The 25th-ranked Case Western Reserve University volleyball team lost two matches at the 2025 Pacific Coast Classic to open the 2025 season, falling to Whittier College and 15th-ranked Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges in three sets at the Roberts Pavilion in Claremont, California, on Friday.

The Spartans dropped to 0-2 on the season, while the Poets improved to 2-0 and the Athenas started the season 1-0.

Senior Amanda Ngo led the team with 20 kills and five blocks across the two matches. Sophomore Sophia Datto had a team-high 39 digs, and sophomore Avery Basinger paced the squad with 33 assists.

#25 CWRU 0, Whittier 3 (20-25, 22-25, 21-25)

Set 1

• The teams traded points early in the first set, leading to a tie at five
• Whittier pulled ahead, 13-9, with an 8-4 run, prompting a Spartan timeout. The Poets won the following two points after the break to lead by six
• CWRU won four of the next five points, using a pair of kills by senior Kalli Wall and kills from senior Kiya Levy and sophomore Madeline Halter to cut the deficit to three
• After a Whittier timeout, the Spartans continued their run, winning using kills from Wall and sophomore Sienna Olson, a block by junior Emily Goodpaster, and an attacking error to tie the score at 17
• The Poets responded with three consecutive kills and took a 22-18 lead on a kill from Melena The
• CWRU pulled within two with a bad set and a block, but Whittier closed the set with three points in a row to take an early lead in the match

Set 2

• The Spartans led 8-6 early in the second stanza, pulling ahead on a Levy kill and an ace from sophomore Elena Esquivel
• A 7-1 Whittier run tilted the score in favor of the Poets, 13-9
• Olson ended the streak with a kill and started a 9-2 Spartan run to give the team an 18-15 advantage
• Whittier quickly tied the score at 18. Ngo put down a kill to give Case Western Reserve the lead again, but the Poets won the following three points. An Ngo kill and Poet attacking error evened the score at 21, before Whittier ended the set with a 4-1 run

Set 3

• After the Spartans tied the score at nine on a kill by Ngo, Whittier claimed five of the following six points to take a 14-10 lead
• CWRU responded with six consecutive points, using kills by Ngo and Wall and a pair of aces from Datto to take a 16-14 advantage
• The Poets tied the score at 16, 17, and 19 before Halter secured a kill to give CWRU another lead. However, Whittier scored the next five points to get one away to serve for match point
• Case Western Reserve held off the end of the set with kill by Olson, but the Poets completed the upset with a kill of their own

#25 CWRU 0, #15 CMS 3 (12-25, 21-25, 19-25)

Set 1

• After trailing by as many as four early in the first set, a kill from Ngo made the score 11-10 in favor of the hosts
• CMS then went on a set-ending 14-2 run, which included six aces

Set 2

• In the second set, the Spartans tied the score at seven with three consecutive points. The Athenas pulled ahead 11-8, but the Spartans responded with a 5-0 run to take a 13-11 advantage
• The teams traded points, eventually tying the score at 17 on a CMS attacking error. The hosts then won five of the next six points to lead 22-18
• A service error and kill by Ngo brought CWRU within two. However, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps finished the set by winning three of the final four rallies

Set 3

• A three-point Spartan run in the third set, capped by an Ngo kill, tied the score at 11
• CMS took the lead on the next serve and increased it to five by winning six of the next eight points
• After a timeout, CWRU won the following two points. The Spartans later cut their deficit to two, 21-19, with a kill by junior Katie Yanni and a block and kill from Ngo
• The Athenas ended the match by claiming the final four points

Spartan Notes

• Case Western Reserve lost its first match of the season for the first time since 2019, breaking a four-year winning streak. The Spartans fell to 15-8 in openers since 2002
• First-years Isabel Haytayan (one kill, one block) and Elena Stone (one kill, one block, one dig) made their Spartan debuts against Whittier. First-year Kaitlyn Harris (one assist, one dig) appeared in her first collegiate match against CMS
• The Spartans dropped to 0-2 all-time against the Athenas. The only other meeting between the schools came in 2010 in Pomona, California
• CWRU and Whittier met for the first time in program history

Next Up

CWRU continues its California trip with two matches on the campus of La Verne College on Saturday. The Spartans take on the Panthers of Chapman University at 1 p.m. ET and face the host Leopards at 4 p.m. ET.