From Case Western Reserve University Athletics

The Case Western Reserve University volleyball team registered a pair of victories on day one of the 2014 University Athletic Association Round Robin #2, defeating Brandeis University (Mass.) in three and the University of Chicago in four.

With four straight wins, the Spartans now own a 14-7 mark overall and a 3-2 record versus UAA competition.

In the morning match versus Brandeis (5-14, 0-4 UAA), the Spartans earned a straight-set victory, 25-16, 25-17 and 25-10. Offensively, nine different Spartans recorded kills, led by sophomore right side hitter Marian Barton (Custer Park, Ill./Reed-Custer) with seven. Sophomore Lauren Gurd (Farmington Hills, Mich./Detroit Country Day) and freshman Jessica Justice (St. Augustine, Fla./St. Augustine) set the attack with nine and eight assists, respectively.

In the first game, the teams were tied 14-14 before a 9-0 run tipped the opening set to the Spartans. CWRU used a similar sequence to close out the match. In the third set, Justice served for the final six points and collected a pair of aces to clinch the victory.

Against Chicago (19-10, 3-2 UAA), CWRU needed four sets to secure victory, winning 25-21, 20-25, 25-19 and 25-14, as three different Spartans posted double-doubles in the match.  Justice posted 19 assists and 10 digs, while junior outside hitter Katie Best (Sewickley, Pa./North Allegheny) recorded 10 assists and 19 digs. Junior outside hitter Carolyn Bogart (New Berlin, Wis./New Berlin Eisenhower) co-led the team with 12 kills, while contributing 16 digs.  

The turning point of the match came with the teams tied at a game apiece and deadlocked at 12-12 in the third set. From that point, CWRU outscored Chicago, 38-21, for the remainder of the match, finishing their day with two wins against conference competition.