The Spartans moved to 8-10 on the season and 1-1 in the UAA, while the Judges fell to 5-9 overall and 0-2 in conference play and the Tartans moved to 12-5 in 2025 and 1-1 in the UAA.

Stats and Standouts

• Senior outside hitter Kalli Wall totaled 35 kills across the two matches, and senior middle blocker Amanda Ngo put down 24 kills, including at least 10 in both matches
• Senior middle blocker Kiya Levy totaled kill blocks, including six against CMU
• Sophomore setter Elena Esquivel totaled 37 assists and 27 digs, and sophomore setter Avery Basinger had 33 assists and 22 digs
• Sophomore defensive specialist Sophia Datto had at least 20 digs in each match, totaling 43 in nine sets

CWRU 3, Brandeis 2 (25-16, 25-20, 19-25, 25-27, 15-9)

First Set

• With the score tied at eight, CWRU used an 8-2 run to take a 16-10 advantage in the first set
• Brandeis cut the deficit to four, but four consecutive Spartan points brought the team's lead to eight, 22-14, on a kill by sophomore Madeline Halter
• The Judges scored twice before Case Western Reserve ended the stanza with a 1-0 match lead

Second Set

• Trailing by two, Case Western Reserve went on a 9-2 run to take a 14-9 lead in the second set
• The Judges cut the deficit to three, 19-16, on a service error, their slimmest margin of the remainder of the set
• Kills by Ngo and Halter put CWRU ahead by five, and a kill by Levy closed the set to put the Spartans up 2-0

Third Set

• Down 6-4 in the third set, Brandeis won the next seven points to gain a five point advantage
• CWRU won six of the following nine points, cutting its deficit to two
• A 7-2 Brandeis run increased the Judges' lead to seven, 21-14
• A kill by Wall and block from Levy brought the Spartans within five, but four of the next seven points went to Brandeis, forcing a fourth set

Fourth Set

• The fourth set was tightly contested with the score tied at 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, and 15
• A 5-1 Spartan run put the team ahead 19-16 on a service ace by Levy
• Brandeis fought back with a 6-3 run of its own, tying the score at 22
• Wall gave the Spartans the lead, but a service error and Brandeis kill put the Judges ahead, 24-23
• Wall tied the score at 24 with a kill, and the teams split the next two points
• Brandeis forced a fifth set by forcing an attacking error and putting down a kill

Fifth Set

• With the score tied at five in the final set, CWRU won five of the next six points to take a 10-6 lead
• Junior outside hitter Katie Yanni had a pair of kills during the run
• After a Brandeis point, Case Western Reserve scored the next three points on a service error and back-to-back Ngo kills
• The Judges responded with a pair of points, but an attacking error and a kill by Wall and Ngo secured the victory for CWRU

CWRU 1, #25 Carnegie Mellon 3 (17-25, 26-24, 22-25, 20-25)

First Set

• CMU scored eight of nine points to take an early 11-4 lead in the first set between the two rivals
• The Spartans fought back, tying the score at 15 on an attacking error
• Carnegie Mellon ended the set by taking 10 of the final 12 rallies to earn a 1-0 lead in the match

Second Set

• Case Western Reserve lead early in the second set, taking a 15-10 advantage on a block by Wall and Levy
• Down 18-14, the Tartans won the following seven points to go ahead by three, 21-18
• The Spartans battled back, tying the score at 23 on an attacking error and taking a 24-23 lead on a block by Ngo
• After CMU tied the score at 24, a bad set followed by a kill by Wall tied the match at one

Third Set

• CWRU started the pivotal third set with an 8-2 run and led by eight, 13-5, on a kill by Esquivel
• An 8-3 CMU run cut the Tartans' deficit to three, 16-13
• After splitting the next five points, Carnegie Mellon won four rallies in a row to tie the score at 19
• Ngo and Wall kept CWRU ahead with kills, and a CMU service error gave the Spartans a 22-21 lead
• However, four Tartan points in a row ended the set in favor of Carnegie Mellon

Fourth Set

• CWRU led the fourth set 5-1 on a block by Wall and Levy
• A 5-1 Spartan run later in the set increased the lead to six, 13-7
• Ngo had a pair of kills during the second run
• Carnegie Mellon tied the score at 16 on the strength of a 9-3 run
• The Tartans took an 18-17 lead and led 23-19 following a 4-0 run
• Ngo stopped the run with a kill but CMU ended the match with an attacking error and a block

Spartan Notes

• CWRU improved to 29-8 against Brandeis since 2002, winning the last 10 matchups between the schools
• The Spartans dropped to 9-23 against Carnegie Mellon since 2002
• Wall has at least 10 kills in her last six matches
• Basinger and Esquivel recorded double-doubles in both matches on Saturday
• Junior outside hitter Emily Goodpaster added 14 digs in the win over Brandeis

Up Next

CWRU will conclude the first UAA round robin with a match against the host ninth-ranked Eagles at 12 p.m. on Sunday.