The Case Western Reserve University volleyball team began its time at the 45th Annual ONU Invitational with a four-set win (25-17, 25-17, 22-25, 25-20) over the host school, Ohio Northern University, on Friday night at the ONU Sports Center in Ada, Ohio.

The Spartans improved to 6-8 this season, while the Polar Bears dropped to 5-7 overall.

Stats and Standouts

• Sophomore right-side hitter Madeline Halter led the team with a career-high 18 kills with a .457 attacking percentage
• Senior outside hitter Kalli Wall added 16 kills, and senior middle blocker Kiya Levy added 10 kills, four digs, two assists, two blocks, and a service ace
• Sophomore setter Elena Esquivel had 33 assists and nine digs, and sophomore defensive specialist Sophia Datto paced the squad with 23 digs

First Set (25-17)

• The Spartans started the match with a 10-3 run, taking an early lead over the hosts
• Halter had four kills during the 13-rally stretch
• CWRU then won four of the next five points to lead by 10
• The Polar Bears cut their deficit to six, 16-10 with a 5-1 run of their own, ending the series with a service ace
• A service error began a 4-0 Spartan run that put the visitors ahead by 10
• Wall ended the set with a kill, giving the Spartans a 1-0 lead in the match

Second Set (25-17)

• Case Western Reserve started the second set strong, taking a 12-3 lead
• Wall had three kills and Levy and Halter each added a pair of kills during the set-opening run
• Later in the set, four consecutive ONU kills brought the hosts within four, 16-12
• CWRU responded with three consecutive kills, including two by Wall, to increase the advantage to seven
• A 5-2 Ohio Northern run made the score 21-17, but the Spartans ended the set with four points in a row to lead 2-0

Third Set (22-25)

• The teams battled at the start of the third stanza with neither leading by more than three
• Leading 11-10, Ohio Northern put down kills on five consecutive rallies to open a 16-10 advantage
• Case Western Reserve won five of the next six points to cut the deficit to two, 17-15, but ONU responded with a 4-1 run of its own to lead 21-16
• A service ace put the hosts ahead 24-19, but the Spartans fought off three set points in a row before eventually dropping the set on a kill

Fourth Set (25-20)

• With the score tied at four in the fourth set, CWRU went on an 8-2 run
• The Spartans expanded their lead to nine, 19-10, with a 7-4 run
• Five different team members recorded kills during the stretch: Wall, Levy, Halter, Esquivel, and senior middle blocker Amanda Ngo
• ONU cut the deficit to five, 20-15, and after the teams traded six points, made the score 23-20 with a service ace
• Wall followed with a kill, and Wall and Levy ended the match with a block to seal the victory

Spartan Notes

• CWRU improved to 2-4 against Ohio Northern in the last 21 years, winning each of the last two matchups
• Junior outside hitter Emily Goodpaster added 12 digs for CWRU, and sophomore setter Avery Basinger contributed 16 assists and seven digs
• Case Western Reserve had a .325 attacking percentage with 64 kills and just 11 errors

Up Next

The Spartans conclude their time in Ada with matches against Millikin at 11 a.m. and Albion at 2 p.m. on Saturday.