The Case Western Reserve University volleyball team won its 20th match of the season, defeating the College of Wooster in four sets (25-20, 22-25, 25-21, 25-15) at the Timken Gymnasium in Wooster, Ohio, on Saturday afternoon.
The Spartans improved to 20-7 on the season, reaching the 20-win milestone for the second consecutive year and the ninth time under the leadership of Head Coach Karen Farrell. The Fighting Scots fell to 8-16.
With her second assist in the match, senior setter Ansley Yamaato reached 1,000 for her career, the 14th Spartan to reach the milestone in program history. She finished the match with 25 assists and added 11 digs.
Junior outside hitter Rea Marfatia recorded a career-high 22 kills and matched a career-high with 22 digs to lead the team in both categories. Sophomore outside hitter Kalli Wall (14 kills), sophomore middle blocker Kiya Levy (11 kills), and first-year outside hitter Emily Goodpaster (10 kills) each recorded double-digit points for the Spartans. Second on the team in digs was senior libero Alyssa Blessinger with 19, and junior setter/right side hitter Carly Scott had a team-high 28 assists.
CWRU opened the first set on a 10-2 run, including a 5-0 run to start the match. The hosts cut their deficit to just two points by winning 10 of the next 14 points. Following two CWRU points, Wooster took a 18-17 lead with a 6-1 run. Marfatia tied the score with a kill, and Levy gave the visitors a 19-18 advantage with a kill of her own. Two consecutive kills by Marfatia and a Wooster ball handling error put the Spartans up four, and the team would not relinquish the lead for the rest of the set, winning it on back-to-back kills by Levy.
The teams battled early in the second set with neither side leading by more than two points until Wooster claimed a 15-12 lead on a block. CWRU could only cut its deficit to one for the remainder of the set as the hosts tied the match at 1.
The Fighting Scots led by five points early in the third set, looking to take a lead in the match. Marfatia evened the score at 14 with a kill, and a Wooster attacking error put the Spartans ahead for the first time in the set. The teams split the next five points, and Goodpaster tied the score at 18 before the Scots used a 3-0 run to lead 21-18. Case Western Reserve rallied on the service of Goodpaster to win the final seven points of the set and lead 2-1.
Looking to put the match away, CWRU did not trail in the fourth and final set, leading by as many as 11 points in the frame. A kill by Goodpaster and a block by Goodpaster and Blessinger gave the team the final two points of the match to secure the victory.
The Spartans will conclude the regular season next weekend, traveling to Atlanta for the University Athletic Association Volleyball Championship Tournament, hosted by Emory University. Sixth-seeded CWRU will face third-seeded WashU on Friday at 2 p.m. The winning team plays in the semifinal, scheduled for 4 p.m., while the losing team plays in the consolation semifinal at 6 p.m.
