The Case Western Reserve University volleyball team gave Head Coach Karen Farrell her 500th career victory as the team swept Allegheny College and Earlham College on Saturday on the second day of the CWRU Quad at Horsburgh Gymnasium in Cleveland.

The Spartans improved to 8-0 on the season, their best start to a campaign since winning eight in a row to kick off the 2016 season. Farrell entered 2024 with 492 career victories across 28 years, including 415 wins in 22 seasons with CWRU. She now has a record of 500-392 (.561) as a head coach.

The Gators fell to 4-3 and the Quakers dropped to 4-4.

CWRU 3, Allegheny 0 (25-18, 25-12, 25-15)

After dropping the first two points of the match, the Spartans claimed a four-point lead with an 8-2 run. Allegheny reclaimed the advantage, leading 17-16 late in the set. On the service of senior Maria Tuepker, CWRU won the next six points to take a five-point lead. Junior Amanda Ngo and senior Chloe Maciejewski both recorded two kills during the run. Though a service error brought the Gators within four, the Spartans won the final three rallies to take the first set.

With the second set tied at six, Case Western Reserve used an 8-2 run to take a six-point lead. Allegheny scored once on a kill, but the Spartans responded by taking nine of the next 10 points. The hosts opened a 13-point advantage late in the set, ensuring a two-set lead in the match.

Trailing 3-1 in the third set, CWRU won the next 10 points on the service of senior Carly Scott, taking a lead they would not relinquish for the rest of the match. Allegheny used a service ace to cut its deficit to four points, but that would be the closest they would get to tying the score. An 8-3 Spartan run increased the hosts lead to nine, and back-to-back kills by Maciejewski and Ngo secured the victory for the Spartans.

Ngo had a team-high of nine kills in the contest with a .438 hitting percentage. Maciejewski hit .571, putting down eight kills without an error, and junior Kalli Wall also recorded eight kills to go along with three blocks. Scott finished with 28 assists and six digs, senior Rea Marfatia paced the squad with nine digs and added seven kills, and sophomore Sude Naz Item dug out eight attacks.   

CWRU 3, Earlham 0 (25-15, 25-13, 25-19)

The Spartans trailed just once in the first set, falling behind 5-4 to open the match. Four consecutive points, including kills from Wall and senior Lily Crouch, gave CWRU a three-point lead they would not relinquish. Up 16-12 later in the set, the hosts captured eight of the next 10 rallies to lead by 10 and serve with set point. An Earlham kill ended the run, but Ngo concluded the set with a kill of her own.

Case Western Reserve did not trail in the second set and led 17-12 following a Quaker kill. Behind the service of Marfatia and Crouch, the Spartans rallied, winning eight of the final nine points to claim the second frame.

CWRU also did not trail in the third set, though Earlham cut its deficit to four late in the match, 21-17. A service error put the Spartans up by five, and an attacking error made the score 23-17. Kills by Maciejewski and Marfatia ended the match, giving Case Western Reserve its eighth consecutive win and Farrell the 500th of her career.

Marfatia led all players with 12 kills, her sixth double-digit total of the season, and added 11 digs and three service aces. Scott had 28 assists and a team-high 19 digs, and Ngo and Wall each contributed six kills and two blocks.

The Spartans will wrap up their five-match homestand with a visit from Baldwin Wallace on Wednesday, September 11. The first serve is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Match Notes

• In addition to her 500 wins as a collegiate volleyball coach, Farrell won 60 games as the head coach of the CWRU softball team from 1996-99
• Marfatia totaled 55 kills during the team's four matches this week, the most on the team. This season, she leads the Spartans with 101 kills, giving her 855 across her career, the 16th most in program history
• CWRU improved to 14-3 against Allegheny since 2004, including wins in the last 12 meetings between the schools with the most recent eight in three sets