The Case Western Reserve University volleyball team lost in four sets to Heidelberg University 26-28, 21-25, 25-14, 18-25 on Friday evening at Horsburgh Gymnasium in Cleveland on the first day of CWRU Quad.

The Spartans fell to 0-6 in 2025, while the Student Princes improved to 4-2.

Senior outside hitter Kalli Wall had her second 20-kill match of the season, putting down 21 kills to go along with 10 digs. Senior middle blocker Amanda Ngo added 10 kills and four blocks.

First Set

• CWRU started the match with an 8-2 run, taking an early lead in the opening set
• Wall and senior middle blocker Kiya Levy both had a pair of kills during the stretch
• Later in the set, a pair of Wall attacks and an ace from junior defensive specialist Sude Naz Item gave the Spartans a 14-5 advantage
• Heidelberg responded by taking the next six points, cutting the deficit to three and making the score 14-11
• After a kill from sophomore right-side hitter Madeline Halter put Case Western Reserve ahead 17-14, the Student Princes tied the score with three consecutive points
• Levy put the hosts ahead with a kill. Both teams reclaimed the lead with back-to-back kills before the visitors tied the score at 20. An attacking error gave CWRU the lead, 21-20
• However, Heidelberg scored three of the next four points to serve for the set
• Consecutive kills by Levy and Wall kept Case Western Reserve alive in the set, but an attacking error gave the Student Princes a chance to serve for the set again
• The serve missed the mark, and an ace by Wall gave CWRU a 26-25 advantage
• Heidelberg won the final three points to take the 34-minute first set

Second Set

• The teams each recorded two 3-0 runs to begin the second set
• Trailing 12-11 in the middle of the stanza, the Spartans used the service of junior outside hitter Emily Goodpaster to take a 15-12 lead. Ngo recorded a pair of kills, Wall added a kill, and Goodpaster closed the run with an ace
• Case Western Reserve maintained its lead, pulling ahead 20-17 on a kill by first-year defensive specialist Thea Beran
• Heidelberg took its second lead of the set using a 4-0 run that was stopped by a kill from Halter
• With the score tied at 21, the visitors claimed the final four points to take a 2-0 lead in the match

Third Set

• Case Western Reserve won nine consecutive points early in the third set, taking a commanding 11-2 lead
• Heidelberg cut the deficit to six, 11-5, and later to five, 15-10
• A service error by the Berg precipitated a 5-0 Spartan run that included a block by Ngo and ace from sophomore defensive specialist Sophia Datto
• Case Western Reserve's lead was cut to only eight for the remainder of the stanza as a block by Levy forced a fourth set

Fourth Set

• Leading 7-5 in the final period, the visitors won seven of the next nine points to take a 14-7 lead
• A Spartan kill interrupted the run, but the Princes pulled ahead by eight, 19-11, on a CWRU attacking error
• Case Western Reserve managed to cut its deficit to six, but was unable to tie the score, leading to the four-set loss
• Sophomore Avery Basinger (24 assists) and first-year Elena Esquivel (19 assists) split the setting duties for CWRU in the match
• Datto paced the team with 17 digs with Goodpaster (12 digs) and Beran (11 digs) also reaching double digits

Spartan Notes

• The Spartans fell to 4-14 against the Student Princes since 2003 with the loss breaking a three-match winning streak in the series
• The match was the first at home for CWRU in 2025. Last season, the team went 7-1 inside Horsburgh Gym

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Up Next

Case Western Reserve welcomes Earlham College and Westminster College to Horsburgh Gym on Saturday, playing the Quakers at 11 a.m. and the Titans at 3 p.m.