The Case Western Reserve University volleyball team wrapped up play at the the Great Lakes Cross Over with a sweep at the Cedar Point Sports Center in Sandusky, Ohio, on Saturday, defeating Greenville University in three sets and besting LeTourneau University in four sets.

The Spartans opened the season with a record of 4-0, while the Panthers fell to 0-2 and the YellowJackets dropped to 1-3.

CWRU 3, Greenville 0 (25-19, 25-17, 25-17)

After the Spartans took an early lead, Greenville used a 5-0 to claim a 6-3 advantage early in the match. CWRU responded by winning 12 of the next 16 points, pulling ahead 15-10 in the middle of the opening stanza. Following a service error, kills by junior Kiya Levy and senior Maria Tuepker and an ace by senior Rea Marfatia gave the Spartans a seven-point lead. The Panthers rallied, scoring six of the next eight points to cut their deficit to three. However, four consecutive Spartan points put Case Western Reserve a point away from clinching the set. After a pair of Panther points, the Spartans ended the set to claim a 1-0 lead.

On the service of Marfatia, Case Western Reserve began the third set with four consecutive points. Greenville used a 6-3 run to get within one point, but a 6-1 Spartans run in response gave CWRU a 15-9 advantage. The Panthers would not go away quietly in the set, claiming six of the following eight points to trim their deficit back to two. The Spartans closed the set on an 8-2 run with Marfatia and junior Amanda Ngo each putting down two kills to give the squad a 2-0 advantage.

Looking for a sweep, CWRU won seven of the first nine points in the third set to open with a five-point lead. After a Greenville point, Ngo put down back-to-back kills to increase the lead to six, and a service ace from senior Jolie Held pushed the advantage to eight, 12-4. The Panthers roared back, cutting the deficit in half, 16-12, but two aces from senior Deme Yianas and kills by Ngo and Marfatia quickly made the score 20-12. Needing just five more points to secure the match, CWRU split the final 10 services, ending its first contest of the day in three sets.

Marfatia had a team-high 11 kills and three service aces, adding five digs defensively. Ngo totaled eight kills and three total blocks, and sophomore Emily Goodpaster and Levy each blocked four attacks. Senior Carly Scott directed the offense, pacing the squad with 22 assists and a team-high seven digs.

CWRU 3, LeTourneau 1 (22-25, 25-22, 25-18, 25-17)

The Spartans started the match by winning six of the first seven points with kills by Scott, Marfatia, Ngo, and senior Chloe Maciejewski. A YellowJacket block ended the CWRU run, and LeTourneau twice came within one point of tying the score. Kills from Ngo and Scott pushed the CWRU advantage to three, but the YellowJackets used a 14-5 run to take a six-point advantage late in the set. With the Spartans trailing 21-15, Case Western Reserve won four points in a row to cut its deficit to just two points. After a LeTourneau timeout, Marfatia buried a kill to bring her team within one. A Jacket kill finally ended the Spartan run at 5-0, but Marfatia again brought CWRU within one. The YellowJackets finished the set by claiming three of the final four points, taking the first set 25-22.

Needing to rebound in the second set, Case Western Reserve evened the score at six early in the set, but LETU won five of the next six points to reclaim the lead. Following a Case Western Reserve timeout, the Spartans cut their deficit to two with back-to-back points. A 4-0 YellowJacket run pushed their lead to six, 17-11, but CWRU rode the service of Scott for a 4-0 run of its own. LeTourneau regrouped after a timeout, and, after alternating the following three points, Case Western Reserve tied the score at 19 by forcing consecutive attacking errors. A third error in a row gave the Spartans their first lead since early in the set, but a LeTourneau block evened the score at 20. A kill by Ngo and back-to-back strikes from Goodpaster gave the Spartans a three-point advantage and forced a LETU timeout. CWRU forced an attacking error, and, after two YellowJacket points, evened the match score at one with a kill by Ngo for the 25th point.

The Yellowjackets started the critical third set with a 10-6 advantage. A Ngo kill ended the LETU run, and Case Western Reserve took an 11-10 lead with 5-0 run. Though the Jackets tied the score, back-to-back miscues put CWRU ahead by two. LeTourneau again evened the score, but three consecutive attacking errors, a kill, and a block gave the Spartans an 18-13 lead. The teams split the next six points, resulting in a 21-16 CWRU lead. The Spartans then scored the next two points for their largest advantage of the set and split the final four points to take a 2-1 lead in the match.

Looking to keep the match alive, LeTourneau used a 5-1 run early in the fourth set to lead by two. After the teams traded the lead, the score was knotted at 13. CWRU then went on a 6-0 run off the service of senior Deme Yianas, taking a 19-13 advantage. The Yellowjackets responded by winning the next four points. After a Spartan timeout, Case Western Reserve claimed the final six points to secure the match victory.

Ngo paced the team with a season-high 17 kills and five blocks. Wall and Levy each added four blocks, and Marfatia just missed a double-double with 12 kills and nine digs. Scott contributed 32 assists and a career-high 20 digs with first-year Sophia Datto (13 digs) and sophomore Sude Naz Item (10 digs) contributing defensively.

CWRU will next welcome Mount Union to Horsburgh Gymnasium on Wednesday, September 4 at 7 p.m. for a key early-season regional match to start a five-match homestand.

Match Notes

• CWRU faced both Greenville and LeTourneau for the first time in program history
• The Spartans made their third-ever trip to Sandusky for the Great Lakes Cross Over, going 11-1 during their time at the Cedar Point Sports Center since 2022
• Across the four matches, Ngo and Marfatia each averaged more than three kills per set at 3.17 and 3.07, respectively. Defensively, Scott led the squad with 48 digs in 15 sets with Marfatia adding 40.