Dan Sherman
Asst. SID
Juniata
814-641-3513
Huntingdon, Pa., Juniata College's women's volleyball team continued their tradition of success in 2014. For the 34th consecutive season, the Eagles earned an NCAA Division III National Tournament berth by claiming the crown in the Landmark Conference. Juniata was ranked 6th in the nation before a difficult time at the Elmhurst Invitational knocked them down to 8th and eventually out of the top 10 at 11th, but finished the season as the 10th best team in the nation. The Eagles matched their win total from the prior season, finishing with a 28-8 record. The team won their first eight games of the season and only lost two of their first 20 matches. Juniata only lost three matches at home, including one loss to Division II Clarion. The Blue and Gold defeated three nationally and regionally ranked opponents, along with going undefeated in conference play, only losing three sets to conference rivals all season.
"Overall, it was a really good season", said coach Heather Pavlik, "We made strides as the year went on and the team certainly grew. Young players, the freshman and sophomores especially, developed as we went along. I thought that at the end they started to understand what it means to play at a high level and play there consistently. At the beginning and middle of the year we were sort of up and down. There were times we looked really great, played at a high level, and then a day later we turned around and really struggled."
Season Highlights
11/13 – Eagles Handle Franciscan in First Round of NCAA Tournament
The Eagles faced off against Franciscan in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Wittenberg. Juniata had no problem with the Barons as they cruised 3-0 (25-14, 25-9, 25-9). Nakita Gearhart led the team with nine kills and had a hitting percentage of .643. Kelly Reynolds totaled 33 assists, while Brittani Young and Bryce Arnold (Shippensburg, PA / Shippensburg Area) led the defense with 10 digs each. The Eagles advanced to play #2 Hope the following day. Despite taking the first two sets, Juniata was unable to hold off their opponent and saw their season come to a close.
10/18 – Blue and Gold Completes Sweep of Conference Rivals, Claim Top Seed in Landmark
Juniata competed against Merchant Marine and Scranton on the final day of Landmark competition. The Eagles only lost one set on the day and completed their sweep of conference rivals to earn the top spot in the conference. Lydia Mueller, Gearhart, and Reynolds led the way in the first match as the Blue and Gold won 3-0. Amelia Kepler paced the team with 17 kills while Reynolds totaled 22 digs and 47 assists against Scranton later in the day. The wins clinched home court advantage throughout the conference tournament.
9/13 – Juniata Travels to Wittenberg and Defeats the 9th Ranked Team
Young tallied 33 digs and Phillips led the way with 18 kills as the Eagles defeated the host Tigers 3-2 (25-23, 29-31, 16-25, 25-21, 15-13). Wittenberg took a 23-22 lead in the first set, but the Eagles rallied to register the last three points and take a 1-0 lead in the match. The Tigers turned the tides and won the next two sets and were set to finish the Blue and Gold in the fourth. The Eagles responded with a strong fourth to tie the match at 2-2 and held of Wittenberg in the final set to take the match. The Tigers finished the season ranked 4th in the nation. "The win over Wittenberg, again beating a really good team on their home court in the third weekend of the season was another really good win for us. Probably a pretty important one for us to figure out what its all about. I thought it was definitely one of the biggest highlights of the season."
11/1 – Eagles Finish Regular Season with Sweep at Mt. Union Tri-Match
Juniata defeated Otterbein and Mt. Union on the final day of the regular season to head into the conference tournament on a high note. The Eagles defeated Otterbein 3-1 (25-23, 26-24, 20-25, 25-12) in the first match of the day and upset the host Purple Raiders 3-2. Mt. Union took the first set and looked to take a 2-0 advantage, but Juniata stormed back to tie the match at 1-1. Juniata dropped the third set, but rallied to win the final two and take the match. The Purple Raiders finished the season ranked 12th in the nation. "Our wins out in Ohio in the last weekend of the season, especially Mt. Union, those are big wins. To beat Mt. Union, a very good team, in their home gym on senior night, I thought that game showed a lot of composure and maturity for our team. We switched lineups halfway through the game so that was something that was pretty special."
11/8 – Juniata Wins 8th Straight Conference Title
Juniata hosted the Landmark Conference championship match against regionally ranked Susquehanna. Susquehanna played extremely well and Juniata had to grind out a victory, taking the match three sets to none. Gearhart was named MVP of the tournament after the match. After the game, Pavlik stated, "Susquehanna is playing excellently and we knew we had to execute down the stretch and that it wasn't going to be a blowout. Its probably what we needed going into the NCAA Tournament." She would add later, "Any time you punch your ticket to the NCAA tournament, I think that's a highlight, so certainly winning the conference championship her against Susquehanna was big. I thought Susquehanna played very well. In order to beat a team that's playing very well three straight and punch your ticket to the tournament that's obviously great."
Juniata was led by a solid veteran group of seniors this year. Amelia Kepler (Kane, PA / Kane Area), Christine Sumner (Dublin, OH / Bishop Watterson), and Brittani Young (Columbia, PA / Hempfield Area) were tremendous leaders for a team seeking its third national title and will be hard to replace in 2015. "We're obviously going to miss the three seniors. They're very special to me because they're the first group that I have coached all four years, so that is very special. Certainly, replacing them will be a challenge. I cannot say enough about those three and what they've done, not just on the court, but what they've done as far as being leaders, being hard workers, showing younger players how to do it right. It has meant a lot to the program long term." A reigning AVCA First Team All-American, Kepler repeated her success from the 2013 season, winning her second consecutive Landmark Conference Player of the Year Award. Young was named the conference Specialist of the Year. Both players earned First Team All-Conference honors. Kepler also earned First Team All-Region recognition and was one of three Eagles to be named Honorable Mention All-Americans by the AVCA.
Several young players stepped up and provided strong play for Juniata this season. "There are a lot of young players returning, that got significant experience during their freshman and sophomore years. They've experienced some big wins and heartbreaking losses. In the end, that's probably what it takes to be considered in that top five or so in the country, you have to go through some of that first. They're paying their dues a little bit."
Nakita Gearhart (Waynesboro, PA / Greencastle-Antrim), Mar-Jana Phillips (Carson, CA / Rolling Hills Preparatory), and Kelly Reynolds (Upper St. Clair, PA / Upper St. Clair) represent a strong sophomore class and were a large part of the Eagles success this season. All three progressed in 2014. Phillips earned Second Team All-Conference honors, while Gearhart and Reynolds were named to the first team. Reynolds was also named the conference's top setter. Gearhart was named the MVP of the Landmark tournament after leading her team to another Landmark title. She also became the first Juniata student-athlete to earned Sports Imports/AVCA Division III Player of the Week recognition since 2009. She and Reynolds both earned First Team All-Region honors and like Kepler were All-American Honorable Mentions.
Freshman like Megan Moroney (Mentor, OH / Mentor) and Lydia Mueller (Carlisle, PA / Carlisle) had strong rookie campaigns for the Eagles. Moroney was named the Landmark's Rookie of the Year and was an All-Region Honorable Mention. She also earned Landmark Conference and ECAC Player of the Week honors during the season. Both players, along with the other freshman and sophomores, will be heavily relied upon next season as the team looks to improve and claim another national title. "The future is very bright. I'm very excited to work with this group in the spring. There's a lot of stuff to work on yet, this group has a lot of room to grow and it will be fun to watch the individuals get better with their skills and understanding the game at a high level."
Though the team loses three solid veteran presences in their lineup, the Eagles have a strong, young core group of players to build around. "It should be a very exciting spring and we'll wait to see how things go with the recruiting class, but it should be a very good team again next fall." As this team grows and matures together there is no doubt that they will continue its tradition of success with another Landmark Championship and NCAA tournament appearance. The team will continue to work and improve as they prepare for a title run in 2015.
Follow Your Eagles! Stay up-to-date on your Juniata College Eagles by following us on twitter (@JuniataEagles) and on Facebook (Juniata Eagles).
