Owens Express wins its third straight volleyball championship
Owens Community College (OH) wins the 2021 NJCAA Division III Championship title in Rochester, Minnesota, claiming back-to-back-to-back national titles. In a battle of the top-2 teams in the country, the Express defeated Rock Valley (IL) in a thriller of a match (25-23, 23-25, 25-23, 25-20, 15-12).
Owens entered the NJCAA DIII Championship tournament as the No. 2 seeded team to Rock Valley's No. 2. The Golden Eagles defeated the Express early in the season to take over the No. 1 ranking and didn't look back, until tonight. Freshman outside hitter Maddie White led Owens with 21 kills and led the team with 17 digs.
Battle for the Ages
The Golden Eagles jumped out to an early 21-12 lead in the first set, but the Express wasn't going to give up the 1-0 lead so easily. The Express roared back to within two points but ended up losing the set 25-23. Rock Valley's Addison Metts had eight kills within the first set.
Owens fell behind early in the second set. and Rock Valley was two points away from going up 2-0. The Express scored the final four points to tie the match up at 1 each.
The third set was just as competitive as the first two, with Rock Valley once again jumping out to an early lead. Owens stormed back to keep it close but the Golden Eagles took the third set. Each of the first three sets ended 25-23.
Owens completes 3-peat
The fourth set went back and forth and saw five lead changes throughout. Owens broke a 13-13 tie and never surrendered the lead again.
The fourth set seemed to turn the momentum in the Express' favor, and the fifth set secured them the championship. The fifth set was tied at 9, and Sydnie Meinke set to serve. Meinke delivered a service ace to take the lead and roar to their third straight title!
Rock Valley's impressive season ends with a runner-up finish
Rock Valley defeated former No. 1 Owens in the second week of the season and owned the No. 1 spot for the rest of the season. Addison Metts and Madisen Perry were No. 1-2 in kills in the nation and their impact was felt throughout the entire tournament. They finished the championship game with 32 and 23 kills respectively in the championship match
Three-seeded Minnesota State defeated five-seed SUNY Broome in the third-place game. Both teams capped off their seasons on a high note, with the Hornets' first tournament appearance ending in a top-4 finish.
Central Lakes put together another impressive showing at the championship, winning the fifth-place game.
Tournament Awards
Owens' freshman outside hitter Maddie White was named the Most Valuable Player of the 2021 NJCAA DIII Volleyball Championship tournament.
