The Case Western Reserve University volleyball team split a pair of five-set matches on Saturday afternoon at Livingston Gymnasium in Granville, Ohio. CWRU defeated Ohio Wesleyan University in five sets (22-25, 25-19, 16-25, 25-15, 19-17) before falling to Denison University in five sets (23-25, 21-25, 25-21, 25-13, 15-10).

The Spartans moved to 9-8 with the split with the Battling Bishops dropping to 9-6 and the Big Red improving to 5-12.

Stats and Standouts

• First-year Maya Zarow had 37 kills across the two matches, including a season-high 20 in the loss to Denison
• Juniors Sienna Olson and Madeline Halter added 18 kills in 10 sets and sophomore Isabel Haytayan and senior Emily Goodpaster contributed 15 kills each
• Senior Avery Basinger had a team-high 56 assists in 10 sets with first-year Piper Starling adding 37
• Junior Sophia Datto dug out 15 attacks in each match with Goodpaster adding 21 and Starling contributing 18
• Starling added a season-high five services aces against OWU, finishing the day with eight

CWRU 3, Ohio Wesleyan 2 (22-25, 25-19, 16-25, 25-15, 19-17)

First Set (22-25)

• CWRU used a 4-0 run to take a 10-8 lead early in the first set on a kill by first-year Ava Felgar
• The Battling Bishops responded by winning six of the next seven points to claim at 14-11 advantage
• A kill by junior Madeline Halter ended the run, but OWU won the next three points to take a five-point edge
• OWU led by six, 21-15, before a kill by Halter, service ace by Goodpaster, and kills by Felgar, Basinger, and Zarow, brought the team within one, 21-20
• A Zarow kill kept the deficit at one, 22-21, before OWU won three of the final four points to secure the first set

Second Set (25-19)

• Back-to-back Ohio Wesleyan attacking errors gave CWRU a 14-11 advantage in the second period
• After a service error, CWRU won four of the next five points to take a 19-13 lead on a kill by Olson
• OWU cut the deficit to four, 20-16, on a kill and a Spartan service error made the score 21-17 late in the set
• After the teams split the next four points, Zarow finished the set with two kills in a row to even the match score at one

Third Set (16-25)

• OWU led by six, 10-4, early in the pivotal third set
• CWRU cut the deficit to three, 12-9, on a service ace by Goodpaster, and again at 14-11 on a block by Haytayan and Halter
• After an OWU kill, CWRU tied the score at 15 with four points in a row, including kills by Haytayan and Olson
• Ohio Wesleyan responded by winning the next three points, and, after a Haytayan kill, claimed the final seven rallies to take a 2-1 lead in the match

Fourth Set (25-15)

• Down 3-2 early in the fourth set, the Spartans won six points in a row to take a five-point lead, including back-to-back service aces by Starling
• After a kill by OWU, CWRU won four of the next five points to claim a seven-point edge
• Ohio Wesleyan cut the deficit to five, 18-13, before the Spartans ended the set on a 7-2 run to force a decisive fifth set
• Basinger ended the stanza with a service ace

Fifth Set (19-17)

• The teams battled early in the final set, with OWU taking two-point lead before a block by Haytayan and Olson tied the score at four
• After splitting the next 10 points, a kill by Zarow gave the Spartans their first lead of the stanza, 10-9
• Two consecutive service errors kept the CWRU lead at one, before an Ohio Wesleyan attacking error gave the Spartans a 12-10 advantage
• Back-to-back Battling Bishop kills tied the score at 12, before the service ace gave OWU a 13-12 lead
• After a timeout, the Spartans forced an attacking error, evening the score at 13
• A kill by Olson gave CWRU the serve for match point, prompting an Ohio Wesleyan timeout
• A block and an attacking error put the Battling Bishops ahead by two, 15-14, and gave OWU the chance to serve for the match
• After a timeout, a kill by Goodpaster and Ohio Wesleyan attacking error gave Case Western Reserve the one-point advantage
• The Battling Bishops responded with a kill and an attacking error to serve for the match at 17-16
• Halter kept the Spartans in the match with a kill and Zarow gave CWRU an 18-17 lead with a kill of her own
• Goodpaster finished the set and match with an ace, the 11th of the day for the Spartans, to secure the victory

CWRU 2, Denison 3 (23-25, 21-25, 25-21, 25-13, 10-15)

First Set (23-25)

• The Spartans opened the match with a 7-2 run
• Denison cut the deficit to two, 11-9, before the kill by Zarow increased the edge to three
• The Big Red won the next four points to take their first lead of the stanza, 13-12
• CWRU responded with three consecutive points, including back-to-back kills by Zarow to reclaim the edge
• After Denison tied the score at 15, the teams split the next four points
• The hosts grabbed a two-point lead before a kill by Olson and block by Goodpaster and Felgar tied the score at 19
• Two consecutive Big Red kills gave the hosts a two-point edge, before a Goodpaster kill and Denison attacking error tied the score at 21
• The teams traded the next four points before a kill and service ace secured the first set for Denison

Second Set (21-25)

• On the strength of a 5-1 run, Denison took a 9-6 lead early in the second set
• CWRU tied the score at 9, 10, 11, and 12, before the hosts won four of the next six points to gain an 18-13 edge
• The Spartans used a 3-0 run to cut the deficit to just two, 22-20 on back-to-back Denison attacking errors
• The Big Red responded by winning two of the next three points and closed the set with a kill

Third Set (25-21)

• Looking to win the match, Denison won 10 of the first 14 points in the third period
• CWRU responded by winning the six points, tying the score at 10 on a kill by sophomore Kate Williams
• After a timeout, the Big Red won the next three points
• However, the Spartans tied the score at 13 and took the lead on a kill by Zarow
• Senior Sude Naz Item had two aces over the next three points with Basinger adding a kill to put the visitors ahead 17-13
• The hosts came back to tie the score at 19, 20, and 21
• Kills by Olson and Goodpaster gave the Spartans a two-point edge, and two Denison attacking errors sent the match to a fourth set

Fourth Set (25-13)

• A kill by Haytayan in the stanza started a 10-2 run for CWRU, fiving the visitors an early 13-6 lead in the set
• After a service error, Case Western Reserve increased its lead to nine, 19-10, on a service ace by Starling
• The teams split the next five points before the Spartans ended the stanza with a 4-0 run to force a decisive fifth set on a kill by Halter

Fifth Set (10-15)

• With the score tied at four, Denison won five points in a row to take a 9-4 edge
• The Spartans battled back, winning five of the next seven rallies to cut the deficit to two, 11-9
• Three kills in a row gave Denison the chance to serve for the match
• Zarow prevented the end of the match with a kill, but the hosts won the set on the next point, 15-10

Spartan Notes

• The Spartans improved to 20-26 against OWU since 1983, winning the last four meetings and five of the last six matchups between the schools
• CWRU fell to 18-21 against Denison since 1983, losing for the first time in the last six meetings and just the second in the last 10
• The five-set matches were just the second and third of the season for the Spartans. CWRU is 2-1 in contests that go the full five sets in 2026
• Zarow's 20 kills against Denison are the most by a Spartan this season and the most by a Case Western Reserve player since Kalli Wall had 23 against John Carroll on October 15, 2025

Up Next

The Spartans will resume conference play with the second University Athletic Association Round Robin on Sunday, October 11. New York University will host the event in Manhattan, New York, with CWRU taking on Brandeis at 10 a.m. and 10th-ranked WashU at 12 p.m.