The Case Western Reserve University volleyball team won a pair of matches on Saturday at Horsburgh Gymnasium in Cleveland to conclude the CWRU Quad, defeating Earlham College 3-0 (25-21, 25-20, 25-16) and Westminster College 3-1 (21-25, 25-19, 25-11, 25-20).

The Spartans improved to 2-6 this season, while the Quakers dropped to 2-4 and the Titans fell to 3-4.

Senior outside hitter Kalli Wall had 27 kills across the two matches, and first-year defensive specialist Thea Beran recorded four service aces in each match.

CWRU 3, Earlham 0 (25-21, 25-20, 25-16)

First Set

• After Earlham started the match with a 4-0 lead, the Spartans rallied to tie the score at eight
• Trailing 10-8, CWRU won the next five points on the service of Beran. During the run, she had a pair of aces, and junior outside hitter Katie Yanni added a kill
• Back-to-back kills by Yanni gave Case Western Reserve a 15-12 lead, and the hosts extended their advantage to 21-16 with a 4-0 run later in the set
• Sophomore right-side hitter Madeline Halter ended the stanza with a kill to put the Spartans ahead 1-0 in the match

Second Set

• Leading 10-9, the Spartans won five of the next seven points to extend their lead to four. Sophomore defensive specialist Sophia Datto had a service ace and senior middle blocker Amanda Ngo added a kill
• Earlham rallied, winning the following five points to retake the advantage. Following a timeout, CWRU tied the score on a service error and went ahead on a bad set
• The Quakers scored the next two points to take an 18-17 lead
• Wall recorded kills on the next three rallies, sophomore setter Elena Esquivel blocked an attack, and the Case Western Reserve defense forced another attacking error to make the score 22-18
• Earlham won two of the following three points, but Halter buried a kill and Beran ended the set with an ace

Third Set

• Neither team led by more than three points early in the third set until CWRU used a 9-3 run to take a 21-13 lead
• Earlham scored three of the next four points, but the deficit was too much to overcome
• Yanni ended the stanza, and the match, with her 10th kill of the afternoon, setting a new career high
• Esquivel ended the match with a team-high four blocks, paced the team with 20 digs, and added 10 assists

CWRU 3, Westminster 1 (21-25, 25-19, 25-11, 25-20)

First Set

• The Spartans led early in the first set, 5-1, then later took a 14-12 advantage on a block by Ngo and Wall after Westminster claimed its first lead of the match
• After the Titans tied the score at 14, kills by Wall and senior middle blocker Kiya Levy along will a Wall block put CWRU ahead 17-14
• Westminster won the next four points, and then went ahead 20-19 on a kill
• After Levy tied the score at 20, the visitors scored five of the final six points to take the first set

Second Set

• Trailing 6-5, Case Western Reserve won six consecutive points on the service of Ngo to take an 11-6 lead
• Later in the set, the Spartans used a 7-2 run to expand their lead to nine, 21-12, ended the sequence with three kills in a row by Wall
• Westminster cut the deficit to five, but the Titans concluded the stanza with a service error to tie the match at one

Third Set

• With the score tied at four, the Spartans used a 13-1 run to take an insurmountable lead in the stanza
• Beran served for nine rallies in a row, recording all four of her service aces during the run
• Wall ended the set with a kill, putting CWRU one set away from their second victory of the season

Fourth Set

• Westminster would not let the match end without a rally, winning 11 of the first 16 points to lead by six early in the stanza
• Case Western Reserve responded with a 10-1 run to take a 15-12 lead
• The Spartans did not trail for the rest of the period, though the Titans cut the deficit to one on multiple occasions
• Leading 20-19, the hosts won five of the final six points to claim the match victory
• Wall ended the match with 17 kills and a .438 attacking percentage, while Ngo recorded 11 kills with a .455 attacking percentage
• Sophomore setter Avery Basinger led the team with 27 assists, and Esquivel added 20 assists and 13 digs

Spartan Notes

• The Spartans have won their last six matches against the Titans, dropping only two sets in a streak that goes back to 2014
• CWRU improved to 3-1 against Earlham since 2016
• Beran now leads the team with 13 service aces and only four service errors
• Wall eclipsed the 100-kill mark this season against Westminster, ended the day with 101 kills during the 2025 season

Up Next

The Spartans will next make the short trip to Berea, Ohio, for a midweek matchup against Baldwin Wallace. The first serve on Wednesday, September 10 is scheduled for 7 p.m.