Melissa Drumsta (#4) was one of six Blue Streaks with at least six kills in their win over Case Reserve
box score
After a rough weekend on the road, it was time for the Blue Streaks to go to work on the court and finish with a victory. The John Carroll Volleyball team took control right from the start as they defeated crosstown rival Case Western Reserve University , 30-23, 30-18, 30-15, at the DeCarlo Varsity Center Tuesday night.
JCU had played the Spartans earlier this season at the Case Invitational back on September 14, and fell in three close games (30-27, 30-31, 30-25). Not wanting a repeat of that night, John Carroll set the tone and played solidly through all three games.
In fact, the Blue Streaks increased their hitting percentage in each successive game. In the third and final frame of the evening, JCU stormed out to a 22-8 lead thanks to 12 kills against just two errors for a .345 game three hitting percentage.
John Carroll had six players with at least six kills, led by junior Meagan Gambone with 11. Also joining the party were junior Colleen Cavanagh with nine kills, senior Melissa Drumsta with seven, and sophomore MaryEileen Dalton alongside freshmen Kate Schafer and Meredith McDiarmid with six apiece.
Gambone ended the night with a .417 hitting percentage, served up two aces and tallied two block assists. McDiarmid, JCU's setter, finished with 33 assists, nine digs and two blocks.
John Carroll's defense was also on their toes with 56 total digs, as Schafer led with 12 and Celia Mastroine and Emily Jackson each contributed with 11. The Blue Streaks had eight total blocks on the night.
Case Reserve's Beth Karpinski and S.K. Piper each had eight kills and teammate Alicia Beckett finished with 17 assists. Defensively, Andrea Lamont came out with 13 digs for the Spartans. Their record falls to 8-9 overall in the season.
The victory improves John Carroll's record to 9-10 as the team enters conference play on Thursday. The Blue Streaks travel to Columbus as they face Otterbein College.
JCU hosts Mount Union College next Tuesday, October 2nd for their first home Ohio Athletic Conference game of the season. The match starts at 7 p.m. and SportsTime Ohio will tape the game for broadcast at a later time.
photo gallery
