The Case Western Reserve University volleyball team split a pair of matches on the second day of the 45th Annual ONU Invitational held at the ONU Sports Center in Ada, Ohio on Saturday. The Spartans lost to Millikin University in four sets before rebounding with a five-set win over Albion College.

The Spartans moved to 7-9 on the season, while the Big Blue improved to 4-5 and the Britons dropped to 12-2.

Stats and Standouts

• Senior outside hitter Kalli Wall led the team with 30 kills across the two matches, and senior middle blocker Amanda Ngo added 23
• Sophomore setter Elena Esquivel directed the offense, compiling 61 assists in the nine sets
• Defensively, sophomore defensive specialist Sophia Datto had a team-high 34 digs, with junior defensive specialist Sude Naz Item adding 24 and sophomore setter Avery Basinger contributing 19

CWRU 1, Millikin 3 (19-25, 14-25, 25-17, 22-25)

First Set (19-25)

• The Big Blue started the match with four consecutive points, but the Spartans quickly responded and cut their deficit to one
• The score remained close throughout the middle of the set before Millikin used a 4-1 run to take an 18-13 lead
• CWRU called a timeout and exited the break with four points in a row, including an ace by Basinger, to make the score 18-17
• However, Millikin won the next five points and put the stanza away with wins in two of the final four rallies

Second Set (14-25)

• After the teams split the first two points, Millikin went on an 11-2 run, taking a nine-point lead
• CWRU would not get closer than nine, ultimately dropping the set by a score of 25-14

Third Set (25-17)

• The Spartans started the set with a 9-2 run
• Millikin cut the deficit to five, 11-6, but CWRU responded with a 6-2 to run to increase the advantage to nine, 17-8
• With Case Western Reserve leading 20-15, sophomore outside hitter Colleen Nudd hit a pair of kills and first-year setter Kaitlyn Harris had a service ace to increase the edge to eight
• The teams split the final four points with Wall finishing the set with a kill

Fourth Set (22-25)

• Looking to close out the match, Millikin opened the second set with a 6-0 run
• CWRU battled back, tying the score at seven with a 7-1 run
• The Big Blue won seven of the next nine rallies to retake a five-point advantage
• A Ngo kill stopped the run, but Millikin won four of the following five points to lead 18-11
• An attacking error brought CWRU within three, 23-20, and back-to-back Millikin mistakes made the score 24-22
• However, the Big Blue closed the stanza and the match with a kill

CWRU 3, Albion 2 (25-21, 18-25, 25-23, 21-25, 15-12)

First Set (25-21)

• The Spartans opened the match by winning six of the first seven points
• Albion responded, cutting the deficit to one, 10-9
• Paced by two kills from Esquivel, CWRU won seven of the next eight rallies to take a 17-10 lead in the set
• With a five-point run, the Britons made the score 21-19, but could not take the lead
• Nudd put down a kill to give the Spartans 23 points, Ngo had the 24th of the set, and Item ended the stanza with a service ace

Second Set (18-25)

• CWRU led 11-8 early in the second set, but a 6-0 Briton run gave Albion a 14-11 edge
• The Spartans tied the score at 16 and 18, but the Britons finished the set with a 7-0 run, tying the match score at one

Third Set (25-23)

• Neither team led by more than four points in the third set
• With the score tied at 15, CWRU won three consecutive points to take a lead
• Albion responded with a 4-1 run to tie the score at 19
• Back-to-back kills by junior outside hitter Katie Yanni and Ngo gave the Spartans a two-point edge
• The teams went back-and-forth on the final eight points with Wall ending the set with a kill

Fourth Set (21-25)

• Albion led by as many as 10 points in the fourth set, 22-12
• An 8-1 Spartan run brought Case Western Reserve within three, 23-20
• The teams traded kills but a Spartan attacking error sent the match to a decisive fifth set

Fifth Set (15-12)

• The teams battled early in the first half of the final stanza with Albion taking a 7-6 lead on an attacking error
• A 4-0 Spartan run, which included two Ngo kills, gave CWRU a 10-7 advantage in the set
• Albion cut the deficit to one, 12-11, but the Spartans ended the set with three of the final four points to end the day with a win

Spartan Notes

• Wall and Ngo were both named to the All-Tournament Team for their performances during the two-day invitational
• The match against Millikin was the first for the Spartans in the last 25 years
• Case Western Reserve won its third consecutive match against Albion with all three coming in the last three years

Up Next

The Spartans will start conference play next weekend with the first University Athletic Association round robin hosted by Emory University in Atlanta. CWRU will face Brandeis at 11 a.m. on Saturday, September 27 followed by a matchup with 22nd-ranked Carnegie Mellon at 2 p.m. On Sunday, CWRU takes on the eighth-ranked host Eagles at 12 p.m.