History did not repeat itself, especially on their own volleyball court

                Seven months after the Berry volleyball team lost in straight sets in Southern Athletic Association Tournament Championship game to rival Birmingham-Southern at the Cage to disappointingly end the pandemic-delayed 2020 season, the No. 12-ranked Vikings made sure the outcome would be different in the 2021 SAA Championship showdown Saturday when Berry defeated the Panthers in straight sets to claim the crown.

                "We wanted to pour into each other and play as a family," Berry outside hitter Jazzy Innis, who was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player, said after the victory that improves the Vikings' record to 25-2 and punches their ticket to the NCAA Division III national tournament. "That's something that we've focused on the entire year, we wanted to come in here and have some fun today."

                The Vikings came out the gate playing fast and aggressive, winning the first set 25-17 by keeping BSC in check on both sides of the ball and forcing the Panthers to take early timeouts to try and stop Berry's momentum, which were led by Berry's outside hitters who were able to find the Panther's weak spots on the court quickly and the Vikings recorded four aces and 13 kills in the first set alone. 

                That formula didn't change in the second set, as Berry overpowered BSC 25-19 continued using their offensive firepower – 14 kills in the set – and capitalized on defensive miscues by the Panthers.

                At the start of the third set, BSC broke out to an early lead, only to see the Vikings refuse to yield as Berry regained control of the set and the match and down BSC 24-14 to clinch the championship

.              Midway, through the third set, setter Emily Rapach recorded her 2,000th assist of her college career and credited her success to her team, and the work they put in together. 

                "We put so much into this team and so much work behind the scenes," Rapach said, "and having that pay off on the court is special. But I couldn't do it without our hitters, it means a lot that we can all come together to give individuals on the team milestones like that."

                "It all starts with first contact," said Innis. "Our back row did a really good job to give Rapach lots of opportunities, allowing her to spread the offense giving our hitters one on one opportunities. It took everyone to have those opportunities to take big swings."

               "We worked on our serving and wanted to be purposeful about our serving," Rapach pointed out. "We talked about going on runs, getting three to five points when we were back there. We had a battle mentality on defense, wanting to win those long rallies, and winning the mental battle."

                The Vikings totaled 44 kills on the day, with Innis leading the way with 17. Rapach had 38 assists and Laura Beier recorded 15 digs. 

                Beier and Peyton Breissinger joined Innis as All-Tournament selections.

                Much of the Vikings success this season can be attributed to the love and chemistry the team has for each other, something head coach Caitlyn Moriarty and the team have talked about the entire year. 

                "This is a team that loves to work hard and at the same time loves each other," Moriarty said, "and that is a good recipe."

    The Vikings will learn when and who they'll play in the upcoming NCAA tournament when the NCAA holds its Selection Show on Monday at 12:30 p.m. To watch the show go to ncaa.com where the link will be available on the NCAA's home page.