The 13th-ranked Case Western Reserve University volleyball team erased a two-set deficit to John Carroll University on Wednesday night at Horsburgh Gymnasium in Cleveland but could not complete the comeback, falling in five sets to the visiting Blue Streaks, 18-25, 23-25, 25-23, 25-15, 9-15.

The Spartans dropped to 22-5 on the season, while the Blue Streaks improved to 18-8.

Four Spartans recorded double-digit kills in the match, including senior Rea Marfatia, junior Kiya Levy, junior Kalli Wall, and senior Chloe Maciejewski. First-year Sophia Datto led the team with 29 digs, and first-year Avery Basinger finished with 25 assists and 12 digs. Senior Carly Scott added 23 assists. At the net, Levy blocked a team-high four attempts, including one solo.

After trailing for most of the first set, the Blue Streaks ended the period on a 12-2 run to open the match with a 1-0 lead. 

John Carroll then led the second set 15-9 before the Spartans cut their deficit to two with a 4-0 run. After dropping three of the next four rallies, CWRU won five consecutive points to take a 19-18 lead, its first advantage of the set. The hosts used two team blocks and two kills by Maciejewski during the run. JCU tied the score at 19 and 20 before taking a 23-21 lead with a 4-1 run. The teams traded attacking errors, and with the Blue Streaks serving for set point, Levy buried a kill to keep the Spartans alive in the period. However, a final JCU kill gave the Blue Streaks a 2-0 edge in the match.

John Carroll used a 6-0 run in the third set to take an early 10-7 lead. The Spartans tied the score at 11 before falling behind 15-11 after two JCU kills and service aces. Case Western Reserve responded, turning the momentum of the set with a 6-1 run to take a 17-16 lead. Marfatia contributed a kill and a service ace, and Levy added a kill. Three consecutive Blue Streak points gave the visitors a two-point lead, but the Spartans responded with five points in a row to lead by three. John Carroll tied the score at 22 before kills by Marfatia and senior Lily Crouch had the Spartans serving for set point. After a JCU kill, Crouch forced a fourth set by burying an attack.  

An early 6-0 run gave the Spartans a lead they would not relinquish in the fourth set. Case Western Reserve closed the stanza on a 10-3 run, forcing a decisive fifth set by hitting .300 in the period.

Down two points early in the final frame, the Blue Streaks rattled off a 9-1 run to take a six-point lead. The visitors led by as many as seven later in the set, and the deficit was too great for the Spartans to overcome.

CWRU will conclude non-conference play on Saturday with a home matchup against the College of Wooster scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. Prior to the match, the team will honor its nine graduating members as part of Senior Night.

Spartan Notes

• CWRU moved up one spot to 13th in the latest NCAA Power Index (NPI), released by the organization on Monday morning. The final NPI rankings will be used to determine the at-large selections to the national tournament
• The loss to the Blue Streaks broke a nine-match winning streak for the Spartans in the rivalry, dating back to the 2014 season. The teams have played each other at least once every season in the 21st century, with CWRU holding a 21-12 edge since 2002
• First-year Madeline Halter had a career-high nine kills during the match, just her fifth as a member of the team
• Crouch had a team-best .533 hitting percentage, converting nine of her 15 attacks for kills with just one error. It is her second-best rate in a match with at least five attacks this season, trailing only the .563 attacking percentage (9-0-16) she had in a five-set win over Brandeis on October 13