The Case Western Reserve University volleyball team ended its regular season with a hard-fought 3-2 loss to the University of Chicago in the Fifth Place Match of the 2022 University Athletic Association Championship at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York on Sunday.

With the loss, the Spartans placed sixth in the conference and ended the regular season with a record of 22-6. The 22 wins are the most by the team since the 2015 season. The Maroons, who placed fifth in the UAA, finished the regular season with a record of 19-12.

First-year outside hitter Kalli Wall led the team with 13 kills and added five digs. Senior outside/right side hitter Gianna Lambert had 12 kills, and junior middle blocker Jennifer Ngo tallied 10 kills and four block assists. Defensively, junior libero Alyssa Blessinger paced the team with 23 digs, with sophomore outside hitter Rea Marfatia contributing 16, sophomore setter Ansley Yamaato adding 15, and senior setter Sara Rogers tallying 10. Rogers and Yamaato split setting duties, with the sophomore totaling 25 assists and the senior adding 22 assists.

In the first set, CWRU tied the score at 9 with three straight points. Chicago then won nine of the next 12 points to open a six-point lead. The Spartans were able to close the gap to three at 21-18, but were unable to get any further, dropping the set 25-19.

Trailing 9-3 in the second set, Case Western Reserve cut its deficit to two with a 7-3 run. The Maroons responded with a run of their own, winning nine of the next 11 points to lead by nine. After the two teams traded three-point runs, Chicago ended the set at 25-16 with a kill.

Facing a sweep, the Spartans responded in the third set, leading 13-11 on a Chicago attacking error. Following a Maroon timeout, Chicago won the next four points to take a lead. CWRU called timeout, and, after the break, took the next five points to lead 18-15. Ngo had two kills during the run, with Wall and sophomore right side/outside hitter Chloe Maciejewski adding one each. Chicago trimmed its deficit to two at 22-20, but CWRU won three of the final four points to win the set 25-21 and stay alive in the match.

The fourth set began as a back-and-forth affair, with neither team leading by more than two points. A kill gave the Maroons a 17-15 lead following a Spartan timeout but kills by Marfatia and Maciejewski and a Chicago attack error put the Spartans ahead. CWRU continued its run following a Chicago timeout, eventually holding a 21-17 lead. Chicago won the next three points to cut its deficit to one, but a Marfatia kill ended the run. Following a Maroon kill, Case Western Reserve won the final three points to force a decisive fifth set with a 25-21 win.

A service error by Chicago tied the fifth set at 8, but the Maroons followed with a 7-1 match-clinching run to claim fifth place in the conference.

Selections for the 2022 NCAA Volleyball Championship will be announced on Monday, November 7 at 1 p.m. in a selection show on ncaa.com