The Case Western Reserve University volleyball split a pair of matches at the 2026 University Athletic Association Championship on Saturday falling to sixth-ranked Carnegie Mellon University in three sets before defeating Brandeis University in four sets at the Highmark Center in Pittsburgh.

The sixth-seeded Spartans will Spartans (12-17) will take on fifth-seeded Emory in the fifth-place match on Sunday at 10 a.m. The third-seeded Tartans (24-5) advanced to the third-place match, while the seventh-seeded Judges (12-17) fell to the seventh-place match.

Stats and Standouts

• First-year Maya Zarow had 30 kills and 26 digs, including a season-high 19 against Brandeis, on Saturday
• Junior Sophia Datto added 31 digs and six assists across the two matches
• Juniors Avery Basinger (34 assists) and Elena Esquivel (29 assists) handled setting duties for CWRU in both matches

CWRU 0, #6 Carnegie Mellon 3 (19-25, 17-25, 22-25)

First Set (19-25)

• The Tartans won nine of the first 12 points to take an early six-point lead
• CWRU won four consecutive points later in the set, cutting the deficit to three, 12-9
• Following a CMU attacking error, the Spartans trailed by just two, 15-13
• The teams traded 3-0 runs before the hosts won four of the next five rallies to lead by five
• A kill by junior Sienna Olson made the score 23-19, but the Tartans finished the set with a kill and a service ace

Second Set (17-25)

• The teams battled early in the second stanza with neither leading by more than two points until a CMU run
• After the Spartans tied the score at 13 on a kill by senior Katie Yanni, the Tartans won six of the following seven points to achieve a five-point edge
• A Carnegie Mellon error interrupted the run, and senior Sude Naz Item aced the next serve to cut the deficit to three
• However, the hosts finished the period with a 6-1 run to clinch the set

Third Set (22-25)

• The Spartans won five points in a row on the service of Zarow early in the third set to take an 8-3 lead
• Item kept the lead at five with another ace, putting the visitors ahead 12-7
• Carnegie Mellon responded by winning seven consecutive points to go ahead 14-12
• CWRU battled back, tying the score at 18 on a CMU attacking error and at 19 on a kill by first-year Marisa Guan
• The hosts won the next two points and Case Western Reserve was unable to tie the score for the rest of the set

CWRU 3, Brandeis 1 (25-20, 16-25, 25-23, 25-17)

First Set (25-20)

• The Spartans opened the match with a 6-2 run and opened a five-point lead, 11-6, on a kill by Yanni
• CWRU extended its edge to eight, 18-10, after taking four points in a row, including two kills by Zarow and a block by Olson and sophomore Isabel Haytayan
• Brandeis cut the deficit to five, 22-17, then won the next two points
• An Olson kill ended the run, and after the Judges made the score 23-20, CWRU ended the set with kills from Olson and Zarow

Second Set (16-25)

• With the score tied at three, an 8-1 Brandeis run gave the Judges a seven-point lead
• The Spartans cut the deficit to three by winning the next four points with Williams blocking a pair of attacks and adding a kill
• Brandeis responded by taking 10 of the next 13 rallies, turning a three-point lead into a 10-point advantage
• CWRU could only cut the deficit to eight before falling in the set

Third Set (25-23)

• Trailing by two in the middle of the pivotal third stanza, Yanni put down a kill and the Spartans forced a pair of attacking errors to take a one-point lead
• The teams went back-and-forth over the six seven points before a 6-2 Brandeis run gave the Judges a three-point lead, 21-18
• Yanni and Zarow followed with kills, and senior Emily Goodpaster tied the score with an ace
• Brandeis ended the run with a kill, and after an attacking error, led 23-22 after a kill
• Zarow put down two consecutive kills, and the Spartans won the set on the following point by forcing an attacking error

Fourth Set (25-17)

• The Judges, looking to force a fifth set, won seven of the first nine points in the fourth period
• CWRU slowly battled back, eventually tying the score on an ace by Esquivel and taking a 15-14 lead on a kill by Zarow
• After Brandeis tied the score, the Spartans won five of the next six points and ended the set on a 5-0 run to win the match

Spartan Notes

• Case Western Reserve dropped to 9-26 against CMU since 2002 and 2-5 since 2022
• The Spartans and Tartans last met at the Highmark Center in 2024, a five-set win for the Spartans in the third round robin that season
• CWRU improved to 25-2 in the last 27 meetings with the Judges and 30-9 since 2002, avenging a loss to Brandeis earlier this season
• The Spartans played the Judges in Pittsburgh in 2022, winning 3-0
• This was the seventh time since 2017 that Case Western Reserve and Brandeis have met in the conference tournament and in the regular season
• Zarow has recorded at least 10 kills in five of her last six matches and 21 matches this season