The 14th-ranked Case Western Reserve University volleyball team swept a tri-match at Grove City Arena in Grove City, Pennsylvania on Saturday, defeating both Grove City College and Westminster College in three sets.

With the wins, the Spartans improved to 22-4 for the season, matching their win total from each of the past two campaigns. The Wolverines dropped to 14-12, and the Titans fell to 17-14.

Senior Rea Marfatia totaled 30 kills on a .417 hitting percentage and 22 digs across the two matches. First-year Avery Basinger had 21 assists in each contest to lead the team, and first-year Sophia Datto dug out a team-best 25 attacks in five sets.  

#14 CWRU 3, Westminster 0 (25-12, 25-20, 25-17)

After dropping the first two points, the Spartans won nine of the next 10 to take a six-point lead. The Titans cut their deficit to three, 13-10, but CWRU ended the set on a 12-2 run to win by 13. Senior Lily Crouch had three kills and Marfatia added two during the 14-point run.

Case Western Reserve trailed by four early in the second set, losing 15-11 before taking its first lead of the period. Marfatia started an 8-1 run with back-to-back kills, and junior Kiya Levy added two kills and a block to help the Spartans take a 19-16 lead. After splitting the next four points, Westminster came within one, 21-20, on a Spartan attacking error. However, junior Amanda Ngo put down two consecutive kills to start a set-ending 4-0 run.

After leading by as many as six points in the third set, CWRU had its lead trimmed to three, 16-13, on a Westminster kill. Three kills by the Spartans doubled their lead, and the squad used a set-ending 6-2 run to clinch the three-set sweep.

Senior Carly Scott had 10 digs, 15 assists, seven kills, and two blocks in the match. Crouch added three blocks, five kills, and a service ace.

#14 CWRU 3, Grove City 0 (25-19, 25-15, 25-19)

CWRU led by as many as four points early in the set, but the hosts battled back, taking an 11-10 lead in the first set of the final match of the day. The Spartans responded by winning five of the next six rallies. Grove City twice cut its deficit to two but was unable to tie the score for the remainder of the period. With the score at 20-17, kills by junior Kalli Wall and Scott were followed by a service ace by Basinger to double the Spartan lead. Scott scored the final two points for CWRU, giving the visitors the first set 25-19.

Leading just 8-6 in the second set, Case Western Reserve used a 10-1 run to take a commanding 11-point advantage. The Spartans used a combination of kills, blocks, and service aces to push ahead of the Wolverines. A block by Marfatia and Levy gave the team a 21-8 lead, its largest of the set.

Grove City tied the score of the third set at nine before the Spartans took the next five points to reclaim the advantage. The hosts cut their deficit to two and trailed just 18-17 late in the period. Kills by Levy and Wall put the CWRU ahead by three, and, after the Wolverines won two of the next three points, the Spartans finished the set and the match on a 4-0 run. Senior Chloe Maciejewski, Scott, and Marfatia put down kills before a block by Scott and Crouch ended the match.

Scott contributed nine kills, four blocks, and four digs, and Wall had eight kills on a .538 hitting percentage. Levy finished the match with seven kills and four blocks, including one solo.

The Spartans will wrap up the regular season with a pair of home matches next week. The team hosts crosstown rival John Carroll on Wednesday, November 6 at 7 p.m. and welcomes Wooster for a Senior Day matchup on Saturday, November 9 at 6 p.m.

Spartan Notes

• CWRU improved to 9-2 against Westminster since the 2006 season, including nine consecutive wins in the series and eight by sweep
• The Spartans evened the all-time series with Grove City at six wins each, taking each of the last four matches between the teams in three sets
• CWRU was 14th in the latest NPI standings released by the NCAA on October 27, rising four spots from the initial rankings released the previous week. NPI will be used by the NCAA to select the at-large teams for the national championship tournament
• The 22 wins for the squad match the team's win total from the 2022 and 2023 seasons and mark the most victories since the Spartans won 25 contests in 2015
• Sophomore Katie Yanni, playing less than an hour from her hometown, recorded a career-high four kills in the victory over Westminster
• First-year Madeline Halter added a season-high four kills in the first victory of the day for the Spartans
• First-year Colleen Nudd and first-year Sienna Olson made their collegiate debuts at the tri-match, with Nudd recording two kills, an assist, and a dig in two sets against Westminster, and Olson recording a kill in one set against Grove City
• Marfatia, who had a double-double in both matches, totaled at least 10 kills and 10 digs for the 13th and 14th times this season