By John Enrietto

Eagle Sports Editor

HUNTINGDON — Juniata College women’s volleyball coach Heather Pavlik refers to Knoch graduate Kennedy Christy as “the heartbeat of our team.”

That beat is going a long way.

Christy, a senior, served as an outside hitter and defensive specialist on an Eagles team that finished 35-0 this season and with their second consecutive NCAA Division III championship.

“I’ve never coached a player who’s worked harder and plays with such heart,” Pavlik said. “Kennedy is all about accountability, for herself and for her teammates.”

Juniata swept Hope (Mich.) in the national finals recently, winning 25-22, 25-20, 25-21. The Eagles have won 62 straight matches dating back to last year.

They became just the fourth team in Division III women’s volleyball history to complete a perfect season with a national title. The other years that occurred were 2019, 1999 and 1992.

“Most of our players were back from last year, but we knew we had to challenge ourselves,” Christy said. “Every opponent wanted to beat us that much more.

“What was great about this team was everyone accepted that challenge. The desire to win — and work to win — was the key this year.”

Christy finished fourth on the team with 204 kills, fifth with 188 digs and first with 73 service aces.

“Her contributions went far beyond what she did on the court,” Pavlik said of Christy. “You play like you practice and Kennedy made sure we had solid practices.

“Our goal was always to try to get a little bit better with each practice, with each game. She was at the forefront of that. She saw to it that it happened.”

Christy credited her teammates for that.

“This was a group with a common goal no alterior motives,” she said. “We played for each other and with each other.”

Christy has now played for two NCAA championship teams and a PIAA title team with Knoch.

“It takes commitment and desire to win championships. All of those teams had that,” she said.

A marketing major with a minor in communications, Christy has another year of volleyball eligibility at Juniata. She plans to take it while pursuing a masters degree.

Thoughts of a 3-peat have already entered her head.

“I’d love it,” she said. “But it doesn’t just happen.”

Pavlik agreed.

“I’m not sure if any NCAA women’s volleyball team has ever won three years in a row,” the coach said. “That would sure be fun.

“But every year is different. You never have the exact same team twice. That’s the beauty of this job. We have other seniors eligible to come back, but we’ll bave to see if they do come back.”

Juniata rarely lost a set this season, let alone a match.

“Its not supposed to be like that,” Pavlik said. “This was a special season that way. Our adversity was losing a set. You always have to bounce back from something. You don’t win everything all of the time.

“That’s not sports.”

But sports bring out the competitive side of athletes like Christy.

“Next year, we start all over,” she said. “We had to push ourselves this year and we’ll have to push ourselves even harder next year.

“We’re all accountable. The goal never changes. It just gets more and more challenging to get there.”