Cleveland, Ohio – The Oberlin College Volleyball team suffered a four-set defeat at Case Western Reserve University on Wednesday night. The Yeowomen fell 25-21 in the first before taking the second set 26-24. However, the Spartans won the next two games by the scores of 25-13 and 25-22 to secure the win.
 
Junior Lexi Mitchell led the Oberlin attack with 13 kills, while rookie Natasha Radic added 10 in the setback. Fellow newcomer Emery Beacom impressed in the middle with 10 kills and four total blocks.
 
Sara Chang had the offense in system with 40 assists, while Emily Kelkar guided the backline with 19 digs – four shy of Mitchell's 15.
 
The Spartans had four players finish with double-digit kills, led by Karley King's match-high 16. As a team, they hit an impressive .308 with 59 kills and just 15 errors. Oberlin had 52 kills and 26 errors on 163 swings for a .160 clip.
 
Oberlin would take its first lead of the opening set at 15-14 on a Spartans' attack error and would later build up an 18-16 edge on kills by Julia Ingoglia and Beacom with forced Case to call timeout. However, the Spartans would regain control after the restart to take the opening match by four points.
 
In the second-set victory, Oberlin rallied from an early 8-4 deficit to tie it at 14-14 on a Radic send-down. It would stay nip and tuck the rest of the way as the two foes essentially traded points back and forth. A case miscue had Oberlin setup for match point with 24-22 lead in hand, but two Spartans' points would extend the match. Thankfully, the Yeowomen would ultimately pull it out as a Beacom finish was followed by a clinching point from Mitchell.
 
The third set belonged to the Spartans as they broke open their early 11-9 lead with an 11-2 spurt to leave no doubt in the eventual outcome.
 
Hoping to extend the match with a fourth-set victory, Oberlin tied the game at 5-5 in the early going, but a 10-3 Spartan burst ballooned the lead out 15-8 to put the Yeowomen in a tough situation. However, Oberlin continued to fight back into the match, shrinking their deficit down to two points on multiple occasions with the last time coming at 24-22.
 
The loss dropped the Yeowomen back to 4-8 on the year, while the Spartans moved to 11-6.
 
Oberlin returns to conference play on Saturday afternoon at Ohio Wesleyan University. The first serve is set for 1 p.m.