Wisconsin-Eau Claire sweeps Calvin to win 2021 DIII women's volleyball national championship
Wisconsin-Eau Claire sweeps Calvin to win 2021 DIII women's volleyball national championship
VB | Final
— UWEC Athletics (@UWECblugolds) November 21, 2021
(3) UWEC 25
(0) Calvin 21
OH HOW SWEEP IT IS! 🧹🧹🧹@UWECVolleyball ARE NATIONAL CHAMPIONS!!! 💙💛💙💛💙💛#RollGolds pic.twitter.com/kj75Zox2pP
Wisconsin-Eau Claire's volleyball wrote its name into the history books on Saturday night, winning the 2021 DIII women's volleyball championship to earn the school's first national title.
The No. 4-seeded Blugolds swept No. 6 Calvin 25-22, 25-23, 25-21 at Francis Fieldhouse in St. Louis, Mo.
Oddly enough, that third and final set had the largest margin of victory by points but was easily the closest of the three. Wisconsin-Eau Claire trailed for much of the set but stayed within striking distance. The Blugolds then stepped up their defense significantly, tying the score at 20-20. Once they got to that point, they went on a 5-1 run, led by multiple blocks, to put the match away.
While Wisconsin-Eau Claire was the higher seed, they likely were thought of as the underdogs in the final. Calvin had been on this stage many times before, including winning three national titles from 2010-16. The Blugolds had never even played in a final.
Here are the stats from the box scores for both teams from the match:
To start the match, the Blugolds got out to a quick 10-5 lead over Calvin in the first set then held steady during two separate runs from the Knights. Things got as tight as 23-21 and 24-22 at the end of the set before Wisconsin-Eau Claire put the set away, 25-22. Arianna Barrett led the Blugolds' attack with 5 kills in the set.
After mostly being in control in the first, Wisconsin-Eau Claire won a much closer second set. The Blugolds and Knights traded points for much of the set, before Wisconsin-Eau Claire made more plays late and won the set 25-23. Through two sets, Taylor Scalia had 12 digs for the Blugolds, which really played a sound, well-rounded match throughout the night.
Barrett finished with 13 kills, and her teammates Kendra Baierl and Jordan Witzel added 10 apiece. Makenzie Bachmann notched 17 digs, and Abby Volk helped supply some of those crucial late blocks at the end of the third set that sealed the title.
If you missed the match, watch the full replay here.
View the final completed bracket for the 2021 DIII women's volleyball championship.
Wisconsin-Eau Claire sweeps Calvin, wins national championship
Wisconsin-Eau Claire has its first national championship in school history. The Blugolds won the third set 25-21 to defeat Calvin and win the title.
You can watch the trophy presentation live here on NCAA.com.
Continue to stay tuned to this page for updates throughout the match.
Wisconsin-Eau Claire takes second set, one set away from national title
After mostly being in control in the first set, Wisconsin-Eau Claire won a much tighter second set over Calvin in the national championship match. The Blugolds and Knights traded points for much of the set, before Wisconsin-Eau Claire made more plays late and won the set 25-23.
Taylor Scalia has 12 digs for the Blugolds, which are playing a well-rounded match so far. Here are their stats through two sets:
You can watch the game live here on NCAA.com.
Continue to stay tuned to this page for updates throughout the match.
Wisconsin-Eau Claire wins first set over Calvin
Wisconsin-Eau Claire has taken the first step toward its first women's volleyball title in school history.
The Blugolds got out to a quick 10-5 lead over Calvin in the first set then held steady during two separate runs from the Knights. Things got as tight as 23-21 and 24-22 at the end of the set before Wisconsin-Eau Claire put the set away, 25-22.
Arianna Barrett led the Blugolds' attack with 5 kills in the set. Here's a snapshot of the Wis.-Eau Claire stats in that set:
DIII volleyball national championship match underway between Wis.-Eau Claire and Calvin
The final match of the 2021 DIII women's volleyball season has begun.
No. 4 seed Wisconsin-Eau Claire will be the home team against No. 6 Calvin. You can watch the game live here on NCAA.com.
And stay tuned to this page for updates throughout the night.
Wisconsin-Eau Claire and Calvin square off in DIII volleyball championship match Saturday night
After a wild semifinal Friday night, the stage is set for the 2021 DIII women's volleyball championship match tonight, Saturday, Nov. 20 at 8 p.m. ET.
No. 4 Wisconsin-Eau Claire plays No. 6 Calvin for all the marbles at Francis Fieldhouse in St. Louis, Mo. You can watch the match live here on NCAA.com.
Both teams knocked out higher seeds on Friday, and both did it in comeback fashion. Wisconsin-Eau Claire stormed back from being down 2 sets to 1 to eliminate No. 1 seed Juniata in an epic 5-set match.
The in the second semifinal, Calvin dropped the first set to No. 2 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps then rattled off the next three in a row to clinch its spot in the final.
Click or tap here to view the complete interactive bracket.
Calvin will be looking to lift its fourth volleyball national championship trophy in team history. The program dominated the sport in the first half of the last decade, winning three national titles from 2010-16.
Wisconsin Eau-Claire has never won the volleyball championship, and has never even reached the final match.
No. 6 Calvin shocks No. 2 Claremont-Mudd Scripps, joins Wis.-Eau Claire in Saturday's national championship
No. 6 Calvin knocked off No. 2 Claremont-Mudd Scripps 3-1 to advance to the DIII women's volleyball national championship for the first time since 2018. The Knights handed the Athenas their second loss of the season; CMS's first loss was also to Calvin, losing 3-1 on Oct. 22.
Calvin opened the match with a 25-20 win in the first set. While the Knights would lose the second set 25-23, they would respond with a resilient showing in the final two sets. Calvin won set three after trailing 20-18 and emerged victorious in set four after falling behind 5-1 early on.
Click or tap here for complete stats | Click or tap here for a full replay of the match
Calvin's win was the second upset of the semifinal round, with No. 4 Wisconsin-Eau Clarie shocking No. 1 Juniata 3-2 earlier in the day.
Calvin will face Wisconsin-Eau Clair at 8 p.m. ET on Saturday, Nov. 20 at Francis Fieldhouse in St. Louis, Missouri. You can watch the match live here on NCAA.com.
No. 4 Wisconsin-Eau Claire upsets No. 1 Juniata, advances to the national championship
Down 2-1 with a national championship berth on the line, No. 4-seed Wisconsin-Eau Claire stormed back to win the fourth set and fifth set to secure a spot in the 2021 DIII women’s volleyball national title match. The Blugolds took down the top-seed Juniata Eagles 3-2, despite Victoria Taylor’s 27 kills, a career high and the most by any player during the five-set match.
Down 17-16 in the fourth, Wis.-Eau Claire went on a four-point tear to take the 20-17 lead and ultimately the set, accelerating momentum for the deciding fifth frame.
To illustrate how back-and-forth the match was: Tied at 11-11 in the fifth set, it was the 40th time the match had been tied.
The Blugolds will face the winner of tonight's No. 2 Claremont-Mudd Scripps vs. No. 6 Calvin match tomorrow night in the national championship match. You can live stream it here on NCAA.com.
If you missed the match, here's the full replay.
DIII women's volleyball semifinals ready for Friday night action
It's time for the semifinals in the DIII women's volleyball championship. Both matches will be played tonight at Francis Fieldhouse in St. Louis, Mo., starting at 6 p.m. ET.
No. 1 Juniata, Calvin, and Wisconsin-Eau Claire all return to the semifinals for the first time since 2018. Calvin last won the national title in 2016. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps returns to the semifinals for the first time since its national championship winning season in 2017.
Click or tap here to view the complete interactive bracket.
Here are the semifinal matchups (all times Eastern). You can watch both matches live on NCAA.com by clicking or tapping on the links below:
- No. 4 Wisconsin-Eau Claire 3, No. 1 Juniata 2
- No. 2 Claremont-Mudd Scripps vs. No. 6 Calvin | 9:35 p.m.
The winners will meet in the championship match tomorrow night, Saturday, Nov. 20.
Semifinalist teams set in 2021 DIII women's volleyball championship
The semifinals of the DIII women's volleyball tournament are official following quarterfinal action on Thursday, Nov. 18. Juniata, Wisconsin-Eau Claire, Claremont-Mudd Scripps, and Calvin all won to advance to the final four.
Calvin, Juniata and Wisconsin-Eau Claire all return to the semifinals for the first time since 2018; Juniata and Wisconsin-Eau Claire lost in the semifinal round while Calvin finished as runner-up. Calvin last won the national title in 2016. Claremont-Mudd Scripps returns to the semifinals for the first time since its national championship winning season in 2017.
- Final | No. 1 Juniata 3, No. 8 MIT 1
- Final | No. 4 Wisconsin-Eau Claire 3, No. 5 Tufts 0
- Final | No. 2 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 3, No. 7 Berry 1
- Final | No. 6 Calvin 3, No. 3 Trinity (TX) 2
Click or tap here to view the complete interactive bracket.
Both semifinals and the final will be played at Francis Fieldhouse in St. Louis, Missouri. The semifinals are on Friday, Nov. 19, and the final is Saturday, Nov. 20. These are the semifinal matchups (all times Eastern):
- No. 1 Juniata vs. No. 4 Wisconsin-Eau Claire | 6 p.m.
- No. 2 Claremont-Mudd Scripps vs. No. 6 Calvin | 8:30 p.m.
The championship match will be played Saturday, Nov. 20.
Claremont-M-S takes down Berry to reach DIII women's volleyball semifinals
No. 2 seed Claremont Mudd Scripps grabbed the third semifinal spot in the 2021 DIII women's volleyball tournament with a 3-1 victory over Berry on Thursday night.
The first two sets were close, but the Athenas were in control throughout, winning both. Berry didn't go quietly, grabbing an even tighter third set to force a fourth. That fourth set was all Claremont as it rolled 25-12 to clinch its spot in the final four.
Jackie Jones, Jenna Holmes, and Audrey Sawyer all had more than 10 kills to lead the way for CMS.
Claremont-M-S will face the winner of the No. 3 Trinity (TX) vs. No. 6 Calvin in the semifinals on Friday. The Trinity-Calvin quarterfinal will begin tonight at 9:40 p.m. ET and can be streamed live here on NCAA.com.
Click or tap here to view the full 2021 DIII women's volleyball tournament bracket.
Wisconsin-Eau Claire sweeps Tufts, advances to semifinals
No. 4 seed Wisconsin-Eau Claire swept its way into the DIII women's volleyball quarterfinals on Thursday, beating No. 5 Tufts in straight sets.
But the final score does not indicate how tight of a match this was. Wis.-Eau Claire won the first set 25-23 and the third set 27-25, with only the 25-15 second set coming through relatively easily. Tufts actually had set points in the third to force the match to at least a fourth set.
Wis.-Eau Claire finished it off, thanks to a heavy contribution from Arianna Barrett, who finished with 18 kills on the afternoon. She and her teammates will next face No. 1 Juniata in the semifinals on Friday.
Click or tap here to view the full 2021 DIII women's volleyball tournament bracket.
The next quarterfinal match tonight is No. 2 Claremont-M-S vs. No. 7 Berry, starting at 6:50 p.m. ET. You can live stream that match here on NCAA.com.
Juniata advances to semifinals with win over MIT
No. 1 seed Juniata is the first semifinalist in the 2021 DIII women's volleyball championship. The top seed began the day of quarterfinals by defeating No. 8 MIT 3-1.
The Eagles rolled through the first two sets, winning 25-16 and 25-15, and a sweep looked to be coming. But MIT rallied and took the third set 25-21.
In the fourth, Juniata rebounded and finished things off, 25-17, to advance to the semifinals. Victoria Taylor and Mackenzie Coley led the way with 16 and 10 kills, respectively, for Juniata.
The Eagles will face the winner of the 4-5 matchup between Wis.-Eau Claire and Tufts. That match begins at 4:20 p.m. ET and can be streamed live on NCAA.com.
Click or tap here to view the full 2021 NCAA DIII women's volleyball bracket.
Quarterfinal action underway Thursday
Just eight teams remain in the 2021 NCAA Division III Women's Volleyball Championship field. And after Thursday's quarterfinal matches, the field will be cut in half for the semifinals.
Fans can live stream all of the quarterfinal games today here on NCAA.com. Here is Thursday's schedule:
- Final | No. 1 Juniata 3, No. 8 MIT 1
- Final | No. 4 Wisconsin-Eau Claire 3, No. 5 Tufts 0
- Final | No. 2 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 3, No. 7 Berry 1
- Final | No. 6 Calvin 3, No. 3 Trinity (TX) 2
The semifinals are scheduled for Friday, Nov. 19, with the championship on Saturday, Nov. 20.
Quarterfinal field set in DIII women's volleyball championship after last day of third round
Eight teams remain in the 2021 DIII women's volleyball championship after last third-round matches were played on Sunday, Nov. 14.
And there will be a new champion this season after Tufts knocked out Johns Hopkins by a 3-1 score today. Johns Hopkins was defending the title it won in 2019 after last season's tournament was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
2017 national champion Claremont-Mudd-Scripps did pull out a victory in five sets to advance to the quarterfinals. The five winners from Sunday will join the three winners from Saturday to form the last eight teams in the tournament.
Here are all the scores from Sunday's quintet of matches:
- Final | Wesleyan (CT) 0, Juniata 3
- Final | Susquehanna 1, MIT 3
- Final | Tufts 3, Johns Hopkins 1
- Final | NYU 1, Trinity (TX) 3
- Final | Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 3, Wartburg 2
Click or tap here to view the complete interactive bracket.
The final eight teams are: MIT, Calvin, Juniata, Wisconsin-Eau Claire, Tufts, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, Berry, and Trinity (TX).
Those teams will be seeded prior to the quarterfinals, which will all be played on Thursday, Nov. 18. The semifinals will follow on Friday, with the final on Saturday, Nov. 20.