Calvary Academy simply defied the odds.

The Jefferson Township Christian School has just 21 students at the high school level, seven of whom play on the girls varsity volleyball team.

That didn't stop the

Minutemen from winning a national title at the National Association of Christian Athletes tournament in Dayton, Tenn., Nov. 2 through 5.

"It's an awesome team," said Pastor Joel Ward, an administrator at the school. "It was a great opportunity to compete on a national level and the girls fought so hard."

After finishing the regular season with a 25-0 record, the Minutemen headed to Tennessee, where their stiffest challenge came in the championship round against Temple Christian, a Texas school that is six times as large as Calvary Academy.

"Being that we are such a small school, we could have went to the tournament and played against other Division III teams," said Minutemen coach Jodie Osborne. "But I knew the girls needed to reach, so we decided that if we went, we'd play against the bigger schools (Division I)."

Calvary Academy lost its first match of the season to Temple Christian before avenging the defeat in the double elimination format.

Setter Tawnie Osborne provided an inspirational performance, playing against Temple Christian with a knee injury.

"It hurt the most when I tried to straighten it out, so I played from a squatted position," said Tawnie Osborne, the team's captain.

The Minutemen returned home with a 31-1 record, a plaque, a trophy and a banner to recognize their national title.

"The teams we faced at the national tournament can play ball," said Coach Osborne. "They are the most competitive teams we've seen."

The Minutemen also brought home some individual honors from Tennessee.

Middle hitter Emma Kile won Tournament MVP and best offensive player. Tawnie and Tianna Osborne, Carrie Ward and Stephanie Lawson all made the all-tournament team.

Calvary Academy's success came as the culmination of an impressive run.

This year marked the third straight regular season that the team went undefeated.

Calvary Academy frequently competes against other small area schools, such as Portersville Christian, Trinity Christian and Beaver County Christian.

Last summer, however, the Minutemen received competition of a different sort.

Calvary Academy took part in a summer tournament at Butler County Community College in which it defeated several public school teams, including Butler, Mars, Hampton, Knoch and Ford City.

"It was our first time ever playing public schools," said Coach Osborne. "We appreciated the opportunity to play them."

Tawnie Osborne and Lawson, both seniors, impressed BC3 women's volleyball coach Rob Snyder so much that he is in the process of convincing both to play for the Pioneers next year.

"Both of them are very intense players," said Snyder, who organized the summer league. "I was especially impressed with Tawnie standing out as a leader on the court.

"The school might be small, but the team's success comes from the intensity of the players," added Snyder.

"I would like to stay local (in college)," Tawnie said. "I could end up at BC3. It's just a question of whether or not I want to continue to play volleyball or not."

Glen Conley, head coach at West Point, saw Tawnie and Kile play at BC3 and expressed interest in their services for Army's women's program. Little did he know that Kile is just a freshman.

"A lot of people look at us and think we can't be good because of the size of our team and school," said coach Osborne. "But we proved them wrong. Our names are out there now."

Coach Osborne teaches kindergarten at the school and has been around the varsity team's players for most of their lives.

"I taught kindergarten to most of them," said coach Osborne. "They've had a volleyball in their hands since they were about 5 years old."

Being together for so long has helped the team members form a strong bond.

"When one of us messes up, the whole team messes up," said Tawnie. "That's the way we look at it. It's not about individuals on this team."

"We have a saying, 'we are six as tight as one," said Coach Osborne. "These girls are about each other. Any more, that kind of attitude is hard to find because everybody likes to shine as individuals."

Rounding out the team's roster are junior Lizzy Styslinger, and freshman Jaylene Callen.

Jodie Osborne has coached the team for 17 years, along with assistant Cara Ward.

Calvary Academy is located just outside of Saxonburg. This year marked the 22nd season of girls volleyball at the school, which also fields a varsity boys basketball team.