Knoch grad Kennedy Christy finishes volleyball career at Juniata with 3rd consecutive national title

As she segued from her final collegiate volleyball season to the holiday season, Kennedy Christy accompanied some friends to Hawaii. And if anybody deserved to relax on the warm beaches of the 50th state, it was Christy.

Every college athlete dreams of going out a champion, and the Knoch grad lived it.

On Dec. 7, Christy and Juniata captured their third consecutive Division III national title. The Eagles had to go to five sets to defeat Hope in the national semifinals and Wisconsin-Whitewater in the final, winning the fifth set to avoid a reverse sweep in both.

And as the stakes got higher, Christy was at her best.

In the win over Hope, she tied for team-high honors with 15 kills while also contributing nine digs, three aces and two block assists. In the deciding fifth set, her back-to-back aces tied the score 6-6, completing the Eagles’ rally from an early 5-2 deficit. Her kill at 8-8 gave Juniata a lead it would not relinquish, and she finished off the 15-11 win with another kill.

“The crazy thing with Kennedy is she’s done that each of the last three years during the playoffs. She played her best ball during the playoffs,” said Heather Pavlik, who has spent the past 14 seasons as head coach after 15 seasons as an assistant/associate head coach with the program. “She brings her best when her best is needed. She’s the ultimate competitor, probably the best competitor I’ve ever coached.”

The fifth set of the national title match wasn’t nearly as dramatic, with Juniata scoring the first eight points, but Christy was even better than in the semis. She had 18 kills and 12 digs and was named the tournament’s most outstanding player.

“I don’t really know why I do,” Christy said when asked how she manages to rise to the occasion in the biggest matches, “because I’m generally an anxious person, and I worry about a lot of things. But I just feel like when the stakes are high and my back’s up against the wall a little bit, I just kind of block out everything else and I just play volleyball.”

Winning three national titles was the ideal way for Christy to end her volleyball career. Now consider that the championship victory over Wisconsin-Whitewater was the Eagles’ 97th win in a row.

Juniata won its final 27 matches of the 2022 season before posting identical 35-0 marks each of the past two seasons.

The streak was put together by a veteran group, which, this season, consisted of eight seniors or grad students — Christy was one of three grad students on the roster — who have been playing together for four years. In 2021, they were part of a team that made it to the national semifinals, a foreshadowing of success.

“My sophomore year was the first year after covid,” said Christy, noting her freshman season of 2020 was canceled by the pandemic. “I just remember we played (Wisconsin) Eau Claire (in the national semis). They were older than us, and they were really good. And we were just like, ‘Wow. We didn’t expect that to happen at all.’

“So after that, we just kind of knew going into it (the) next year, we were just like, we had our eyes on the prize, and we were not going to take them off of it for anything.”

The stylish end to Christy’s career at Juniata was punctuated with her best overall statistical output. She registered personal bests in total kills (271), kills per set (2.95), hitting percentage (.257), digs per set (2.67) and total blocks (27).

Pavlik said Christy’s improved offense can be attributed to a more polished approach to hitting.

“She’s a really aggressive player, and I think early in her career she struggled with errors,” Pavlik said. “Which we were OK with, as long as (she was) being aggressive and doing things right. But I think she learned how to use more of the court. I think she learned how to change speeds and score in different ways.

“She was way more efficient this year than I think she’s ever been before.”

Added Christy: “Honestly, I think I just stayed aggressive, and I wasn’t focusing on the errors I was making. I was just playing. I think the previous couple of years, I was worried more. … I was just out there trying to enjoy my last season of my career.”

Christy finished her career with 943 kills, 916 digs and 219 aces, which ranks ninth in program history.

Now she will concentrate on finishing her master’s degree — her undergrad degree is in marketing with a minor in communications — and contemplating her future. She said she would like to remain in the Pittsburgh area, but, as for volleyball, she isn’t sure how that will fit into her adult life.

Christy said with her playing days so recently ended, it is difficult to sum up her feelings. She used the word “grateful” a lot when asked to talk about her career.

Pavlik, meanwhile, had no shortage of superlatives.

“I think that everyone on this team looks up to her,” she said. “Everyone wants to emulate what she does. Honestly, in four years, I don’t think I’ve ever had to say, ‘Kennedy, you’ve got to go for that ball!’ She just goes.

“She’s probably the only player I can say that about.”