Thrice As Nice

Juniata 'three-peats' as DIII women's volleyball champion

Author

Steve Ulrich
December 09, 2024 • Estimated Reading Time: 11 minutes


DECEMBER 9, 2024 | written by STEVE ULRICH

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☀️ Monday, Monday. Can’t trust that day.

Headlines
🏐 Juniata’s ThreePeat Complete
⚽️ Mammoth-Sized Championship
⚽️ WashU Captures Women’s Title
🏈 Tough Day for Top Seeds
🏒 UWRF Streak Snapped by Adrian

🗓️ What’s Happening Today. The DIII Convention Planning Subcommittee meets virtually at 11 a.m. ET, while the Athletic Communicators Emerging Elite Program begins day one of two in Indianapolis.

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TOP STORY
1. Thrice As Nice

Three-peat complete! Juniata subdued a game Wisconsin-Whitewater squad in five sets to win its third consecutive Division III women’s volleyball championship. The Eagles jumped out to a quick two-set lead, 25-19, 25-19, before the Warhawks evened the match, taking the next two sets, 25-15, 28-26.

Juniata won the first four points of the decisive fifth set and held UWW at bay to finish a second straight undefeated season (35-0) and extending its winning streak to 97 consecutive matches. The Eagles’ three-peat is the first since Central won three in a row in 1998-99-2000.

Kennedy Christy was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player.

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SOCCER (M)
2. Mammoth-Sized Championship

Senior Simon Kalinauskas delivered the championship-winning penalty kick to lift Amherst past NESCAC rival Connecticut College, in PKs (4-3) and to its second Division III men’s soccer title in program history.

The two sides battled to a scoreless draw in full time and did not find the back of the net in extra time, taking the final to penalties for the second time in the last four seasons. Ironically, the Camels’ only national title came in PKs in 2021 against the Mammoths.

Amherst GK Max Landa made three stops in the penalty round, setting up Kalinauskas’ heroics. Amherst outshot Conn, 24-13.

SOCCER (W)
3. Bears Reign

photo by Alonzo Everett Media

Washington U. capped an undefeated season, scoring three times in the second half to break open a scoreless match at the half and defeat William Smith, 3-0, for the NCAA Division III women’s soccer title.

It is the Bears’ second natty and finished a wire-to-wire regular and postseason as the No. 1 team in the country.

Ally Hackett converted a PK just 5 ½ minutes into the second half and Olivia Clemens and Gaelen Clayton sealed the deal with tallies just 75 seconds apart midway through the half.

FOOTBALL
4. Tough Day For Top Seeds

Blane Hart, Springfield (photo by Ella Travagline)

The third round of the NCAA Division III football championship saw the overall No. 1 seed fall, the defending champion ousted, and three other road teams posting victories.

Dominic Bourgeois booted a 37-yard field goal as time expired to lift Susquehanna to a 41-38 victory at No. 1 Saint John’s. RB Rahshan La Mons ran for 176 yards and three scores for the River Hawks. Springfield held the ball for 35:09, including 10:49 of the final period, scoring the game’s final 13 points to eliminate defending champ Cortland, 40-28. Arsen Shtefan carried 29 times for 148 yards and a pair of TDs.

Next up for the Pride is North Central, ranked first in a pair of polls. The Cardinals scored on all four second-half possessions to pull away from Hope, 41-21. QB Luke Lehnen accounted for 327 total yards. QB Cooper Drews threw for 221 yards and two TDs to lift Bethel past Wartburg, 24-14. Next on the Royals’ dance card is a trip to Pennsylvania to take on Susquehanna.

Johns Hopkins survived a first-and-goal for DePauw in the final half-minute to down the Tigers, 14-9. DePauw entered the game averaging 52 points per game but were limited to 354 total yards. Blue Jay QB James Rinello threw for 296 yards and a score. Hop will host Mary Hardin-Baylor after the Cru traveled to Oregon and defeated Linfield, 28-18. RB Asa Osbourn ran for 102 yards and a score for UMHB.

Salisbury scored the first 28 points of the game and cruised past Randolph-Macon, 35-14. The Sea Gulls ran for 287 yards while holding the Jackets to just 242 overall. RB Tyler Echeverry carried 27 times for 112 yards with two scores as Mount Union downed Carnegie Mellon, 24-19. The Purple Raiders are Eastern Shore bound to face SU in the quarterfinals.

FINANCES
5. Keystone College Appeals Loss of Accreditation

“Keystone College is exercising its right to appeal the recent Adverse Action by its accreditor, Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE), to withdraw accreditation. While the final decision on that appeal is not expected until March or April 2025, Keystone College will remain accredited through the appeal process. Keystone College is not permitted to market to, recruit, or enroll new students during the appeal process.”

» Why It Matters. “While Keystone is in the appeal process, MSCHE has notified Keystone that it must implement and make available the College’s Teach-Out Plan to interested students.”

» The Big Picture. “Teach-Out Agreements entered into by Keystone College for its students typically include protections that exceed what non-partnering institutions typically provide. “ DIII teach-out institutions include Cedar Crest, Marywood, Misericordia, Moravian and Wilkes.

NEWS
6. Lightning Round ⚡️ 

🎽 Track and Field. UW-Oshkosh’s Joshua Rivers set a DIII indoor record in the long jump with a leap of 8.13 meters (26-8 1/4). He bettered the previous mark set in 1999 by 0.25 meters (10”). North Carolina Wesleyan’s Kamiyah Wooten took down the DIII indoor mark in the 300 meters, breaking the tape in 39.15. Her flat-track time bettered the previous standard set on a banked track by 0.32 seconds. And Rowan’s Jamir Brown shattered a 10-year-old mark in the 60-meter hurdles, running a 7.72

🏀 Basketball (M). Logan Baumgartner scored a career-high 17 points as UW-Stevens Point upset top-ranked Trine, 65-62.

🏒 Ice Hockey (W). No. 4 Adrian snapped No. 1 Wisconsin-River Falls’ 40-game unbeaten streak with a 3-1 home triumph. The Bulldogs scored all three goals in the final period, including what proved to be the game-winner from Riley Johnson with 8:44 remaining.

TRANSACTIONS
7. Comings and Goings

HIGHLIGHTS
8. Plays of the Weekend 📹️ 

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