The Case Western Reserve University volleyball team started its season with a pair of sweeps at the Great Lakes Cross Over, defeating Trine University and Bluffton University 3-0 at the Cedar Point Sports Center in Sandusky, Ohio on Friday.
The Spartans begin the year with a record of 2-0, while both the Thunder and Beavers drop to 0-2.
CWRU 3, Trine 0 (25-11, 25-18, 25-14)
With the score tied at five in the first set, CWRU won 18 of the next 22 points to take a commanding 23-9 lead. Senior libero Alyssa Blessinger capped off the run with a pair of service aces. After the Thunder took the next point, both senior middle blocker Jennifer Ngo and sophomore middle blocker Amanda Ngo buried a kill to clinch the first set.
The Spartans continued their run into the second set, taking an early 7-2 lead. However, Trine tied the score at nine with a 7-2 run of its own. After two quick Spartan kills, the Thunder took their first lead of the set with three consecutive points. Junior right side hitter Lauren Himmel tied the score at 12 and 13 with kills, but Trine took the next two points to lead 15-13. Amanda Ngo tied the set with two consecutive kills and added a third after a service error to make the score 16-16. After the Thunder retook the lead, CWRU won nine of the final 10 points to claim the set.
After dropping the first three points of the third set, Case Western Reserve won five straight points, including three service aces by junior outside hitter Rea Marfatia, to take an early lead. The Thunder responded quickly, winning four points in a row to claim a 7-5 advantage. CWRU claimed a 15-10 lead with a 10-3 run. Following two consecutive Trine points, the Spartans won the next nine points to come within one point of clinching the match. After Trine prevented the win on the next two points, junior middle blocker Lily Crouch clinched the match for the Spartans with a kill.
Marfatia finished the match with a team-high nine kills, added four service aces, and tied for the team lead with eight digs. Jennifer Ngo had seven kills, and Amanda Ngo, sophomore outside Kalli Wall, and junior right side/outside hitter Chloe Maciejewski each contributed six kills.
Blessinger paced the team defensively with 13 digs, and junior setter Carly Scott had 20 assists and eight digs.
CWRU 3, Bluffton 0 (25-10, 25-18, 25-15)
The teams started the first set evenly, with CWRU leading 11-9 after 20 points. Amanda Ngo recorded a kill on the next point, starting a 14-1 set-ending run for the Spartans. Four different CWRU players had kills during the run, including one by senior setter Ansley Yamaato.
Looking to tie the match, the Beavers started the second set with an 8-2 run, but Case Western Reserve cut the deficit to just one with five consecutive points. Bluffton regained a three-point advantage, 10-7, before the Spartans won seven of the next nine points to take their first lead of the set, 14-12. After a service error shrunk the advantage to one, a block, two kills, and a service ace gave the Spartans an 18-13 lead. However, the Beavers would tie the score at 18 on the strength of five straight points, including three consecutive service aces. Maciejewski put the Spartans ahead with a kill to end the run, and CWRU won the following six points to claim the second set.
Case Western Reserve opened the third set on an 11-3 run. Bluffton would get within four, 12-8, but that would be the closest the team reached to tying the score. A kill from junior right side hitter Gwendolyn Hayes capped a 6-2 run that put her team ahead by nine, and the Spartans ended the match with four straight points to clinch their second sweep of the day.
Jennifer Ngo led the team with eight kills and added a pair of block assists. Marfatia had 13 digs and seven kills, and Blessinger added 10 digs. Yamaato recorded her first double-double of the season, contributing 15 assists and 12 digs.
The Spartans continue play at the Great Lakes Cross Over tomorrow, taking on Grove City at 8 a.m. and Carroll at 12 p.m.
