Eagles women’s volleyball claims second Division
III national championship
November 18, 2006
By Joel Cookson, Juniata Sports Information Director
SALEM, Va. – It took the Juniata College women’s volleyball team 24 trips to the NCAA Tournament before winning the program’s first national championship, which the Eagles accomplished in 2004. Championship number two came much more quickly as Juniata overcame a two-games-to-one deficit to claim a 3-2 win over Washington University (Mo.) in the NCAA Division III Championship match to claim the program’s second Division III national championship Saturday night in Salem, Va. Juniata finishes the season with a record of 41-1 while Washington ends the year 38-2.
After winning game one, the Eagles dropped games two and three behind an offensive assault from Washington. But the Eagles found the answers in games four and five, rallying late in game four and then pulling ahead early in game five to earn the win by scores of 30-27, 20-30, 22-30, 30-27, 15-10.
“Washington is just a wonderful team,” Juniata College Head Coach Larry Bock said. “We’re very fortunate to have won a great match against a wonderful team.”
Juniata was led offensively by seniors Stephanie Kines (Towson, Md./Towson) and Rachael Schatz (Elliotsburg, Pa./West Perry), along with sophomore Amber Thomas (Ephrata, Pa./Conestoga Valley). Kines knocked out a career-high 26 kills in her final collegiate match while hitting .412. Her efforts earned her a spot on the NCAA Division III All-Tournament team. Thomas produced 25 kills for Juniata along with 14 digs, as was selected as the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament. Schatz knocked out 21 kills while adding 12 digs in her final contest.
Despite producing just four blocks as a team in the match, and getting outblocked 18-4 by the Bears, Juniata’s offense carried the day. The Eagles pounded out 90 kills in the contest to help overcome a efficient Washington offense that produced 73 kills and hit .312 as a team. Beth Kozak (Huntingdon, Pa./Huntingdon Area) passed out a career-high 75 assists in the match and added 13 digs en route to earning All-Tournament Team recognition.
Juniata turned the momentum of the match midway through game four, and carried that into the decisive fifth game. Trailing 24-20 in game four after a kill from Nikki Morrison, Juniata went on a 4-1 run to pull within one spurred by two kills from Schatz. Strong serving from Kozak sparked another run with a kill from Kines giving Juniata its first lead of the game, 27-26, and then another kills from Kines and one from Schatz gave Juniata the 30-27 win.
“Something clicked there towards the end of the third game going into the fourth game,” Thomas said. “We just picked up our momentum again and took it to them. We knew what we had to do and then pulled it out in that fifth game.”
Then in the decisive game five, the Eagles turned up the defense as an early double block from Thomas and Erin Albert (Philipsburg, Pa./Philipsburg-Osceola) and then a solo block from Kines followed by kills from Thomas and Schatz put Juniata up 8-6. Two more kills from Kines and Schatz followed by an ace from Kozak made it 13-8 before Washington responded with a kill from Emilie Walk and a double block from Walk and Haleigh Spencer to tighten the game. Kines then stepped up with a huge play as she posted her second block of the game, a solo stuff that moved Juniata to match point, and then Thomas closed the victory with her 25th kill.
After winning game one, Walk and Washington were in total control in game two and three. Washington was in control for most of game two, as they earned the 30-20 victory to even the match. After falling behind by six, Juniata was able to pull within four points at 20-16 on a kill from Thomas, but the Bears put together a run with a double block from Walk and Spencer and then a late kill from Spencer sealed the 30-20 victory.
“The beginning was fine, but for awhile there it was like going to the dentist,” Bock said. “We just couldn’t score any serving points.”
Walk and Whitney Smith were both also named to the All-Tournament Team as they put together impressive matches for the Bears. Walk had 17 kills with a .361 hitting percentage and a remarkable 11 blocks. Smith finished with 15 kills and a .406 hitting percentage, while adding eight blocks for the Bears. Spencer and Morrison each added 10 finishes for Washington. Amy Bomarito paced all players with 23 digs in the match. Washington setters Audra Janak and Vicki Blood had 36 and 23 assists respectively in the contest. Spencer and Alli Alberts both produced 15 digs for the Bears.
“I think you may have witnessed the best match in the history of Division III volleyball championships,” noted Washington University Head Coach Rich Luenemann.
It was more of the same in game three as Washington moved in front early and withstood a Juniata rally midway through the game. Washington surged in front 7-4 on a kill from Crouch. Juniata would eventually pull within one point at 11-10 after consecutive kills from Thomas. The teams traded side outs, but then Washington put together a 6-1 run to surge in front 18-2 and take control of the game. A serving run from Kozak pulled the Eagles back within striking distance, only to see Walk register consecutive blocks to propel Washington to the 30-22 win.
Defensively for the Eagles, Megan Sollenberger (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley) brought up a team-high 23 digs as Juniata finished with 84 digs to Washington’s 76. Also producing offensively for Juniata in the match were Albert, who had seven finishes, and Paige Johnston (Lancaster, Pa./Hempfield) who notched seven kills.
After winning its first national championship in its fifth appearance in the championship match in 2004, the Eagles have now earned two Division III titles and one runner-up finish in the past three seasons. Juniata’s 41 wins mark the first time since 1997 that the Eagles have gone past 40 victories in a season.
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