Juniata overcomes history, Bears to win national title
November 27, 2004
From the Altoona Mirror, Nov. 28, 2004
ROCHESTER, Minn. – The looks on the faces of the Juniata College women’s volleyball team as well as the smile flashed by coach Larry Bock suggest that believe it or not, it was worth the wait.
The 24-year wait finally ended in Rochester, Minn., Saturday night as the Juniata College women’s volleyball team captured its first Division III National Championship on the strength of a 3-0 victory over Washington University (Mo.).
Juniata finished the season with a record of 37-3, while Washington finished 32-7. Juniata claimed the match by game scores of 30-27, 30-27, and 30-28.
After years of heart-breaking defeats and near-misses, Juniata captured the elusive national title on its 19th trip to the national semifinals, and its fifth appearance in the national championship match. In typical fashion, Bock deflected the attention and was understated following the match.
“For 28 years I’ve come back to these press conferences and have had to come from a locker room with girls who were crying – this is much better,” Bock said. “I couldn’t feel better about the school I work for and for this team, which deserves all the credit. I also have to pass the credit to my assistant coach Heather Pavlik – I’ve been riding her shoulders for a number of years.”
As it has throughout the season, Juniata played well early and kept things tight. Juniata took the lead on the serving of Tournament MVP Carli Dale. Washington tied the score late at 27, but Juniata followed with kills from Katie Laucks and Lindsey Habel, then an ace from Laucks to seal the win.
“We wanted to get off to a good start and prove that we were going to be annoying and hard to get rid of,” Bock said. “We were able to do that, and then just kept serving and passing well. We did a good job with that.”
Game two was controlled by Juniata most of the way. Juniata led by as many as five, including a late 22-17 edge.
It was Washington that held the lead throughout much of the deciding game. A kill from Stephanie Kines tied the match at 14. The two teams then traded side outs, with a block from Kines finally swinging the lead to 22-20 in favor of Juniata. The Eagles kept the lead at two points down the stretch, until the Bears knotted the match at 25 with a kill from Emilie Walk. Katie Charles and Laucks followed with back-to-back kills, then Habel had a pair of finishes down the stretch, including the match clincher.
“We wanted to contain their right side hitter (Whitney Smith) and we were able to do a pretty good job with that,” Bock said. “That’s a classy program at Washington, and it was nice to be able to get one against them. It felt right to have it be a Juniata-Washington match for the championship.”
“Juniata’s back court defense was the difference,” Washington Head Coach Rich Luenemann said. “They played defense at the best level of any Division III team. If there’s anyone in America that it was okay to lost to, it was Larry Bock.”
The match was the third time Juniata and Washington have matched up in the championship match. The Bears claimed victories in 1993 and 1996. But Juniata had claimed the last two meetings against Washington, including a 3-0 victory at Washington this year. Juniata ends the year having won 20 consecutive matches.
The victory capped an emotional season for Juniata which saw the team enjoy several program firsts, but also deal with the serious illness of teammate Erin Dodson of Altoona.
Dodson, who was stricken with brain cancer early in the year, made the trip to Rochester to be with her teammates. The Eagles were looking to earn that elusive title for themselves, but also for their legendary coach.
“We didn’t just do this for our team,” Kines said. “We did it for Larry and for every former Juniata volleyball player that has gone through the program.”
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