The 21st-ranked Case Western Reserve University volleyball team won both of its matches on the first day of the first University Athletic Association Round Robin hosted by New York University at the John A. Paulson Center in Manhattan, New York, on Saturday, defeating the University of Rochester in four sets and upsetting eighth-ranked Washington University in St. Louis in five sets.

The Spartans improved to 15-1 on the season and 2-0 in UAA contests. The Yellowjackets fell to 7-9 overall and 0-2 in the UAA, and the Bears dropped to 13-4 and 0-2 in conference contests.

#21 CWRU 3, Rochester 1 (19-25, 25-22, 25-16, 25-22)

CWRU led by five points early in the first set, but a 7-1 Rochester run put the Yellowjackets ahead. The teams traded the lead before a 5-0 UR run gave the team a 23-17 advantage. Back-to-back Spartan kills cut the deficit to four, but Rochester closed the set with a pair of kills to lead 1-0 in the match.

Junior Kiya Levy put CWRU ahead 15-14 in the second set with a kill. The Yellowjackets responded by claiming an 18-15 lead before a service error brought Case Western Reserve within two. Two consecutive Rochester mistakes tied the score, and the Spartans pulled ahead on a Rochester attacking error. With the score even at 20, junior Amanda Ngo buried a kill and sophomore Emily Goodpaster followed with an ace. The Yellowjackets tied the score with a kill and ace of their own, but a Ngo kill put CWRU ahead and two kills by senior Rea Marfatia gave the Spartans the second set.

Case Western Reserve led 7-1 in the third stanza and opened a 16-6 lead later in the frame. The Yellowjackets cut their deficit to five, 18-13, but that would be as close as they would get to tying the score. Ngo finished the set with her 10th kill of the match as the Spartans looked to finish the match in four sets.

With the fourth set tied at 10, the two teams traded the next 12 points before the Yellowjackets scored four in a row to take a 20-16 advantage. The Spartans responded, winning the next three points with two Marfatia kills and one from Ngo. Rochester increased its lead to two, but four consecutive Case Western Reserve points put the Spartans ahead 23-21. A service ace cut into the CWRU lead before Marfatia and Levy ended the match with a pair of kills.

Marfatia led the Spartans with 13 kills and added nine digs and two blocks. Ngo finished with 12 kills and an attacking percentage of .524, while contributing three blocks and five digs. Levy set season-high marks in kills (seven), total blocks (six), and digs (five), and junior Kalli Wall added five total blocks. First-year Sophia Datto matched a career high with 18 digs, and first-year Avery Basinger (25 assists) and senior Carly Scott (20 assists) split setting duties in the match.

#21 CWRU 3, #8 WashU 2 (30-28, 16-25, 25-21, 17-25, 15-13)

With CWRU ahead 15-11 in the first set, WashU used a 7-0 run to claim a three-point advantage. The Bears led 24-21 and were serving for set point. Back-to-back kills by Wall brought the Spartans within one, and Marfatia followed with a kill and ace to give the Spartans a chance to clinch the set. After WashU evened the score at 25, Wall put down a kill to give CWRU the advantage. The Bears responded with two kills of their own to lead 27-26. Wall kept the Spartans alive with her sixth kill of the set, but WashU served for set point for the third time after securing the next rally. Ngo evened the score at 28 with her sixth kill, and a WashU attacking error put the Spartans ahead. On the following rally, the Bears hit another ball out of play, and Case Western Reserve won the marathon first set.

WashU led by as many as 10 points in the second stanza, evening the match score with a wire-to-wire victory.

The Bears led 15-12 in the pivotal third period before the Spartans scored seven of the next eight points to take a 19-16 lead. WashU was able to cut its deficit to two, 21-19, but CWRU won four of the final six points to lead 2-1 in the match. Of Case Western Reserve's 25 points in the set, 22 came from kills with Ngo and Wall each putting down six, Marfatia recording five, Scott adding three, and Basinger and senior Lily Crouch contributing one.

Needed a set win to keep the match alive, the Bears won 11 of the first 16 points to lead by six. The Spartans cut their deficit to two, but WashU increased its lead to five with a 4-1 run. After the teams traded the following 12 points, CWRU dropped four of the final five rallies to force a decisive fifth set.

With the Spartans up 7-4 in the final stanza, WashU scored the next three points to even the score at seven. Ngo scored the eighth point for CWRU on her 21st kill, and, after the teams switched sides of the court, Case Western Reserve won the following four points to lead 12-7. The Bears responded by claiming five of the next six rallies, making the score 13-12 and serving for the tie. Ngo put down a kill, WashU responded with a kill, and Marfatia finished the match with her 11th kill, clinching the upset for Case Western Reserve.

Ngo had a team-high 22 kills with Wall adding a career-high 16 kills. Marfatia (11) and Crouch (10) both eclipsed double digits in kills with Marfatia adding 14 digs and four service aces. Scott paced the team with 28 assists, 16 digs, and four block assists. Datto added 15 digs, and Basinger finished with 26 assists in the match.

The Spartans will conclude the first conference round robin on Sunday with a matchup against seventh-ranked Emory at 12 p.m.

Spartan Notes

• The Spartans improved to 24-9 against Rochester since 2002, winning their ninth consecutive contest against the Yellowjackets and 21st of their previous 23 matches
• CWRU secured its fourth-ever win over WashU and third in its last four meetings. The Spartans previously defeated the Bears in the 2023 UAA Championship Quarterfinal and at the third UAA round robin of 2022
• With her 19th dig of the day, Marfatia reached 1,000 career digs, becoming the 21st player in program history to achieve the milestone. She also became the fourth player in program history with at least 1,000 digs and 100 service aces, joining Alyssa Blessinger (2023), Andrea Lamont (2009), and Rebecca Mellis (2001)
• The win was the first for the Spartans against a team ranked in the top 10 of the AVCA poll since an upset of ninth-ranked WashU on November 10, 2023. The last CWRU win over a team ranked better than eighth was when the Spartans upset fourth-ranked WashU on October 16, 2022
• Ngo's 22 kills bested her previous career high of 17 set earlier this season against LeTourneau and are the most by a Spartan since Marfatia recorded 25 against Mount Union on September 4
• The 30 points in the first set against WashU are the most scored in a single set by the Spartans since the team dropped the third set against NYU 33-31 in the 2023 UAA Semifinal and are the most in a set victory since the team claimed a 30-28 win in a sweep of Fredonia on October 23, 2021