The Case Western Reserve University volleyball team won a pair of matches on Saturday afternoon, defeating Muskingum University 3-0 (25-20, 25-20, 25-18) and Heidelberg University 3-1 (25-27, 25-21, 25-20, 28-26) in Tiffin, Ohio.
The Spartans extended their winning streak to a season-long five matches with the win and improved to 14-4 overall.
CWRU 3, Muskingum 0 (25-20, 25-20, 25-18)
CWRU hit .243 as a team in the opening match of the day against Muskingum, led by 10 kills apiece from senior Jennifer Ngo and sophomore Kalli Wall. Senior Ansley Yamaato added a team-leading 17 assists and senior Alyssa Blessinger added a team-high 16 digs.
Trailing 14-13 in the first set, the Spartans rallied off six-straight points on the way to a 25-20 win. CWRU went on to take control of the second set midway through the frame as well, turning an early 9-6 deficit into a 10-9 lead with four-straight points, and went on to pull away from another 25-20 win. The Spartans led by as many as nine in the third set, taking a 20-11 lead on an ace by Yamaato, before closing out the match with a 25-18 win.
Muskingum dropped to 4-9 with the loss.
CWRU 3, Heidelberg 1 (25-27, 25-21, 25-20, 28-26)
Ngo led the Spartans in the second match of the day with 15 more kills, while Wall registered 13 and junior Lily Crouch tallied 11. Junior Carly Scott led all CWRU players with a career-high 32 assists, and Blessinger added a season-high 26 digs to pace the Spartans.
CWRU trailed for most of the opening set, but evened the match at 23-23 after trailing by as many as seven. The Spartans went on to fend off a pair of set points before falling in the opening set 27-25. CWRU was down 11-7 in the second set, but rallied for six-straight points to take a 13-11 lead and never trailed again to win the frame 25-21 and knot the match at a set apiece.
With the third set tied at 11-11, CWRU went on to win six of the next seven points to go ahead 17-12, and a block by Crouch and Wall gave the Spartans a 25-20 win and put the team in front 2-1. The fourth set was close throughout, and Heidelberg took a 26-25 lead. However, a kill by Ngo evened the score, and after an ace by Yamaato, Ngo added another kill to give the Spartans a 28-26 win in the set and clinch the match for CWRU.
Heidelberg fell to 10-9 after the setback.
The Spartans will be back in action on Wednesday when the team returns to Horsburgh Gymnasium in Cleveland to play host to Oberlin College. The match is scheduled for a 7:00 p.m. start.
