The Case Western Reserve University volleyball team opened the Muskie Invitational by defeating host Muskingum University in five sets (25-21, 20-25, 23-25, 25-15, 15-13) on Friday night at the Anne C. Steele Center in New Concord, Ohio.

The Spartans improved to 3-7 in 2025, while the Fighting Muskies dropped to 5-3.

Senior middle blocker Amanda Ngo had 18 kills on a .429 hitting percentage, senior outside hitter Kalli Wall paced the squad with 19 kills and added six digs, and senior middle blocker Kiya Levy hit .467 and finished the match with nine kills. Sophomore setter Elena Esquivel assisted on a career-high 43 attacks, and five Spartans had at least 10 digs, led by sophomore Sophia Datto with 20.

First Set

• The Spartans opened the match on a 7-1 run
• Muskingum responded with an 11-5 run of its own, bringing the score to 13-12
• A kill by Wall and block by Esquivel and Levy pushed the CWRU lead to three, but the hosts eventually tied the score at 17 and took the lead on a service ace
• Case Western Reserve proceeded to win the next six points, opening up a 23-18 advantage
• Junior Katie Yanni had back-to-back kills to start the run, and Datto concluded it with a service ace
• The Muskies won the following three points, but an error and ensuing kill by Ngo gave the visitors a 1-0 lead in the match

Second Set

• The hosts led the second set by as many as eight points, 18-10
• The Spartans cut their deficit to five, 22-17, and won three of the next four points on kills by Ngo and Wall to come within three points of tying the score
• However, the set ended with a pair of Muskingum points, tying the match score at 1

Third Set

• A service ace by junior Sude Naz Item brought Case Western Reserve within three in the pivotal third set, 11-8
• The hosts then won five of the next six points to push their advantage to seven
• The Spartans responded with four consecutive points of their own, and eventually cut their deficit to one, 19-18, on a Muskingum attacking error
• The Muskies won three of the following four points to push their lead to four, 23-19
• However, two kills by Ngo and one by Wall brought the Spartans within one. Muskingum responded with a kill, but the Spartans stayed alive in the match
• The hosts earned the final point of the set on a kill, taking the stanza 25-23

Fourth Set

• Facing a tough road loss, the Spartans won the first five points of the fourth stanza and did not lose the lead
• Esquivel aced a serve to make the lead seven, 11-4, and the team led by eight, 13-5, on a kill by Yanni
• Leading by nine, Ngo ended the set with a kill to force a decisive fifth set
• Case Western Reserve committed just one attacking error in the fourth set, hitting .379, while holding Muskingum to a .109 attacking percentage

Fifth Set

• With the score tied at three, a quick 3-0 run gave the Spartans the lead
• The Muskies used a 3-0 run of their own to tie the score and the teams followed by trading 2-0 bursts
• After splitting the next two points, a block by Ngo and ace by Item put CWRU ahead 11-9
• Muskingum used a kill and block to tie the score before Levy buried a kill and contributed to a block to give the Spartans a two-point edge
• The Muskies buried a kill to halve the deficit, and a service ace tied the score at 13 and prompted a Spartan timeout
• Following the break, Levy put down a kill, and Wall closed the match with a kill of her own

Spartan Notes

• CWRU had a .251 attacking percentage in the match, its second highest in a contest this season
• The Spartans improved to 8-5 over Muskingum since 2002, avenging a five-set loss last season at Otterbein University
• Sophomore Avery Basinger nearly had a double-double, finishing with nine assists and 15 digs
• Junior Emily Goodpaster added 16 digs, and Item ended the match with 19 to go along with three service aces

Up Next

The Spartans wrap up competition at the Muskie Invite with a pair of matches on Saturday. CWRU faces Mount St. Joseph at 10 a.m. before a matchup with 15th-ranked Marietta at 12 p.m.