The Case Western Reserve University volleyball team split a pair of matches at the third University Athletic Association Round Robin, defeating New York University in five sets before falling to host University of Chicago in four sets at the Ratner Athletic Center in Chicago on Sunday.

The Spartans moved to 14-12 this season and finished UAA play with a record of 4-3. The Violets fell to 14-10 and 3-4 in conference matches, while the Maroons improved to 12-10 and 6-1 in the UAA.

Stats and Standouts

• Senior outside hitter Kalli Wall, who finished the day with 31 kills, became the 14th Spartan in program history to reach 1,000 career kills. She finished the day with 1,003 kills across four seasons
• Senior middle blocker Amanda Ngo added 18 kills and a team-high 12 total blocks, with senior middle blocker Kiya Levy contributing 16 kills, five blocks, five digs, and two service aces in a return to her hometown
• Junior outside hitter Emily Goodpaster had a season-high 11 kills against Chicago, totaling 17 across the two matches to go along with a team-high seven service aces and 22 digs
• Sophomore setter Elena Esquivel directed the offense, totaling 62 assists in nine sets while adding 11 kills, 32 digs, eight blocks, and a service ace
• Sophomore defensive specialist Sophia Datto paced the team with 39 digs, and sophomore setter Avery Basinger added 29 digs and 24 assists across both matches

CWRU 3, NYU 2 (25-23, 15-25, 25-23, 20-25, 18-16)

First Set (25-23)

• The Violets started the match with a 6-1 run, forcing an early CWRU timeout
• The Spartans tied the score at nine with an 8-3 run, and took an 11-10 lead on an NYU attacking error
• Back-to-back service aces by Goodpaster increased the team's lead to three, and Case Western Reserve expanded its lead to six, 17-11 by winning four of the next five points
• NYU cut the deficit, making the score 22-19 on a Spartan attacking error
• The Violets, trailing 24-20, fought off three set points, before a kill by Wall secured the first set for the Spartans

Second Set (15-25)

• NYU started the second set like the first, winning the first four points and six of the first seven rallies
• The Violets increased their lead to eight, 10-2, prompting the Spartans to call their second timeout of the stanza
• CWRU dropped its deficit to five, 12-7, but New York responded with five consecutive points to regain a 10-point lead
• The Spartans went on a 6-1 run of their own, cutting the deficit back to five, 18-13 on a block by Levy and Esquivel
• NYU won seven of the final nine rallies to take the second set by 10 points

Third Set (25-23)

• The beginning of the pivotal third set was tightly contested, with neither team leading by more than two points
• After dropping four of five points to fall behind 13-11, the Spartans called a timeout
• Wall responded with back-to-back kills to tie the score, before NYU increased its lead to two with consecutive points
• A kill and service ace by Levy tied the score at 16 before the Spartans claimed the lead on a Violet attacking error
• After NYU called a timeout, the Violets tied the score with a kill
• The teams traded points before NYU put down two kills in a row to lead 20-18
• Following a Spartan timeout, Ngo buried a kill and Goodpaster had a service ace to tie the score at 20
• Wall had a kill to put the Spartans ahead and an attacking error extended the CWRU run to 4-0 and prompted an NYU timeout
• Ngo and Esquivel teamed up for a block after the break, and Wall set down another kill, her 13th of the match, to give the team a 24-20 lead
• NYU fought off three set points for the second time in the match, before Ngo ended the stanza with her sixth kill of the match

Fourth Set (20-25)

• Trailing 4-2 in the fourth set, NYU won five points in a row to take a 7-4 early edge
• Sophomore right-side hitter Madeline Halter ended the run with a kill after a Spartan timeout, but three consecutive NYU kills and two CWRU attacking errors increased the Violet advantage to seven, 12-5
• New York maintained its lead, but the Spartans were able to cut their deficit to five, 21-16, on a block by Ngo and Esquivel
• After a timeout, CWRU won three of the next four points, making the score 22-19
• The teams traded points, before NYU sent the match to the fifth set with a kill and a service ace

Fifth Set (18-16)

• CWRU won four of the first five points in the final set, prompting an early NYU timeout
• The Violets responded with a point after the break, but back-to-back kills by Wall and Halter increased the team's lead to four
• New York won three points in a row, making the score 6-5 in favor of Case Western Reserve
• CWRU won the next point following a timeout, but a kill and service ace from NYU evened the score at seven
• Levy earned a kill to put the team ahead, and an attacking error gave the Spartans a 9-7 edge
• Back-to-back kills tied the score at nine, and a block gave the Violets their first lead in the fifth set
• The Violets doubled their lead with a kill, but a service error into the net and kill by Basinger tied the score at 11
• NYU won the next point after a long rally, but Ngo responded with a kill to tie the score at 12
• A kill by the Violets was followed by a kill by Ngo, and Esquivel and Levy teamed for a block to give the Spartans the serve for match point
• The teams traded the next six points, with NYU fighting off three match points to stay alive
• Levy put the Spartans ahead with her 10th kill of the match, and Halter finished the victory with a kill

CWRU 1, Chicago 3 (19-25, 22-25, 25-15, 16-25)

First Set (19-25)

• Trailing 9-8 in the first set, CWRU won eight of the next 10 points to take a 16-11 lead
• On the service of Hillary Cheung, Chicago won the following 11 points, taking a six-point lead the hosts would not relinquish
• Goodpaster ended the run with a kill, but the teams traded the final six points to give the Maroons the first set of the match

Second Set (22-25)

• The Spartans won the first three points of the second set, and took a 7-3 lead on a kill by Levy
• Chicago won the next four points, tying the score at seven to force a CWRU timeout
• After the Maroons took the lead with a kill, three consecutive Spartan points gave the visitors a two-point edge
• The Spartans led by three, 13-10, before the hosts won eight of the next 10 points to take an 18-15 advantage
• Three consecutive kills by Wall tied the score at 18 and prompted a timeout by the Maroons
• An attacking error gave the Spartans the lead, and, after a Chicago block tied the score, Wall and Levy blocked an attack to put CWRU ahead 20-19
• Chicago evened the score at 20 with a kill and back-to-back service aces gave the hosts the lead
• A service error brought Case Western Reserve within one, 22-21, but the Maroons ended the stanza with three kills in the next four points to take a 2-0 lead

Third Set (25-15)

• Wall recorded her 1,000th career kill to cut the Spartan deficit to 4-3 in the fourth stanza
• Trailing 7-5, CWRU used an 8-2 run to take a four-point lead with a pair of blocks by Ngo during the stretch
• The teams traded the next six points before kills by Goodpaster and Halter increased the Spartan edge to six, 18-12
• Two errors by Chicago gave the Spartans a 20-13 lead, before the Maroons cut into the deficit with a pair of points
• A service error gave the serve back to the Spartans and Goodpaster recorded two consecutive aces to put CWRU ahead 23-15
• Wall and Esquivel finished the set with back-to-back kills, sending the match to the fourth set

Fourth Set (16-25)

• CWRU led by three points early in the second set, before a 9-0 Chicago run gave the hosts a 14-8 lead
• The Spartans responded by taking four of the following five points, but the Maroons reclaimed a six-point edge with three consecutive points
• Chicago gained its largest advantage of the set with three additional points, leading 21-12 late in the stanza
• Ngo ended the run with a kill, but the hosts won four of the final seven points to claim the match

Spartan Notes

• CWRU improved to 15-17 against NYU since 2002, winning its first match against the Violets since 2023
• The Spartans dropped to 14-24 against Chicago since 2002, despite winning won two of last four meetings
• Case Western Reserve secured a winning record in conference play for the second consecutive season after a 5-2 mark last year. It marks the first time the program has consecutive winning UAA seasons since the 2014-15 campaigns
• With the win, Chicago secured the league's top seed in the UAA Tournament, which will be held on November 15 and 16. WashU and Emory tied for second with records of 5-2, while Case Western Reserve tied Carnegie Mellon for fourth with 4-3 marks in conference play
• CWRU will face Carnegie Mellon in the UAA Quarterfinal on November 15 at 11 a.m. at Brandeis in Waltham, Massachusetts
• CWRU entered the week ranked 109th in the initial NCAA Power Index, the sixth highest in the UAA. NYU was ranked 38th in NPI, and trailed WashU (19th), Carnegie Mellon (29th), and Emory (34th). Chicago ranked 83rd
• The Spartans improved to 6-1 in five-set matches in 2025

Up Next

The Spartans return to Horsburgh Gymnasium for their final home match of the season, welcoming 22nd-ranked Otterbein to Cleveland on Saturday, November 1 at 3 p.m. Prior to the match, the team will honor its four graduating members with a Senior Day celebration.