The Case Western Reserve University volleyball team finished the 2019 season strong as they won seven of their final 10 matches and placed fifth at the UAA Championships. The Spartans finished the year with a 13-16 overall record, while facing a difficult schedule that included 12 matches against ranked teams at the time of play.
CWRU capped off the season with a 7-3 record, including wins against Brandeis University and New York University at the UAA Championships. During those last 10 games, the Spartans won three matches by a 3-0 score. Of their 29 matches in 2019, CWRU won seven of those by a score of 3-0.
The Spartans were paced by junior middle hitter Katie Kaminski, who earned All-UAA Second Team recognition, as well as All-UAA Honorable Mention honoree senior outside hitter Brianna Lemon.
Kaminski finished second on the team with a .305 hitting percentage. She ranked third with 247 kills (2.17 per set) and second with 68 total blocks (including 14 solo). Kaminski also added 247 digs and 21 service aces during the season. Over her career, she has recorded a .316 hitting percentage which currently ranks second in program history.
Lemon finished the regular season with a .145 hitting percentage, and led the team with 297 kills (2.65 per set). She also ranked second on the squad with 381 digs (3.40 per set) and tied for first with senior Faith Ellis in service aces (24). Over her four years as a Spartan, Lemon has totaled 1,183 kills (3.05 per set) and 1,099 digs (2.83 per set). She becomes just the sixth player in the program's history to have reached 1,000 kills and digs in a career. In addition, her 1,183 career kills ranks sixth in the program's history.
In addition, Ellis, senior middle hitter Haley Sims and senior outside hitter Karley King played key roles in the Spartans rotation.
Ellis directed the attack and tallied a team-high 529 assists (4.72 per set). She finished fourth on the team with 239 digs. First-year setter Sara Rogers and junior setter Jordyn Harberts also setup the offense throughout the season, totaling 338 (4.45 per set) and 179 (2.71 per set) assists, respectively.
Sims finished first on the team with a .317 hitting percentage and ranked second on the team with 258 kills (2.26 per set). She also tallied a team-high 97 total blocks, including 18 solo blocks. Over her career, she has gathered 906 kills (2.19 per set) and 388 total blocks (0.94 per set).
King, who was selected to the Google Cloud Academic All-America First Team, finished the year with a .179 hitting percentage, and finished fourth on the team with 207 kills (1.99 per set). She also gathered 69 digs and 44 total blocks throughout the season. Over her four years as a Spartan, King has totaled 996 kills (2.36 per set), 274 digs and 184 total blocks.
Additionally, King joins former Spartan Tricia McCutchan (2009, 2010, 2011) as the program's only other All-America selection in multiple years. King was an Academic All-America Second Team selection last year as well.
At the net, first-year outside hitter Gianna Lambert and first-year outside hitter Meara Reeder averaged 1.29 and 1.14 kills per set, respectively. Lambert finished fifth on the team with 116 kills.
Defensively, junior libero Jana Giaquinto averaged 3.85 digs per set and finished first on the team with 427 digs.
Along with their success on the court, 10 Spartans received All-UAA Academic honors: sophomore Lauren Carmon, junior Marlee Dingle, Ellis, junior Bailey Hagedorn, King, senior Samantha Rodriguez, sophomore Natalie Rothrock, sophomore Maggie Sereika, Sim and junior Krystal Wang. All-Academic recognition is awarded to student-athletes who have completed at least one full year of college study and who carry a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.300.
Head Coach Karen Farrell concluded her 18th season where she has led the program to fifth-place finishes at the UAA Championships in two of the past three seasons. At the close of the 2019 season, she has tallied 358 career wins with the program.
The Spartans earned the following honors during the 2019 Season
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CoSIDA Academic All-America |
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First Team |
Clarence, N.Y. / Clarence |
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All-University Athletic Association |
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Second Team |
Centerville, Ohio / Centerville |
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Honorable Mention |
Mount Dora, Fla. / Mount Dora |
2019 Season Leaders
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Kills |
297 |
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Kills Per Set |
2.65 |
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Hitting Percentage |
.317 |
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Assists |
529 |
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Assists Per Set |
4.72 |
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Service Aces |
24 |
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Digs |
427 |
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Digs Per Set |
3.85 |
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Blocks |
97 |
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Points |
334.5 |
CWRU in the final NCAA Division III team rankings (out of 426 ranked teams)
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Category |
Rank |
Total |
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Assists Per Set |
190 |
10.51 |
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Blocks Per Set |
131 |
1.62 |
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Digs Per Set |
93 |
17.66 |
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Hitting Percentage |
106 |
.194 |
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Kills Per Set |
189 |
11.38 |
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Match W/L Percentage |
253 |
0.448 |
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Opp. Hitting Percentage |
285 |
0.172 |
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Team Assists |
132 |
1,198 |
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Team Attacks Per Set |
198 |
35.25 |
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Team Digs |
77 |
2,013 |
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Team Kills |
132 |
1,297 |
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Team Total Attacks |
125 |
4,019 |
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Team Total Blocks |
101 |
184.5 |
CWRU individual's in final NCAA Division III rankings (top 250 players ranked)
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Category |
Name |
Rank |
Total |
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Hitting Percentage |
86 |
0.318 |
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Hitting Percentage |
109 |
0.305 |
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Total Blocks |
78 |
94 |
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Total Digs |
216 |
427 |
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Total Attacks |
149 |
986 |