears battled back, cutting their deficit to five at 23-18. A Marfatia kill put the Spartans one point away from tying the match, and, following two WashU points and a timeout, a kill by Amanda Ngo put the set away.

The third set was tightly contested, with neither team leading by more than two points until late into the set with the Spartans ahead 17-14. Two points from the Bears cut the CWRU lead to one, before Case Western Reserve went on a 5-1 run to lead 22-17. One point away from losing the set, WashU won four consecutive points to make the score 24-22. Following a Spartan timeout, Amanda Ngo buried a kill to give CWRU a 2-1 lead in the match.

After the Spartans grabbed the first two points in the fourth set, the Bears gained a lead they would not relinquish, forcing a decisive fifth set.

CWRU led 5-2 early in the fifth set, getting points on kills and blocks by Wall and Jennifer Ngo. WashU cut the deficit to one, 6-5, before the Spartans won four of the next five points to take a four-point lead and force a timeout by the Bears. WashU quickly responded with three straight points and eventually tied the score at 12. Following a Spartan timeout, Wall gave Case Western Reserve the lead with a kill. WashU tied the score at 13 before kills by Wall and Marfatia clinched the upset for the Spartans.

Amanda Ngo led CWRU both on offense with 15 kills and on defense with seven total blocks, including three solo. Wall (13), Jennifer Ngo (11), and Marfatia (10) each added at least 10 kills. Jennifer Ngo also contributed five digs and six total blocks, including two solo, and Marfatia recorded another double-double with 15 digs. Yamaato led the team with 27 assists and added 10 digs, and Blessinger paced the squad with 29 digs.

Case Western Reserve totaled 14 blocks in the match, its most in a single match since the team recorded 15 against Defiance on September 17, 2016.

After a week off, Case Western Reserve returns home for its final home match of the season, welcoming the College of Wooster to Horsburgh Gymnasium on Saturday, October 29 at 1 p.m. The Spartans will be honoring their five graduating team members—Lambert, Rogers, senior middle blocker Eve Dornback, senior outside hitter Meara Reeder, and junior defensive specialist Lindsay Schamp—prior to the match as part of Senior Day.