The Case Western Reserve University volleyball team lost a pair of matches at the third University Athletic Association round robin, hosted by Brandeis University at the Gosman Athletic Center in Waltham, Massachusetts, on Sunday, falling to both Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Chicago 3-0.

The Spartans fell to 17-7 on the season and ended the round robin schedule with a 3-4 mark in conference play. The team will be seeded sixth at the UAA Championship Tournament starting on Friday, November 10. The Tartans ended the day with a record of 15-8 and 4-3 in the UAA, and the Maroons finished conference play with an overall record of 10-12 and a 3-4 mark in the UAA.

Carnegie Mellon 3, CWRU 0 (20-25, 17-25, 23-25)

Early in the first set, the Tartans led by as many as eight points, but the Spartans used a 5-0 run to get within one at 19-18. After the teams split the next four points, CMU used three kills and a block to take the opening frame.

CWRU held an early 8-7 lead, but the Tartans won the next five points to reclaim the advantage. A service error cut the Spartan deficit to just two, 17-15. However, Carnegie Mellon closed the set on an 8-2 run to lead 2-0 in the match.

A 5-0 run early in the third set gave the Spartans an 11-9 lead as the team looked to stay alive and force a fourth set. The Tartans won eight of the next nine points to lead by five, though a kill and two blocks cut the CWRU deficit to just two. Later in the set, the Spartans tied the score at 22 and 23 on an attacking error and a block. CMU won the last two points to claim the set and the match.

Junior outside hitter Rea Marfatia had a team-high 10 kills in the match, adding six digs and four total blocks. Junior setter/right side hitter Carly Scott had 13 assists, three digs, and three total blocks, and senior libero Alyssa Blessinger had a team-high 19 digs. At the net, senior middle blocker Jennifer Ngo and sophomore middle blocker Kiya Levy each added four total blocks. The team finished the match with 10 blocks in three sets.

Chicago 3, CWRU 0 (20-25, 23-25, 21-25)

Chicago opened the match on an 8-2 run and did not trail for the remainder of the set. CWRU cut its deficit to two multiple times, including on a kill by junior outside/right side hitter Chloe Maciejewski to make the score 22-20. The Maroons ended the set with three straight points to take a 1-0 lead.

Case Western Reserve started the second set well, leading 12-7. Chicago fought back, tying the score at 14 following a 7-2 run of its own. The teams split the next six points, but the Spartans earned a two-point lead with a kill and a UC attacking error. The Maroons evened the score at 20, and Levy followed with a kill to put CWRU ahead. However, Chicago ended the set on a 5-2 run to lead 2-0 in the match.

The start of the third set saw both teams make multiple long runs. The Spartans reclaimed the lead with a 4-0 run, going ahead 13-12 on a Chicago attacking error. Chicago quickly took a one-point lead, but a Maroon service error tied the score again. A 5-1 run put CWRU ahead 19-15, capped by a kill by Marfatia, but five straight Chicago points gave the Maroons a one-point lead. Levy tied the score at 20 with a kill. The Maroons then won five of the following six points to take the match.

Marfatia led the team with seven kills and added 10 digs and four blocks, and Ngo contributed six kills and two blocks. Scott (16 assists) and senior setter Ansley Yamaato (13 assists) handled setting duties for the team. Defensively, Blessinger paced the team with 19 digs, and eight Spartans recorded at least two block assists. The team totaled 13 blocks, the most in three sets for CWRU this season.

Case Western Reserve will return home on Saturday for Senior Night, facing Otterbein University at 5 p.m. inside Horsburgh Gymnasium. The team will celebrate its six graduating members— Blessinger, Ngo, Yamaato, Hannah Fox, Lauren Himmel, and Karoline Shellhause — with a special ceremony prior to the match.