Leopards upset No. 1 Juniata
The University of La Verne volleyball team will play for the Division III national championship, rallying from a 2-1 deficit to produce a five-set triumph against top-ranked Juniata College.
La Verne took down the nation's #1 team by delivering a 3-2 (20-25, 25-18, 13-25, 25-22, 17-15) triumph over Juniata in the NCAA Semifinal round Friday at the Shirk Center in Bloomington, Illinois. The Leopards will face either Emory or Ohio Northern in the final scheduled for a 7 pm CST start (5 pm PST) on Saturday .
With the win, the Leopards reach the championship match for the first time since 2001, when they captured the school's third national title in volleyball.
Ironically, it was also La Verne's first win over Juniata since the 2001 NCAA Semifinals when the Leos topped the Eagles in five games on Dec. 1, 2001 in Whitewater, Wisconsin. The victory also avenged a 3-1 defeat to Juniata earlier this season on Oct. 10 at La Verne.
About Michelle
Michelle Gardner has been a staff writer for The Sun and the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin since 2002 and has covered the local college sports scene since 2004. She ventured West after working at the South Florida Sun-Sentinel in Fort Lauderdale for eight years and is a graduate of the University of Florida.
E-mail Michelle here.
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