The Case Western Reserve University volleyball team battled to force a fifth set against crosstown rival John Carroll University, but the Spartans ultimately fell to the Blue Streaks 18-25, 25-18, 22-25, 25-18, 10-15 in a non-conference match on Wednesday night in Horsburgh Gymnasium.

CWRU fell to 9-11 this season, while JCU improved to 12-7.

Stats and Standouts

• Senior Emily Goodpaster had a team-high 16 kills, followed by 14 for first-year Maya Zarow and 10 for junior Sienna Olson
• Junior Elena Esquivel recorded 33 assists and 14 digs with junior Avery Basinger adding 18 assists and 11 digs
• Senior Sophia Datto led the team defensively, digging out 23 attacks as sophomore Thea Beran added 10 digs and three service aces
• At the net, sophomore Kate Williams blocked a career-high five attacks, including two solo blocks

First Set (18-25)

• CWRU scored four consecutive points on the service of first-year Sophie Bell to take an early 9-7 lead
• JCU responded by taking seven of the next nine points to claim a 14-11 edge
• Leading by three later in the set, the visitors used a 5-1 run to push their advantage to seven, 22-15
• After service and attacking errors cut into the deficit, John Carroll won three of the final four points to take the first set

Second Set (25-18)

• Trailing 6-5 early in the second stanza, the Spartans won six of the next seven points to claim a four-point lead
• Bell had a service ace, and Williams recorded a pair of blocks during the run
• After JCU halved the deficit, the Spartans won six points in a row on the service of Beran, including a pair of aces, to take a 17-9 lead
• Zarow closed the run with a kill
• A kill by sophomore Isabel Haytayan put the hosts ahead by 10, 22-12
• John Carroll battled back, cutting the deficit to 23-18 with a 5-0 run
• The Blue Streaks ended the set with a pair of attacking errors, tying the match at one

Third Set (22-25)

• Down 9-7 in the pivotal third set, JCU used a 9-1 run to claim a six-point advantage
• The Spartans were able to cut the deficit to two, 20-18, on a kill by Olson, and three rallies later, trailed by just one, 21-20, on a Goodpaster block
• Basinger bought the team within one with a kill, but John Carroll won three of the final four points to win the set by three points

Fourth Set (25-18)

• Ahead by just one, 13-12, in the fourth period, the Spartans used the service of senior Sude Naz Item to go on a 6-0 run and take a seven-point lead
• Goodpaster had three kills during the run with Zarow and Olson adding one each and Item scoring on an ace
• The teams split the next six points, and Zarow ended the set with a kill to force the final frame

Fifth Set (10-15)

• The teams battled early in the fifth set with JCU tying the score at six with a kill
• CWRU won the next four points, taking a 10-6 lead on a kill by Zarow after a block by Williams and junior Madeline Halter
• JCU won the next four points to tie the score at 10 and finished the match on a 9-0 run

Spartan Notes

• CWRU fell to 29-38 all-time against John Carroll, losing for just the second time in the past 12 years
• Of the team's last five matches, four have gone to five sets with the Spartans going 2-3 overall in full-length matches this season
• Goodpaster matched a career-high with 16 kills, equaling a mark set last Sunday against Brandeis
• Basinger recorded her fourth double-double (digs and assists) this season and the 16th of her career
• Esquivel, playing in just her third match this season, had her first double-double of the campaign and the 17th of her career

Up Next

The Spartans will travel to Westerville, Ohio, for a single non-conference match on Saturday, facing 19th-ranked Otterbein at 4 p.m.