The Case Western Reserve University volleyball team swept the University of Wisconsin-Platteville and defeated Ohio Wesleyan University in five sets on the second day of Bishop Invitational hosted by OWU at the Branch Rickey Arena in Delaware, Ohio, on Saturday, setting a program record by winning its 12th consecutive match.

The Spartans improved to 12-0 to begin the season, extending their best start to a season in program history. The Pioneers suffered their first loss and fell to 10-1, and the Battling Bishops dropped to 6-5.

CWRU 3, UW-Platteville 0 (25-10, 25-20, 25-18)

CWRU started the match on a roll, winning 14 of the first 15 points to take a commanding lead. After Platteville scored three points in a row, the Spartans responded with five consecutive points, increasing their lead to a set-high 16 (21-5). The Pioneers managed just five more points in the set with a service error ending the stanza for the Spartans.

Case Western Reserve had a .321 attacking percentage in the opening period, making just one error, while UW-Platteville had a -.154 attacking percentage, making 13 errors on 39 attacks.

The Spartans continued hitting well in the second set, opening a 10-3 lead over the Pioneers. With the score at 14-8, Platteville won five of the next six rallies to cut its deficit to two, 15-13. CWRU forced a service error, and back-to-back kills by senior Chloe Maciejewski and senior Lily Crouch put the team ahead by five. The Pioneers fought back, taking three of the next four points to make the score 19-17 and prompt a CWRU timeout. After the break, a kill from junior Amanda Ngo ignited a 3-0 run and helped the Spartans take six of the final nine points to claim the second set.

Needing a good start to the third set, the Pioneers committed five errors on the first eight points, helping CWRU build a 6-2 lead. A service ace from senior Carly Scott increased the advantage to five, but an 8-4 Platteville run cut the lead to just one, 11-10. After a timeout, Case Western Reserve won the following six points on the service of senior Maria Tuepker with Maciejewski putting down three kills during the run. Though a Pioneer block ended the streak, the Spartans won the next four points (with two kills coming from Ngo) to take a 10-point lead late in the set. UW-Platteville cut its deficit to five, 23-18 but kills from Crouch and sophomore Kalli Wall sealed the wire-to-wire win for CWRU. 

Senior Rea Marfatia, Ngo, and Maciejewski each had a team-high eight kills in the first match of the day. Scott finished with 27 assists and 13 digs, and Tuepker added 11 digs. At the net, Crouch totaled seven blocks, including three solo blocks.

CWRU 3, OWU 2 (25-23, 20-25, 16-25, 25-22, 15-5)

CWRU lost the first six points of the match and trailed by seven twice early in the first set. Down 13-6, the Spartans rallied with four consecutive points to cut into the deficit. Scott and Ngo each buried kills and combined for a block to prompt an OWU timeout. The Battling Bishops responded with a 5-2 run of their own to increase their lead to six once again. Down 20-14, Case Western Reserve battled back, taking a 23-21 advantage on a kill by Wall to cap an 9-1 run. OWU secured the next two points, tying the score at 23, but a block from Ngo and Wall and an Ohio Wesleyan attacking error gave the Spartans the win in the first set.

The teams battled early in the second set with neither claiming more than a two-point lead until OWU led 13-10. The Battling Bishops increased their advantage to seven, 18-11. A 9-4 CWRU run cut the visitors deficit to 22-20 and prompted the second OWU timeout in the set. Five Spartans had kills during the run and Ngo recorded a pair of block assists. The hosts regrouped after the pause, winning the final three points to even the match at one set each.

With the score in the pivotal third set tied at seven, OWU scored six of the next seven points to take a five-point lead. The Spartans were unable to overcome the deficit, dropping the set by nine points on an Ohio Wesleyan kill.

Needing a win in the fourth set, the Spartans claimed the first four points of the stanza. The visitors led by as many as six, 14-8, before Ohio Wesleyan cut into the deficit with a 5-2 run. Kills by Wall and Crouch increased the Case Western Reserve advantage to five, and the team went ahead by seven, 20-13, on an OWU attacking error. After the foes traded points, three consecutive rallies went to the Battling Bishops to make the score 21-17. After a timeout, the Bishops continued their run with three more points, cutting their deficit to one. A block by Ngo increased the CWRU lead to two, but an Ohio Wesleyan kill tightened the score. Marfatia followed with a kill, and first-year Sophia Datto aced a serve to put the Spartans one point away from winning the set. The Battling Bishops earned the next point, but Marfatia forced a fifth set by putting down a kill for the 25th CWRU point.

Holding a 3-2 lead in the final set, the Spartans won the following seven points on the service of Marfatia to take a 10-2 lead. Wall and Crouch each had a pair of kills during the run and Marfatia recorded a service ace. The teams split the next four points, with CWRU maintaining an eight-point edge, and the visitors closed the match by winning three of the final four points. Ngo and Scott ended the set with a dramatic block to seal the historic win.

Ngo had her best match of the season, recording a team-high 14 kills with a season-high seven total blocks. Crouch added 11 kills, and Marfatia and Wall each contributed 10. Defensively, sophomore Sude Naz Item paced the squad with 16 digs, followed by Datto with 13 and sophomore Emily Goodpaster with 10. Scott finished with 34 assists, eight digs, and three total blocks.

The Spartans will next travel to Marietta, Ohio, on Saturday to take on 22nd-ranked Marietta College and Wittenberg University in a tri-match at Ban Johnson Arena. The first serve against the Pioneers is scheduled for 1 p.m.

Spartan Notes

• The Spartans have won 10 or more matches in a row just twice before in program history, opening in the 2015 season on a 10-match winning streak and winning 11 in a row in the middle of the 2010 season
• Scott became the 15th player in program history to reach 1,000 assists with her 19th assist of the match against UW-Platteville. She ended the day with 1,042 for her career
• Case Western Reserve improved to 8-5 against OWU since 2002
• CWRU did not trail at all during its win over UW-Platteville, leading from the first point of every set and never losing the advantage throughout the match
• Ngo matched a career high with seven total blocks against OWU, and Crouch set a career high with seven total blocks against UW-Platteville