The Case Western Reserve University volleyball team swept a pair of matches on the second and final day of the CWRU Quad at Horsburgh Gymnasium in Cleveland, Ohio on Saturday, defeating Saint Vincent College 25-18, 25-20, 25-18, and Buffalo State 25-11, 25-16, 27-25.
The Spartans improved to 7-1 with the two wins and are currently riding a four-match winning streak. At the end of the day, the Bearcats stood at 5-2, and the Bengals were 3-3.
CWRU 3, Saint Vincent 0 (25-18, 25-20, 25-18)
In the first match of the day, the visitors started with a 6-1 run, but the hosts responded with a 6-1 run of their own. Later in the set, with the score tied at 12, the Spartans used a 10-2 run to take a late six-point lead. CWRU carried the momentum through the rest of the set to prevail 25-18. Senior outside/right side hitter Gianna Lambert recorded four kills and two blocks in the set, with sophomore outside hitter Rea Marfatia adding three kills and a team-leading four digs.
The second set was tightly contested with neither team leading by more than three points until late in the set. The Spartans took a 20-15 lead with two kills from Marfatia, one from Lambert, and a block by Lambert and junior middle blocker Jennifer Ngo. The Bearcats cut the deficit to three, but a kill and service ace from Ngo put CWRU within three points of winning the set. Kills from Lambert and first-year middle blocker Amanda Ngo brought the Spartans within one, but Saint Vincent used a 3-0 run to stay alive. Marfatia closed the set at 25-20 with her seventh kill of the match.
After dropping the first point of the third set, Case Western Reserve took a 6-1 lead on the service of junior libero Alyssa Blessinger. After trailing by seven, the Bearcats cut the deficit to three, 19-16. Following a Spartan timeout, the hosts won six of the next eight points to win the match.
Marfatia and Jennifer Ngo each had a team-leading 10 kills, with Ngo recording a hitting percentage of .625. Blessinger paced the squad with 14 digs, while senior setter Sara Rogers had a team-high 22 assists.
CWRU 3, Buffalo State 0 (25-11, 25-16, 27-25)
The Spartans started the match strong, opening the first set on a 13-2 run. During the run, Jennifer Ngo had three blocks and a kill. CWRU maintained at least an eight-point advantage for the rest of the set and used a 7-2 run to claim a 1-0 match lead.
The teams traded points to start the second set until Case Western Reserve won 14 of 17 points to take a 21-11 lead. The teams split the next 10 points with the Spartans claiming a 25-16 win in the set.
A kill from sophomore right side hitter Lauren Himmel capped a 7-1 CWRU run that gave the hosts a 10-7 lead in the final set. The visitors came back, taking a three-point lead of their own, 14-11, in the middle of the set. Two service aces from Rogers tied the score at 15, and a Jennifer Ngo kill put the Spartans ahead by one. After trading points, Buffalo State claimed a 21-19 lead, looking to win the set and keep the match alive. However, CWRU responded by winning five of the next six points to force a Bengal timeout, with the Spartans one point away from winning the match. Buffalo State tied the score at 24 and 25, but successive kills by Jennifer Ngo and Marfatia clinched the match for Case Western Reserve.
Marfatia finished with nine kills and eight digs, while Jennifer Ngo led the team with 11 kills and six blocks. Rogers and sophomore setter Ansley Yamaato combined for 33 assists, with Rogers adding seven digs.
The Spartans wrap up their five-match homestand on Wednesday, September 14 at 7 p.m. when the team welcomes Baldwin Wallace to Horsburgh Gymnasium.
