Eitan HochsterThe ball fell neatly out of bounds after nearly being blocked by two defenders. The team jumped in celebration. This was the scene last week in the national championship match in Division III women’s volleyball. But for the second time in three years, Washington University was on the losing side of the celebration. It was the same scene in 2004 when Juniata College won their first national title and Wash. U. was trying to defend theirs.
“It is always disappointing to lose a game, especially to Juniata, who had already beat us once during the year,” said junior Haleigh Spencer. “The championship match was a great match and second place is still pretty good. However, we are a very competitive, focused team. Our goal was to win it all, so losing was very tough to take.”
While the season did not end as they had hoped, the Bears ended the year with a 38-2 record and their 18th UAA title. Ranked second all season, the Bears’ only losses were to Juniata. “We’re disappointed but not disheartened,” said head coach Rich Luenemann. “If you reflect back, Juniata beat us 3-1 earlier in the season, but we improved over the season and saw great improvement. Our team is very motivated.”
Other than the loss in the finals, there were many bright spots for the Bears throughout the year. The team graduated two first team All-Americans last season, so there were many questions entering the 2006 campaign. All queries were quickly answered, though, as the Bears jumped out to an 8-0 start before losing to Juniata in a heartbreaker on the road. The loss only encouraged the Bears as they rattled off 25 more wins before the NCAA tournament including a perfect 14-0 at home.
“We played very well throughout the entire tourney. Our 3-0 win over [University of Wisconsin at] Whitewater, the defending national champion, was a clinic in execution,” commented Luenemann. “The elite eight was the best string of matches I’ve ever seen a Bears team play.”
Several Bears players took home individual hardware this season. Senior middle hitter Whitney Smith and junior middle hitter Emilie Walk were each named to the All-Central Region and all-UAA first teams, in addition to garnering All-American honors. Junior outside hitter Haleigh Spencer earned Central Region honorable mention while taking home the conference MVP award, becoming only the 10th Bear to win the award.
Senior Amy Bommarito was named first team all-UAA and her 1,606 career digs rank third in school history.
The battle for the setter position resulted in dominant years for both sophomore Audra Janak and freshman Vicki Blood with Janak named to the All-Central Region first team, all-UAA second team, and both gaining first team All-American status. Blood was named the Central Region Freshman of the Year. Sophomore Nikki Morrison also collected first team All-Central Region, second team all-UAA, and third team All-American honors.
Rich Luenemann and his assistants were named the UAA coaching staff of the year as the Bears went unbeaten in conference play.
While the Bears are happy with their strong play in the finals, their dissatisfaction with the runner-up position reflects their goals and dominance throughout the regular season. Though the team will be graduating three important seniors, the lineup is loaded for next season behind blocking phenomenon Emilie Walk and the versatile Haleigh Spencer.
“We lose three great seniors who will be very hard to replace,” said Spencer. “Their leadership and commitment to the team was incredible, and I have a hard time imagining a season without them. However, we are returning a lot of great players and I have no doubt that everyone will step up and we will come back in that championship match.”
They will be joined by a solid line-up including Audra Janak, Vicki Blood, Ellen Bruegge and Alli Alberts as the Bears will likely be in the hunt for a National Championship yet again.
Injuries at the end of the season could plague the Bears in 2007. Juniors Ellen Bruegge and Emilie Walk have chronic back pain and UAA conference MVP Haleigh Spencer’s ailing shoulder prevented her from practicing the day of the championship. “We need to get healthy and brush up on the little things in the off season,” said Luenemann. “We need to see who can step in and fill the shoes of the seniors.”
All injuries and sadness aside, the Bears are poised for another successful season. The squad will look to avenge its championship loss.
“This was easily one of the most enjoyable seasons I’ve ever had,” said Luenemann. “We had tremendous leadership from the captains and the team showed great energy, but it’s going to be a lot of fun next year too.”