UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS, Ohio - The battle for the NCAA Division III volleyball championship between long-time postseason foes Juniata College and Washington University in St. Louis went to the Bears, 18-25, 26-24, 25-17, 25-21, Saturday night.

The championship win was Washington University's second in the last three seasons and third under coach Rich Luenemann. The Bears have now won a record 10 Division III volleyball national championships.

"When you reflect back, we're not the most athletically talented team," Luenemann said. "We certainly played with the greatest amount of heart. That's an absolute. There's no doubt about that. From the time you see us step on the court with intensity, the emotion and the energy of warm-ups through the focus that we have, this is easily one of the greatest success stories I've ever been a part of."

"Washington was very good tonight," Juniata coach Larry Bock said. "They won the pass-serve game and seemed to get themselves in system a little bit better than we did. We did a good job with that. They did a great job with getting good swings off plays. That's a physical team and for us to win that match, we've got to win the pass-serve game and be a little more precise than them."

In addition to playing with heart, the Bears executed their defensive assignments well, led by freshman libero Kelly Pang. The Honolulu, Hawaii, native played in front of her parents for only the second time this season and came up with a 30-dig performance.

Pang was one of three Washington University players on the all-tournament team, along with Kristin Thomas and the Most Outstanding Player sophomore middle hitter Lauren Budde. Juniata's Drew Barnhart and Steph Strauss were also on the all-tournament team.

"It was a really good victory," said Pang. "It was a great season, very memorable. We had great senior leadership, which led to great team chemistry and that made it all the more fun."

"Kelly is easily a high-level Division I player," Luenemann said. "She believes in what we offer at Washington University, the opportunity for academic and athletic excellence. It's great to know there are people like the Kelly Pangs out there and many other people on our team who spurned scholarships because they didn't want volleyball to be a job.

"They wanted it to be part of their lives, but they didn't want it to be the most important part of their lives. That's the story of our family. That's the story of our volleyball family. Most everybody was recruited by bigger schools, but they came to Washington University for the academic opportunities and the national championships aren't too bad either."

Juniata took control of the first set with a 9-2 start and kept the lead throughout. Juniata's play and momentum forced Washington University to use both of its timeouts in the first 11 points.

The Bears cut the deficit to 15-13 in the first set when Marilee Fisher blocked a shot at the net. However, the Eagles closed out the set on a 10-5 run aided heavily by their defense. Molly Sollenberger, Kelsey Fuller and Megan Sollenberger each had three defensive digs in the first set.

Washington University and Juniata played even early in the second set, but the Bears took control at 6-5 and never looked back. Despite watching their lead evaporate when Juniata tied the set at 24 with possession of the ball, the Bears won the final two points to even the match at 1-1.

Budde's kill gave Washington University a 25-24 lead and they won the second set when Juniata's Kristin Noetzel hit a kill attempt out of bounds.

Washington University built leads in the third and fourth sets with good play at the net and strong serving. Though the Bears had only six service aces and 10 errors, they kept control of the tempo and court positioning.

"Anytime that you can serve tough and you see the setter on the other team running the offense from the 10-foot line, that means you put their offense in jeopardy," Luenemann said. "Our serving was an incredibly important part of this game tonight. It kept Juniata attacking off the net. It kept their fast options out for the most part."

Matt Florjancic is a freelance writer from Broadview Heights, Ohio.