Season in Review: 2021 CMS Volleyball
Written by Mike Haas, CMC '79
SEASON HIGHLIGHTS
- 6TH CONSECUTIVE SCIAC CHAMPIONSHIP
- PERFECT 16-0 CONFERENCE RECORD
- 4TH CONSECUTIVE SCIAC TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONSHIP
- 8TH CONSECUTIVE NCAA TOURNAMENT BERTH
- 3RD NCAA WEST REGION CHAMPIONSHIP
- NATIONAL SEMIFINALISTS
As with all teams and sports for the 2020-21 academic year, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Athenas volleyball was in hiatus due to the CoVID-19 pandemic. While it was sad and unfortunate, it was understood that the health and well-being of all members is of the college community was the top priority.
When the news came that September 2021 would bring a renewed academic and athletic calendar, the Athenas volleyball players came back to campus in full force. No one knew what to expect after the respite and with a team dominated by first-year players, no one could imagine what the next 2 ½ months would bring.
Well, it was CMS Volleyball at its best – and perhaps best ever in may ways. September brought win after win and upset after upset as the team went undefeated in the first two weekend tournaments. And then Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) play got under way and the string of wins and 3 set sweeps took hold.
The team found itself ranked as high as No. 2 in the country for the majority of the season after being picked to finish third in the SCIAC in a pre-season poll. There was one surprise after another for this Athenas team as the players excelled on and off the court, coming together to form the winningest team in CMS history: 31-2 on the season which was the most wins ever; a 94% winning percentage which was the highest ever; undefeated at 16-0 in conference play which was its best SCIAC record ever.
After sweeping its four matches at the Pacific Coast Classic, the Athenas traveled to Cal Lutheran for the 2021 East West Challenge. This is the annual tournament alternating between an eastern and western host site where the elite volleyball programs in the country meet for a weekend of volleyball magic. This year was no exception as Trinity and Emory came to California ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in the country. CMS defeated them both in back-to-back four-set-wins. The Athenas also beat nationally ranked Washington University in St. Louis in three sets to go undefeated for the weekend.
This was quite a start for a team that had only two seniors, both of whom saw only limited playing time two years ago. There were 12 first-years and sophomores – which means 12 players who had never seen the court as a collegiate athlete. The roster was rounded out with seven juniors – players who only had first year experience two years ago. As one can see, the success of 2021 stands out even more when one considers the experience (or lack thereof) that this team brought to the court.
But if the team was supposed to show the inexperience, then someone forgot to tell the players. For when the dust settled, these Athenas walked away with the team's 6th straight SCIAC title, 4th straight conference tournament championship, and its 3rd NCAA west region championship.
Makenna Fall (SR, CMC, Santa Clarita) was looking to make up for lost time as she had lost most of her first two seasons to injury. This year started strong for her as the team's Libero but those plans got dashed as her knee injury returned to sideline her for most of the season. She still was one of the team's captains and leaders in mentoring the newcomers to the team.
Melanie Williams (SR, CMC, Morgan Hill), finally got her chance as a right-side hitter and made the most of the opportunity. Her height and strong attack made her a force to deal with as the opposite.
Jackie Jones (SR, CMC, Carlsbad) once again started at the outside and brought with her the attack she had honed as a sophomore two years ago. Emma Thompson (SR, SCR, Riverside) returned as a defensive specialist and a specialist server coming off the bench to strengthen Athenas' defensive and offensive attacks.
Spencer Hagenbuch (JR, CMC, Salinas) maintained her position as one of the team's two setters in the 6-2 offense. Summer Ellis (JR, CMC, Temecula) returned for another year at the right side rotating in and out with the change in setters.
Izzy Sakoda (JR, CMC, Honolulu, HI) and Sonia Bliss (JR, HMC, Claremont) were two more outside hitters who had gotten only better since their first-year experience in 2019.
Georgia McGovern (SO, CMC, Oxford, ENG), one of four sophomores who missed out on a first-year playing experience, did not miss out on the opportunity to move to the starting spot as setter in the CMS offense. Jenna Holmes (SO, CMC, Rancho Cucamonga) also was one of the newcomers who earned a starting spot – her at the outside as one of the team's attacking hitters.
Dani Beder (SO, CMC, Newport Beach) played a dual role as a middle blocker and right-side hitter and Maxine Matheson-Lieber (SO, CMC, Portland, OR) was another outside hitter – both of whom added depth to the CMS offensive attack.
Audrey Sawyer (FY, CMC, San Diego) and Kelsey Polhemus (FY, CMC, San Francisco) earned starting spots at the middle blocker position and teamed up for a dynamic one-two punch both offensively and defensively for the Athenas.
Brenna Bell (FY, CMC, Murrieta) rotated onto the right side as part of the 6-2 punch and was a team leader in kills from the opposite attack. Lauren Parker (FY, HMC, Sammamish, WA) was another middle blocker who supplemented the solid middle part of the court that CMS dominated.
Dede Carranza (FY, CMC, Gardena) elevated to the Libero position early in the year after the injury to Makenna and made the transition seamless to the benefit of the CMS defense. Isabel Yau-Weeks (FY, CMC, Oakland) was first on as the defensive specialist when an outside hitter moved to the back row.
Izze Stolzoff (FY, SCR, Bellingham, WA) was the team's third setter and provided strong back-up throughout the season. Ashley Murashige (FY, SCR, Honolulu, HI) provided additional depth as both Libero and defensive specialist – another strong position for the Athenas.
The Pacific Coast Classic, co-hosted by CMS at the Robert Pavilion – the premier Division III arena – provided the starting ground for the 2021 season. There were wins over nationally ranked UC Santa Cruz and UW Oshkosh at the start and end of the weekend. And then it was the following weekend that brought the realization of just how special this version of CMS volleyball was with the wins over Trinity and Emory – downing the top two teams in the county.
Coming off of those first seven wins, the Athenas had little time to prepare for SCIAC action. Being in a conference where the schools are so closely located, each team knows each other's strengths and weaknesses and on any given night any upset can occur, The Athenas knew the challenge and got only better as the season progressed.
The first 10 matches brought 10, 3-set sweeps and there were 13 sweeps on the team's way to a perfect 16-0 conference season. That is the first time ever for CMS to sweep the SCIAC schedule and only the 2nd time any conference team has been perfect since the conference went to 16 matches. In fact, the team only lost 22 sets over the course of 33 matches in 2021.
Midway through the conference schedule, CMS found itself on its way to Grand Rapids, Michigan – invited to another Classic: this time hosted by Calvin College. The Athenas faced another non-conference challenge as they played three more nationally ranked teams. The weekend ended with wins against Hope College and Ohio Northern. The only blemish on the season came in a 4-set loss to host Calvin College.
After its return for the last two weeks of conference play, CMS wrapped up its 6th consecutive SCIAC title. This conference championship also guaranteed the Athenas the top seed in the post-season conference tournament and the host spot in one of the two semi-final matches. CMS found itself pitted against number four seed Cal Lutheran, a familiar foe to the Athenas in the conference tournament.
The Regals were not to go down easily as they came from behind to win the first set. But then CMS rebounded and swept the next three sets to capture the match 3-1. Two nights later, the Athenas were in a rematch with Chapman, the team they had beaten in 2019 for the SCIAC tournament title. Similar to their regular season match two weeks earlier, the Panthers took CMS to five sets. It was a strong 8-1 start to the fifth set that propelled CMS to the 3-2 match victory and an automatic berth into the NCAA championships – the 8th straight year the Athenas have made that trek.
Once again, CMS would be traveling to the regional – this time in Waverly, IA hosted by Wartburg University. The Athenas were joined by five other ranked teams at the regional and so knew they had their work cut out for them to be able to advance.
The opening night opponent was a first-time opponent in Aurora College from Illinois. CMS returned to the round of 32 once again with a 4-set win. Hoping to change its fortune from the past two west regionals, CMS faced Bethel (MN) in the semi-final match on Saturday afternoon. Bethel was ranked in the national poll and hoped to upset the number three ranked Athenas. But CMS was ready for the challenge and swept Bethel in three sets to advance to the regional championship match against host school Wartburg.
In its most difficult match of the season, the Athenas fell behind 2-0 in two closely fought sets. And then the comeback of all comebacks began. Trailing in the 3rd set, CMS rallied to win 25-20. The Athenas got stronger as the match wore on. The fourth set went more convincingly to CMS 25-18. The fifth set started with a large lead and then Wartburg showed its mettle by catching the Athenas at 13 and 14 and then 15 and then 16. CMS finally outlasted its host at 18-16 to win its 3rd ever West Regional championship and advance to Elite Eight.
In the national quarterfinals, the Athenas faced off against Berry College (GA). After dropping the first set, the Athenas rebounded hard to sweep the next three sets to move to the national semi-finals.The next night saw the season come to an unfortunate end with another 4-set loss to Calvin. CMS finished in the round of four and ranked third in the final coaches' poll.
After the SCIAC season ended, the coaches voted for the all-conference teams. Jenna Holmes and Audrey Sawyer were named to the first team All-SCIAC while Jackie Jones and Georgia McGovern found themselves on the second team. In addition, Holmes was named the SCIAC Newcomer of the Year.
Following the all-conference selections, came the American Volleyball Coaches Association All-West region team. Audrey Sawyer was named Freshman of the Year while Melanie Williams, Jenna Holmes and Georgia McGovern were name to the West Region team.
The final AVCA announcements came at the Elite Eight championships – namely the All- American team selections. Melanie Williams and Jenna Holmes were named 2nd team All-America while Georgia McGovern was given honorable mention honors. In addition, Coach Kurt Vlasich was named National Coach of the Year along with his coaching staff of Morgan Coberly and Jack Coberly and Melanie Hughes and Kylie Miller – being honored for leading a young team into the national tournament.
Looking forward to 2021 was a large unknown and good things came to pass. And now looking forward to 2022, the future is bright with 19 from this championship, record-setting team returning. There will be the opening Pacific Coast Classic and the East West Classic and the highly exciting SCIAC schedule. CMS volleyball once again will be leading the way.
As always, we thank you for your support of CMS volleyball.