After Case Western Reserve University’s volleyball team swept the Great Lakes Cross Over at Cedar Point Sports Center, they returned to Horsburgh Gymnasium looking to extend their win streak and dominate the court in the CWRU Quad. Not only did the Spartans succeed in sweeping all three of the matchups 3-0, the squad also ended the tournament with a special celebration as they concluded CWRU Quad 2024 with Head Coach Karen Farrell’s 500th career win. Of the 500 wins, 415 occurred during her 22 seasons at CWRU.
“I’ve been blessed with a really awesome career and great assistant coaches and great players and great alumni that continue to support us. The match that we just played for the 500th win was just the culmination of a really beautiful match. The team just competed really hard all the way through. And it’s really exciting to see what we’re capable of when we put it all together. And it’s just a really awesome feeling to get to this point in my career and be with such a competitive team that works hard and wants to win, and is just really kind and supportive of each other.” Farrell said, commenting on her impressive achievement.
The first match of the tournament began on Sept. 6 with the Spartans facing off against the Adrian College Bulldogs. The squad opened the first set strong with a 4-0 run. However, after the two teams traded points, Adrian went on a 7-1 run allowing the Bulldogs to pull ahead by 5 points, placing the score at 12-17. The Spartans, however, remained unfettered. They went on to make 10 next of the 11 shots, gaining an advantage of 4. The next few points remained tense for the Spartans as the two teams went back and forth, with the Bulldogs coming within one point of the squad as they approached 25. However, the Spartans remained victorious, finishing the first set 25-23 after a kill from fourth-year outside hitter Rea Marfatia.
The second set had another strong start for the Spartans, with them going on a 3-0 run. But their lead did not last long as the Bulldogs followed with 5 consecutive points, allowing them to pull ahead by 2. After a back-and-forth, the Spartans took command of the court, scoring 12 of the next 17 points, giving them a 15-10 lead. The two teams traded points before the Spartans took command once again, bringing them to an 8-point lead at 22-13. While the Bulldogs made a few points, they didn’t come close to touching the Spartans and the squad ended the set 25-18 after a kill by third-year middle blocker Amanda Ngo.
Despite an early point by Adrian in the third set, the Spartans took the lead, going on a 7-4 run. The teams traded points and Adrian eventually pulled ahead, going on a 2-0 run (13-14). However, the Bulldog’s lead didn’t last long with the Spartans following with a 5-0 run. The two squads traded points and Adrian tried to cut their deficit, coming within 3 points of the Spartans. Despite the set being closer than the previous one, the Spartans still reigned victorious, finishing 25-20 after a pair of kills by Marfatia and fourth-year right side/outside hitter Chloe Maciejewski.
Offensively, Marfatia led the team in both kills and digs with 11 and 14, respectively. This was followed by Ngo with 8 kills and a 0.538 hitting percentage. Fourth-year setter/right side hitter Carly Scott also aided the team with 34 assists and recorded 13 digs and fourth-year middle blocker Lily Crouch added 3 kills, 2 service aces, 6 digs and 6 total blocks. On defense, liberos second-year Sude Naz Item and first-year Sophia Datto contributed 9 and 7 digs, respectively.
“Coming off of a big win Wednesday, we were definitely feeling super competitive and energized. We definitely got off to a slow start, but I thought we pulled it together. [We] got some new people on the court, brought some new energy. Overall, it was a good game,” Marfatia commented on the win against Adrian.
Ngo also commented on the team’s mentality that led them to their win.
“Our goal is to start strong and finish strong. That’s one of our sayings we say every practice and before every game, to start strong and finish strong together, as one, as a team.” Ngo added.
On Sept. 7, the Spartans began the first match of the day against Allegheny College.
Despite Allegheny gaining an early 2-0 lead from attack errors, CWRU pulled ahead after 3 kills by Ngo, Crouch and Scott. The two squads traded points for a while before an 6-0 run by the Spartans brought their lead to 22-17. The Gators tried to cut their deficit but it proved to be ineffective as CWRU followed with 3 consecutive points ending the first set 25-18.
During the second set, Allegheny and CWRU traded points before the Spartans went on a 8-2 run to take a 6-point lead. Their lead would continue to extend and the Spartans would solidify their second set win 25-12 after an attack error. Despite the third set starting with the Gators taking the early 3-1 advantage, the Spartans soon dominated the court by scoring 10 consecutive points. The two teams went on back and forth for a few points, before the Gators went on a 4-0 run to cut their deficit to 9-13. This was then followed by a 10-6 run by CWRU and back-to-back kills from Maciejewski and Ngo secured the Spartans’ win against Allegheny 25-15.
Ngo led the team offensively with 9 kills and a 0.438 hitting percentage. Both Maciejewski and third-year Kalli Wall recorded 8 kills. Scott contributed 28 assists and 6 digs, and Marfatia led the Spartans with 9 digs and 7 kills.
The third and final opponent of CWRU Quad for the Spartans was Earlham College. In the first set, Spartans gained an advantage due to a bad set by Earlham.
During the following two sets against Earlham, the Spartans were able to maintain their lead and never trailed behind the Quakers. They finished the second set 25-13 after a pair of kills from Wall followed by a kill by Marfatia. The final set for the Spartans was closer as Earlham was able to cut the deficit to 4 points late in the match, making the score 21-17. Despite a back and forth between the two teams, the Spartans won their eighth consecutive win after a kill by Marfatia.
With the final kill, Marfatia finished with 12 kills during the three sets against Earlham, which was her sixth recorded double-digit total this season. She also contributed 11 digs and 3 service aces. Scott added 28 assists and a team-high of 19 digs. Both Ngo and Wall added 6 kills and 2 blocks.
Wall commented on the team’s match against Earlham.
“This is probably the most solid game I’ve seen us play this season. It was not the biggest competition, but we went out there and played solid all the way through. So I’m really proud of how we came out today. So I thought it was a really good game overall. Lots of energy, super fun at the end, of course.” Wall said.
Overall, Marfatia paced the squad with a total of 30 kills during CWRU Quad. She commented saying that this could not have occurred without the help of the team.
“[Leading in kills] doesn’t happen without the execution of everyone on the team. Yeah, good sets, good digs, and everyone doing their part is really what allows the whole team to be successful.” Marfatia said.
Ngo also commented on the team camaraderie and how it contributed to the team’s effort.
“It’s just great to be surrounded by people that want the best for the whole team, and the energy is always up. Everyone’s so nice. Everyone’s always so supportive,” Ngo added, “I like to see how the team can really come together as one and finish games and keep that three set and keep it clean.”
With the triple win, the Spartans improved 8-0 which is their best start for a season since 2016. Next, the Spartans will be on the road as they participate in the OWU Tournament hosted by Ohio Wesleyan University this upcoming weekend.
