The Case Western Reserve University volleyball team split a pair of four set matches on Saturday morning to conclude play at the Great Lakes Cross Over held at Fran's Fieldhouse in Tiffin, Ohio. CWRU defeated host Heidelberg University 25-15, 17-25, 25-22, 25-23 before falling to Hanover College 19-25, 22-25, 25-17, 22-25.

The Spartans moved to 2-2 with the split while the Student Princes dropped to 2-2 and the Panthers improved to 3-0.

Stats and Standouts

• First-year Maya Zarow totaled 26 kills and 28 digs across the two matches, recording her second and third double-doubles of the season
• Senior Emily Goodpaster fell one kill high of matching a career high in the first matchup, putting down 11 kills to go along with seven digs
• First-year Piper Starling led the squad with 19 digs against the Student Princes while adding 13 assists and four service aces, and junior Avery Basinger contributed a Spartan-high 23 assists to go along with 16 digs in the first match. In the second match, Starling and Basinger combined for 20 assists and 16 digs
• First-year Ava Felgar had six service aces in the first match, the most by a Spartan since Carly Scott had seven against Oberlin on October 2, 2024, and tied for the seventh most ever in program history. She added 11 total blocks against Hanover, the most by a Spartan this season
• Junior Sienna Olson had eight kills and five blocks in the loss to the Panthers
• CWRU had 11 service aces in the win over Heidelberg and nine Hanover, bringing the squad's total to 37 this season in 15 sets (2.47 per set)

CWRU 3, Heidelberg 1 (25-15, 17-25, 25-22, 25-23)

First Set (25-15)

• The Spartans started strong, beginning the match by winning eight of the first nine points
• Heidelberg battled back, cutting the deficit to just three points with a 7-3 run
• CWRU responded with a 5-1 run of its own, including three kills by Zarow, to take a 16-9 edge
• A service ace by Felgar gave the visitors a 23-12 lead
• After three consecutive Heidelberg points, junior Sienna Olson and sophomore Kate Williams put down kills to clinch the set for Case Western Reserve

Second Set (17-25)

• The Spartans took an early lead, going ahead 7-5 on a service ace by Starling
• After the teams split the next six points, the Student Princes used a 13-3 run to take a commanding 21-13 lead in the stanza
• The Spartans battled back, taking three of the next four points, but ultimately fell 25-17

Third Set (25-22)

• Neither team led by more than two points in the tightly contested pivotal third set
• The period's fifth and final lead change came when the Spartans used a 5-2 run to take a 17-15 advantage, capped by a service ace from senior Sude Naz Item
• Heidelberg rallied, tying the score at 18 before a kill by Zarow and ace from Starling put CWRU ahead by two
• The Berg regained the serve trailing just 23-22 after a kill, but Case Western Reserve put the set away with a kill by Goodpaster and block by Zarow

Fourth Set (25-23)

• The teams traded early runs in the fourth set with Zarow tying the score at 10 with a kill and the Student Princes committing a service error to tie the score at 13
• Case Western Reserve used three consecutive service aces by Felgar to take a 17-15 lead, but the advantage disappeared following a kill and two attacking errors
• Zarow tied the score at 18 and back-to-back Heidelberg attacking errors made the score 20-18 in favor of the visitors
• The teams traded the next six points before Felgar put CWRU a point away from clinching the match with her ninth kill
• After a service error and attacking error kept the Student Princes alive, sophomore Olivia Myers closed the set and the match with a kill

CWRU 1, Hanover 3 (19-25, 22-25, 25-17, 22-25)

First Set (19-25)

• Hanover quickly jumped out to a five-point lead, winning eight of the first 11 rallies despite just two kills
• The Spartans rallied, cutting the deficit to two at 9-7 and 14-12 following back-to-back service aces by sophomore Thea Beran
• The Panthers used a 9-4 run to take a 23-16 lead and closed the set out by winning two of the next five points

Second Set (22-25)

• Five consecutive points gave CWRU an early 7-3 lead in the second stanza
• Following an ace by Item, Hanover tied the score with four points in a row
• A kill by Williams started a 7-2 run for the Spartans, putting the team ahead 18-13
• Hanover tied the score at 19, and, after back-to-back Spartan points, took a 22-21 advantage by winning three rallies in a row
• CWRU forced an attacking error, tying the score at 22, but Hanover won the final three points to take a 2-0 lead in the match

Third Set (25-17)

• Down two sets, the Spartans started the third one strong, winning six of the first eight points
• Back-to-back service aces later in the set gave the Panthers a 13-12 edge, and an attacking error tied the score at 14
• CWRU rattled off eight points in a row on the service of Starling, taking a commanding lead late in the set
• Olson put down a kill six points later, sending the match to a fourth set

Fourth Set (22-25)

• Down 5-4, Hanover won six points in a row to take a five-point lead
• The Spartans rallied, cutting the deficit to one three times before tying the score at 17 on a block by Olson and Felgar
• The teams traded the next six points, before each winning two points in a row to tie the score at 22
• The Panthers closed the match by forcing an attacking error, acing a serve, and putting down a kill

Spartan Notes

• CWRU improved to 5-14 against the Student Princes since 2003, winning four of the last five meetings between the schools
• The Spartans dropped a match to Hanover for the first time in at least 13 years, defeating the Panthers in 2022, 2018, and 2013
• With her third dig against Hanover, junior Sophia Datto reached the 1,000-dig milestone, becoming the 22nd player in program history to achieve the feat. She ended the day with 1,008 career digs
• Zarow has at least 10 kills in all four matches this season for CWRU
• As a team, CWRU has at least nine service aces in three of the four matches

Up Next

The Spartans return to Horsburgh Gymnasium on Tuesday, September 8 for the first of four consecutive matches in Cleveland. CWRU will take on Baldwin Wallace at 7 p.m. before hosting a quad on Friday, September 11 and Saturday, September 12.