CWRU Places Third at UAA Championship with Five-Set Win Over Chicago
The Case Western Reserve University volleyball team matched its best conference finish since 2015, placing third at the 2023 University Athletic Association Championship Tournament on Saturday at the Woodruff P.E. Center on the campus of Emory University in Atlanta. The sixth-seeded Spartans defeated fifth-seeded Chicago in five sets, 25-21, 17-25, 21-25, 25-23, 15-12.
CWRU ends the regular season with a record of 22-8, matching the team's win total from last season. The Maroons end their season with a record of 11-16.
Senior middle blocker Jennifer Ngo led the offensive attack with 16 kills. Junior outside hitter Rea Marfatia recorded another double-double with 11 kills and 21 digs, and first-year outside hitter Emily Goodpaster contributed on both offense and defense with nine kills and 17 digs. Sophomore middle blocker Kiya Levy matched a career high with seven total blocks, helping the Spartans accumulate 10 in the match. Junior setter/right side hitter Carly Scott (24 assists, 11 digs) and senior setter Ansley Yamaato (21 assists, 10 digs) split setting duties, and senior libero Alyssa Blessinger tallied a season-high 32 digs.
The Spartans used an early 5-1 run to gain an 11-6 lead in the first set and prompt a Chicago timeout. The Maroons cut their deficit to three, but back-to-back points allowed CWRU to reclaim a five-point advantage. Chicago was unable to cut into the Case Western Reserve lead beyond three points, and a kill by sophomore middle blocker Amanda Ngo put the Spartans ahead 19-13. The Maroons responded with an 8-4 run, making the score 23-21. Following a CWRU timeout, the Spartans won the final two points to claim the first set.
The teams traded 4-0 runs to begin the second set, but the Maroons used an 8-3 run to gain a five-point lead. CWRU won five of the next six points, cutting the deficit to just one and prompting a Chicago timeout. Goodpaster recorded back-to-back kills at the end of the run, with Levy and sophomore outside hitter Kalli Wall each adding a kill. Amanda Ngo tied the score at 13 with a kill following the break, but the Maroons reclaimed the lead with a 7-1 run. Case Western Reserve could not recover from the six-point deficit, falling in the second set 25-17.
Down 6-2 in the pivotal third set, the Spartans rallied to take an 11-8 lead with a 9-2 run. The Maroons followed a timeout with three consecutive points to tie the score. A Marfatia kill put CWRU ahead, but Chicago reclaimed the advantage with back-to-back kills. The Spartans won the next three points, but three consecutive 2-0 runs by both teams evened the score at 17. A service error gave Case Western Reserve the lead, but a 4-0 run put the Maroons ahead by two. A block by Marfatia and Levy cut the Spartan deficit to one, 22-21, but Chicago won the final three points to take a 2-1 lead in the match.
Needing to take the fourth set to stay alive in the match, CWRU started on a 9-1 run. Chicago cut its deficit to six, 10-4, but a quick 5-2 run put the Spartans ahead by eight points again. Back-to-back Maroon attacking errors, including a block by Goodpaster and Levy, gave Case Western Reserve a 10-point advantage. Chicago used a 5-1 run to cut its deficit back to six, but three consecutive Spartan points grew the team's advantage to nine. With the score at 23-14, the Maroons won the next four points to prompt a CWRU timeout and followed the break with three consecutive points to make the score 23-21. A Levy kill ended the run, however back-to-back points kept Chicago alive in the set. Marfatia finally forced the decisive fifth set with her ninth kill of the match.
Neither team held more than a two-point advantage for the first half of the final set. The Maroons led 8-7 going into the midpoint break, yet a block by Goodpaster and Levy tied the score. Chicago gained a three-point lead, but the Spartans responded with a 5-0 run to claim a two-point advantage. Jennifer Ngo recorded three kills during the run, and Wall and Goodpaster added a kill each. A kill by Chicago made the score 13-12, but the Maroons could not tie the score, committing an attacking error to give the Spartans a match point opportunity. Marfatia and Jennifer Ngo blocked the final Chicago attack into the floor, giving CWRU the win and third place in the competitive UAA.