By: Laura Chapman
Assistant Sports Information Director
chapmal@juniata.edu • juniatasports.net
HUNTINGDON, Pa. – For the 33rd consecutive year, the Juniata College women's volleyball team qualified for the NCAA Division III National Tournament. The Eagles spent eight weeks in the top-10 of the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) national poll and finished the season No. 14. Juniata earned an overall 31-5 record, claiming its seventh consecutive Landmark Conference title, and completed the programs 33rd 30 wins season – the first since 2010.
"I was really happy with the regular season," said head coach Heather Pavlik. "We put together a really tough schedule for them and I thought they navigated it pretty well. We had to deal with some injuries, which are par of the course, and I thought they did a good job of that. They had to overcome a fair amount of adversity. Overall it was a young group that learned a ton during the year and matured. It was fun to watch."
The Eagles opened the season with a 14-game win streak, only dropping five sets along the way, swept through the Landmark regular season (5-0), and only lost one home match all year. Juniata showed its regional dominance with wins over five Mid-Atlantic ranked teams and its national dominance with wins over five nationally ranked teams.
Top 5 Moments
13 September – No. 16 Juniata upsets No. 10 Wittenberg at Wittenberg
On a Friday evening at the Pam Evans Smith Arena on the campus of Wittenberg University, the No. 16 Eagles went up against the home team, No. 10 Wittenberg. In front of over 600 screaming Tigers fans, Juniata took down the hosts 3-0 (25-23, 25-16, 25-19). The Eagles trailed throughout the majority of the first set before senior Amy Miller (Chesapeake, Va./Western Branch) took control and dominated the match. The outside hitter set a new career-high that night with 15 kills as Juniata cruised through the next two sets for the commanding upset victory.
"That was a quality win," said Pavlik. "They are always a good team and playing them at home on a Friday night in that atmosphere was a big game for us."
14 September – No. 16 Eagles come back from two set deficit to defeat No. 6 Washington St-Louis
Just one day after upsetting No. 10 Wittenberg, No. 16 Juniata went up against No. 6 Washington-St. Louis in the second day of the Wittenberg Fall Classic. The two teams have battled for a national championship on five separate occasions and have faced off in the NCAA tournament 10 times, all in the national semifinals and beyond. In the 2013 regular season matchup, Juniata quickly found itself down 2-0 and in a deep hole against a national championship contender. The Eagles were able to hold off elimination and win the third set before storming through the fourth and closing out the come-from-behind win in the fifth set. Junior Amelia Kepler (Kane, Pa./Kane Area) pounded out a match-high 21-kills and was named to the Wittenberg Fall Classic All-Tournament team. Freshman setter Kelly Reynolds (Upper Saint Clair, Pa./Upper Saint Clair) set the final three sets for the Eagles and finished with a match-high 33 assists.
"That was a coming out party for Kelly Reynolds," said Pavlik. "She set those last three games and she did a marvelous job. I think it also cemented Nakita in the middle. We were playing around with her at opposite and middle and that match really cemented here there."
21 September – No. 8 Juniata takes down No. 16 Eastern with limited squad
In Saint Davids, Pa., after a full week off from Juniata's storming performances at the Wittenberg Fall Classic, the Eagles took on regional foe, No. 16 Eastern. The two teams had previously met on 18 occasions with Juniata suffering only one loss, which came in the 2012 season. After an injury in practice sidelined junior libero Brittani Young (Columbia, Pa./Hempfield Area), the Eagles went into action with players in unfamiliar positions. After dropping the first set, Juniata responded in kind and battled through a tough second set to sweep the final three games and take the match 3-1 (26-28, 26-24, 25-15, 25-22). Freshman Nakita Gearhart (Wayneboro, Pa./Greencastle-Antrim) had a breakout performance with 12 kills and Reynolds posted a career-high 50 assists. Filling in at libero for the night, Miller posted a career-high 26 digs in the back row.
"The match down at Eastern was a really big one for us," said Pavlik. "Brittani was out so I had to switch Amy to libero and Rachelle to outside. I thought they handled that beautifully – about as well as we could possibly hope for them to handle that."
27 September – No. 7 Eagles defeat No. 19 Christopher Newport at Christopher Newport
In front of a hostile crowd of over 300 Captains fans on a Friday night, No. 7 Juniata faced No. 19 Christopher Newport University (CNU) in Newport News, Va. The Captains had only lost one game at home all year when they met the Eagles in September. Juniata had to gut through three tough sets to earn the 3-0 (25-21, 25-23, 25-23) win. In set one, the Eagles trailed through the opening 30 points before they were able to tie the game at 15-15. Off a 7-2 run, Juniata grabbed set one. The remainder of the match was the back-and-forth you would expect from a meeting of two nationally ranked teams. Both the second and third sets were tied at 23-23 before the Eagles closed out for the win.
2 November – No. 9 Juniata defeats No. 15 Trinity (Tx.) with six players sidelined from illness
On the final weekend of the regular season, the Eagles traveled to Atlanta, Ga. to square off with yet another nationally ranked team, No. 15 Trinity (Tx.). On the trip down, a wave of illness swept through the Juniata squad and the Eagles prepared for a national showdown with a limited roster. In the true defiant nature Juniata had exhibited all season, the Eagles persevered for the 3-1 (13-25, 25-23, 25-23, 25-20) win. Senior Rachelle Wiegand (Manheim, Pa./Manheim Central) totaled a team-high 14 kills and a match-high 19 digs earning All-Tournament team honors.
"We had two starters sitting out and the team still managed to overcome some pretty tough adversity during that match," said Pavlik. "Those moments stick out because they all involved adversity that we found a way to over come. They did a really good job each time."
At the end of the regular season, Juniata stood at 28-4 over all for the best mark since 2010 and the best regular season finish under Pavlik. For their accomplishments, Pavlik and her staff were named Landmark Coaching Staff of the Year. Six Eagles were named All-Landmark with Miller, Kepler, Gearhart and Reynolds earning first-team honors and Young and freshman Mar-Jana Phillips (Carson, Calif./Rolling Hills Prep.) both garnering second-team accolades. Kepler also earned Landmark Player of the Year becoming the sixth Juniata player to capture the award in the seven-year history of the Landmark.
"Part of becoming a really good team and becoming individually very good players is understanding how to navigate a tough season," said Pavlik. "I certainly think that as a group, and as individuals, they learned to do that. Some of our young players were asked to play pretty big roles and they stepped into those roles and did a very good job. That's not easy to do as a young player. Even experiencing some failure and experiencing some emotional difficulties all are pennies in the jar for the future. That's how you have to learn. We very rarely learn from being successful every second of the day. It's usually when we fail that we learn. I think they've been through some of that now."
The foursome of Miller, Kepler, Gearhart, and Reynolds all earned AVCA First-Team All-Region honors and Pavlik was named the regional coach of the year. The honor was the first for Pavlik as a head coach and Reynolds earned another top award - Region Freshman of the Year. She was the sixth Eagle to garner the award, first since 2010, and just the second Juniata setter to capture the award.
On the day of the announcement Pavlik said, "What the hitter accomplishes is not possible without the setter. What the setter accomplishes is really not possible without the passers and defenders. Those are team awards. I'm very proud of those individuals, but I'm also proud of the team for putting them in that position."
Reynolds and Gearhart both earned Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) South Division III All-Star First-Team selection and Miller and Kepler were named to the second team. Reynolds also captured ECAC South Rookie of the Year. The Juniata women's volleyball team excelled in the classroom during the 2013 season with seven student-athletes named to the Landmark Academic Honor Roll. Additionally, Wiegand was named to the inaugural Landmark All-Sportsmanship Team.
Entering the post-season, Juniata was chosen as one of eight regional host sites for the NCAA tournament. The Eagles finished 1-1 with a first round win over Gallaudet, before falling to Stevenson, 2-3 (25-18, 23-25, 25-21, 20-25, 12-15), in a dramatic regional semifinals match.
Over the course of the 36-game season, the Eagles showed determination, resiliency, and maturity. Juniata will graduate four seniors from their ranks; Sarah McCarthy (Villa Park, Ill./Willow Brook), Miller, Courtney Lydick (McKean, Pa./General McLane) and Wiegand.
"Bottom line is the seniors did a good job, " said Pavlik "They were leaders and they did a good job of teaching the younger players how to do things the right way. I especially think the two captains, Amy and Rachelle, was outstanding. That's the best pair of captains I've had in a very long time. I hope that the younger players picked up some lessons from them on how to be an upper classmen, how to lead a group, how to teach younger players to do things the correct way. I'm absolutely going to miss them very much. This team will miss them very much. I suspect that what they've done will linger through the groups for the next few years to come. That's maybe one of the greatest things that someone can leave to a program – that legacy. They're helping players that follow do it the right way."
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