Knoch grad Kennedy Christy hopes to play another big role as Juniata defends its D-III volleyball title

Even as it was happening, even as she and her teammates were jumping around the floor at Duquesne’s UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse, the notion of winning a national championship didn’t seem real to Kennedy Christy.

The Knoch grad and then-junior on the Juniata women’s volleyball team had — in front of family and friends — posted 11 kills and 11 digs in helping the Eagles to their third Division III national title. A short while later, she hoisted the trophy over her head and showed it off to the people who had come to support her.

“I was almost in disbelief,” said the rising senior outside hitter. “We won, but it always felt like there was another game or another practice.”

There will be more games and more practices for Christy and the Eagles. But those will be in defense of their national championship, which begins when the players — most of whom return from last season — reconvene in a couple of weeks to begin preparations.

The final act of the championship season — Juniata went 34-1 and avenged that one loss by sweeping Trinity in the title match — will be the unveiling of the national championship banner. Then, it’s down to the business of going for a repeat.

Christy played no small part in the Eagles’ title. A six-rotation player, she posted 2.84 kills per set, 2.39 digs per set and 59 aces, which was second on the team.

For all the stats Christy accumulates, coach Heather Pavlik said her most significant contribution might be something a bit more intangible.

“I think the bigger role for Kennedy is she truly is our competitive heartbeat,” said Pavlik, whose husband, Mark, is the Penn State men’s coach. “She’s one of the most competitive people I have ever coached, and that just permeates through the rest of the group.

“So when something gets tough, she’s the one who says, ‘Let’s do this. Let’s just get it done.’ … You can’t replace that.”

Christy said that type of leadership always has been part of her personality. Pavlik, who has coached the Juniata women in some capacity for 28 years, said captains for the 2023 season haven’t been decided. But, she said, regardless of whether she has the “C,” Christy is a leader.

“I’ve always just felt things work better when everyone is trying their hardest,” Christy said. “Even if I’m having a bad day, if other people can see that I’m giving 100% effort, it’s going to make them want to play harder, too.”

In a more practical sense, Christy has become a complete hitter since arriving at Juniata. Pavlik said Christy’s defense and passing were a little more advanced than her hitting when she was a freshman.

Christy had to, in a sense, relearn how to hit. She, like a lot of players who stood out in high school, was able to just overpower blockers. But in college, she wasn’t going to be able to get away with that.

Plus, at 5-foot-9, she is undersized for an outside hitter, even at the Division III level. Among the outside hitters on her team, she is the only one under 6 feet.

She credited working against taller players in practice for helping her expand her hitting capabilities.

Her kills rose nearly 1.00 per set from her sophomore season, and her hitting percentage increased from .175 to .190. She had more total kills in 2022 (261) than she had in 2021 (207) in 19 fewer sets played.

“I kind of had to learn how to hit different shots to score,” she said. “I had to figure out how to work around the block to score. Lily Podolan — she’s our right-side (hitter) — I was always lined up against her in practice. She’s a really good blocker, so it helps me learn to hit around her and become more comfortable doing things like that versus trying to hit the ball as hard as I can straight down every time.”

Added Pavlik: “She uses the whole court better. I think she has learned how to be really smart and say, ‘OK, I might not get a kill here, so let’s put the ball in a really good spot so that we can turn the rally in our favor.’ There’s a competitive maturity for her about hitting.”

“Competitive maturity” is something the Eagles will need to tap into as a team if they hope to repeat as national champions.

Juniata has built a reputation as one of the most successful women’s volleyball programs at any level. Forty-one straight conference titles and 41 straight NCAA appearances will do that. As such, Juniata is always the team others are trying to knock off.

That will be even more pronounced this season. That, Christy said, brings a mixture of excitement and anxiety.

“We have a lot of players coming back, so it’s just nerve-racking to have almost the same lineup to see if we can do it again,” she said. “Both my roommates and I … we kind of have always talked about how every season we go in, and everyone wants to beat us.

“We kind of know what it’s like already now that we’re the defending national champions.”

Christy said she spent the offseason focusing on her recovery. Prolonged postseason runs put a lot of mileage on the Eagles, so she wanted to make sure she was in peak form to meet the challenges of the new season.

Along with that, she said the team will have to wipe the slate clean once that banner is hung.

“I think the biggest thing for us going into this season in particular is not forgetting that we won but kind of just putting it on the back burner and just starting fresh,” she said. “We can’t go into every match thinking, ‘We just won the national championship.’ That was months ago, and we need to move on and start over this season.”