2010 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament
Encyclopedia
The 2010 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament began on December 2, 2010 and ended December 18, when Penn State swept California to win an unprecedented 4th straight NCAA title, making it their 5th overall. Penn State head coach Russ Rose became the first Division I coach to win 5 titles.

Qualifying teams

Seed School Conference Record Berth Type
1 Florida SEC
Southeastern Conference
The Southeastern Conference is an American college athletic conference that operates in the southeastern part of the United States. It is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama...

27-1 Automatic
2 Nebraska
Nebraska Cornhuskers volleyball
Nebraska is home to one of the nation's most storied collegiate women's volleyball programs. The Nebraska women's volleyball team has won three NCAA Women's Volleyball National Championships, in 1995, 2000, and 2006 and has had three NCAA National Runner-Up finishes in 1986, 1989, and 2005 as well...

Big 12
Big 12 Conference
The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference of ten schools located in the Central United States, with its headquarters located in Las Colinas, a community in the Dallas, Texas suburb of Irving...

27-2 Automatic
3 Stanford Pac-10 24-3 At-Large Bid
4 Penn State Big Ten
Big Ten volleyball
Big Ten volleyball represents the 12 women's teams that participate in the conference. Through 2009, Big Ten volleyball has earned a combined 17 NCAA final four appearances by 6 different teams. In 1987, Illinois became the first program to represent the Big Ten in the final four, and in 1999...

26-5 Automatic
5 Northern Iowa
University of Northern Iowa
The University of Northern Iowa is a college located in Cedar Falls, Iowa, United States. UNI offers more than 120 majors across the colleges of Business Administration, Education, Humanities and Fine Arts, Natural Sciences, and Social and Behavioral sciences, and graduate college.UNI has...

MVC
Missouri Valley Conference
The Missouri Valley Conference is a college athletic conference whose members are located in the midwestern United States...

30-2 Automatic
6 Southern California Pac-10 25-4 At-Large Bid
7 Cal
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...

Pac-10 25-3 Automatic
8 Illinois
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign is a large public research-intensive university in the state of Illinois, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Illinois system...

Big Ten 22-8 At-Large Bid
9 Texas
Texas Longhorns volleyball
Texas maintains a successful women's volleyball program, as witnessed by two national championships - one AIAW in 1981 and one NCAA in 1988, in addition to 25 NCAA tournament appearances out of 28 possible years....

Big 12 23-5 At-Large Bid
10 Minnesota Big Ten 24-8 At-Large Bid
11 Tennessee
University of Tennessee
The University of Tennessee is a public land-grant university headquartered at Knoxville, Tennessee, United States...

SEC 24-6 At-Large Bid
12 Duke
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...

ACC
Atlantic Coast Conference
The Atlantic Coast Conference is a collegiate athletic league in the United States. Founded in 1953 in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC sanctions competition in twenty-five sports in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association for its twelve member universities...

24-6 Automatic
13 LSU
Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, most often referred to as Louisiana State University, or LSU, is a public coeducational university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The University was founded in 1853 in what is now known as Pineville, Louisiana, under the name...

SEC 25-4 At-Large Bid
14 Dayton Atlantic 10
Atlantic Ten Conference
The Atlantic 10 Conference is a college athletic conference which operates mostly on the United States' eastern seaboard. It also has two member schools in Ohio: Dayton and Xavier, located in Dayton and Cincinnati, respectively. Another member, Saint Louis is located in St. Louis, Missouri...

27-3 Automatic
15 Hawaii WAC
Western Athletic Conference
The Western Athletic Conference is an American collegiate athletic conference, which was formed on July 27, 1962, making it the sixth oldest of the 11 college athletic conferences currently participating in the NCAA's Division I FBS...

24-6 At-Large Bid
16 Purdue Big Ten 21-10 At-Large Bid
Alabama A&M SWAC
Southwestern Athletic Conference
The Southwestern Athletic Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, which is made up of historically black universities in the Southern United States...

16-10 Automatic
Albany (NY) America East
America East Conference
The America East Conference is a NCAA Division I college athletic conference whose members are located mainly in the northeastern United States. The conference was known as the ECAC North from 1979 to 1988 and the North Atlantic Conference from the fall semester of 1988 to the end of the spring...

22-8 Automatic
American University
American University
American University is a private, Methodist, liberal arts, and research university in Washington, D.C. The university was chartered by an Act of Congress on December 5, 1892 as "The American University", which was approved by President Benjamin Harrison on February 24, 1893...

Patriot League
Patriot League
The Patriot League is a college athletic conference which operates in the northeastern United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I) for a number of sports; in football, it participates in the Football Championship Subdivision...

29-2 Automatic
Arizona
University of Arizona
The University of Arizona is a land-grant and space-grant public institution of higher education and research located in Tucson, Arizona, United States. The University of Arizona was the first university in the state of Arizona, founded in 1885...

Pac-10 19-10 At-Large Bid
Auburn
Auburn University
Auburn University is a public university located in Auburn, Alabama, United States. With more than 25,000 students and 1,200 faculty members, it is one of the largest universities in the state. Auburn was chartered on February 7, 1856, as the East Alabama Male College, a private liberal arts...

SEC 20-12 At-Large Bid
Austin Peay
Austin Peay State University
Austin Peay State University is a four-year public university located in Clarksville, Tennessee, and operated by the Tennessee Board of Regents. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools .-History:...

OVC
Ohio Valley Conference
The Ohio Valley Conference is a college athletic conference which operates in the midwestern and southeastern United States. It participates in Division I of the NCAA; the conference's football programs compete in the Football Championship Subdivision , the lower of two levels of Division I...

26-7 Automatic
Butler
Butler University
Butler University is a private university located in Indianapolis, Indiana. Founded in 1855 and named after founder Ovid Butler, the university offers 60 degree programs to 4,400 students through six colleges: business, communication, education, liberal Arts and sciences, pharmacy and health...

Horizon
Horizon League
The Horizon League is a ten school, NCAA Division I college athletic conference whose members are located in five of the Midwestern United States....

21-9 Automatic
Cal St. Fullerton
California State University, Fullerton
California State University, Fullerton is a public university located in Fullerton, California. It is the largest institution in the CSU System by enrollment, it offers long-distance education and adult-degree programs...

Big West
Big West Conference
The Big West Conference is an NCAA-affiliated Division I mid-major college athletic conference. When the conference began in 1969, its name was the Pacific Coast Athletic Association . After nineteen years, in 1988, its name was changed to the Big West Conference. The conference stopped...

26-5 Automatic
Cincinnati
University of Cincinnati
The University of Cincinnati is a comprehensive public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio, and a part of the University System of Ohio....

Big East
Big East Conference
The Big East Conference is a collegiate athletics conference consisting of sixteen universities in the eastern half of the United States. The conference's 17 members participate in 24 NCAA sports...

25-10 At-Large Bid
Colorado State
Colorado State University
Colorado State University is a public research university located in Fort Collins, Colorado. The university is the state's land grant university, and the flagship university of the Colorado State University System.The enrollment is approximately 29,932 students, including resident and...

MWC
Mountain West Conference
The Mountain West Conference , popularly known as the Mountain West, is the youngest of the college athletic conferences affiliated with the NCAA’s Division I FBS . The MWC officially began operations in July 1999...

25-4 Automatic
Creighton
Creighton University
Creighton University is a private, coeducational, Jesuit, Roman Catholic university located in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. Founded by the Society of Jesus in 1878, the school is one of 28 member institutions of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities. The university is accredited by...

MVC 20-11 At-Large Bid
Delaware
University of Delaware
The university is organized into seven colleges:* College of Agriculture and Natural Resources* College of Arts and Sciences* Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics* College of Earth, Ocean and Environment* College of Education and Human Development...

Colonial
Colonial Athletic Association
The Colonial Athletic Association is a NCAA Division I college athletic conference whose full-time members are located in East Coast states from Massachusetts to Georgia. Most of its members are public universities, with five in Virginia alone, and the conference is headquartered in Richmond,...

26-5 Automatic
Florida State
Florida State University
The Florida State University is a space-grant and sea-grant public university located in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a comprehensive doctoral research university with medical programs and significant research activity as determined by the Carnegie Foundation...

ACC 21-10 At-Large Big
Georgia Southern
Georgia Southern University
Georgia Southern University is a national public university located on a campus in Statesboro, Georgia, USA. Founded in 1906, it is part of the University System of Georgia and is the largest center of higher education in the southern half of Georgia offering 117 academic majors in a comprehensive...

Southern
Southern Conference
The Southern Conference is a Division I college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association . Southern Conference football teams compete in the Football Championship Subdivision . Member institutions are located in the states of Alabama, Georgia, North...

27-8 Automatic
High Point
High Point University
High Point University is a private liberal arts university in High Point, North Carolina, USA, affiliated with the United Methodist Church.- Beginnings :...

Big South
Big South Conference
The Big South Conference is a college athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division I. The conference's football teams are part of the Football Championship Subdivision...

22-12 Automatic
Indiana
Indiana University
Indiana University is a multi-campus public university system in the state of Indiana, United States. Indiana University has a combined student body of more than 100,000 students, including approximately 42,000 students enrolled at the Indiana University Bloomington campus and approximately 37,000...

Big Ten 21-11 At-Large Bid
Iowa State
Iowa State University
Iowa State University of Science and Technology, more commonly known as Iowa State University , is a public land-grant and space-grant research university located in Ames, Iowa, United States. Iowa State has produced astronauts, scientists, and Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winners, along with a host of...

Big 12 20-8 At-Large Bid
Kentucky
University of Kentucky
The University of Kentucky, also known as UK, is a public co-educational university and is one of the state's two land-grant universities, located in Lexington, Kentucky...

SEC 17-13 At-Large Bid
Lipscomb
Lipscomb University
Lipscomb University is a private, coeducational, liberal arts university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. It is affiliated with the Churches of Christ. The campus is located in the Green Hills neighborhood of Nashville between Belmont Boulevard to the west and Granny White Pike on the east...

Atlantic Sun
Atlantic Sun Conference
The Atlantic Sun Conference is a college athletic conference operating in the Southeastern United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I; it does not sponsor football. The conference was established in 1978 as the Trans America Athletic Conference...

24-6 Automatic
Long Beach State Big West 25-7 At-Large Bid
Louisville
University of Louisville
The University of Louisville is a public university in Louisville, Kentucky. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States and one of the first universities chartered west of the Allegheny Mountains. The university is mandated by the Kentucky General...

Big East 22-7 Automatic
Miami (FL)
University of Miami
The University of Miami is a private, non-sectarian university founded in 1925 with its main campus in Coral Gables, Florida, a medical campus in Miami city proper at Civic Center, and an oceanographic research facility on Virginia Key., the university currently enrolls 15,629 students in 12...

ACC 23-8 At-Large Bid
Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...

Big Ten 23-9 At-Large Bid
Middle Tennessee Sun Belt 25-9 Automatic
Mississippi
University of Mississippi
The University of Mississippi, also known as Ole Miss, is a public, coeducational research university located in Oxford, Mississippi. Founded in 1844, the school is composed of the main campus in Oxford, four branch campuses located in Booneville, Grenada, Tupelo, and Southaven as well as the...

SEC 19-10 At-Large Bid
Missouri
University of Missouri
The University of Missouri System is a state university system providing centralized administration for four universities, a health care system, an extension program, five research and technology parks, and a publishing press. More than 64,000 students are currently enrolled at its four campuses...

Big 12 20-10 At-Large Bid
Missouri State
Missouri State University
Missouri State University is a public university located in Springfield, Missouri, United States and founded in 1905. It is the state's second largest university, with an official enrollment of 20,802 in fall 2011...

MVC 21-9 At-Large Bid
New Mexico
University of New Mexico
The University of New Mexico at Albuquerque is a public research university located in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in the United States. It is the state's flagship research institution...

MWC 20-9 At-Large Bid
Niagara
Niagara University
Niagara University is a Catholic university in the Vincentian tradition, located in the Town of Lewiston in Niagara County, New York. Originally founded by the Congregation of the Mission in 1856 as Our Lady of Angels Seminary, it became Niagara University in 1883. The University is still run by...

MAAC
Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference is a college athletic conference which operates in the northeastern United States. MAAC teams compete in the NCAA's Division I. Most of the members are Catholic or formerly Catholic institutions; the only exception is the private but secular Rider...

25-8 Automatic
North Carolina
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States...

ACC 24-9 At-Large Bid
North Dakota State
North Dakota State University
North Dakota State University of Agriculture and Applied Sciences, more commonly known as North Dakota State University , is a public university in Fargo, North Dakota. NDSU has about 14,000 students and it is the largest university in North Dakota based on full time students and land size...

Summit 20-10 Automatic
Northwestern
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....

Big Ten 19-12 At-Large Bid
Ohio
Ohio University
Ohio University is a public university located in the Midwestern United States in Athens, Ohio, situated on an campus...

MAC
Mid-American Conference
The Mid-American Conference is a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I college athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Nine of the twelve full member schools are in Ohio and Michigan, with single members...

21-12 Automatic
Ohio State
Ohio State University
The Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States...

Big Ten 22-11 At-Large Bid
Oklahoma
University of Oklahoma
The University of Oklahoma is a coeducational public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two became the state of Oklahoma. the university had 29,931 students enrolled, most located at its...

Big 12 21-10 At-Large Bid
Penn
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...

Ivy League
Ivy League
The Ivy League is an athletic conference comprising eight private institutions of higher education in the Northeastern United States. The conference name is also commonly used to refer to those eight schools as a group...

17-10 Automatic
Portland State
Portland State University
Portland State University is a public state urban university located in downtown Portland, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1946, it has the largest overall enrollment of any university in the state of Oregon, including undergraduate and graduate students. It is also the only public university in...

Big Sky
Big Sky Conference
The Big Sky Conference is an intercollegiate college athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division I, with football competing in the Football Championship Subdivision. The BSC was founded in 1963. Member institutions are located in the western United States in the states of Arizona,...

21-8 Automatic
South Carolina St.
South Carolina State University
South Carolina State University is a historically black university located in Orangeburg, South Carolina, United States. It is the only state funded, historically black land-grant institution in South Carolina and is a member school of the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund.- Colleges, departments,...

MEAC
Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference is a collegiate athletic conference of historically black colleges and universities in the Southeastern United States...

17-22 Automatic
Sacred Heart
Sacred Heart University
Sacred Heart University is a Roman Catholic university located in suburban Fairfield, Connecticut, United States. Sacred Heart was founded in 1963 by the Most Reverend Walter W. Curtis, Bishop of the Diocese of Bridgeport, Connecticut. Sacred Heart University was the first Catholic university in...

NEC
Northeast Conference
The Northeast Conference is a college athletic conference whose schools are members of the NCAA. The NCAA designates the Northeast Conference to the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision for Division I Men's Football and to Division I Sports for all other sports.Founded in 1981 as the ECAC-Metro...

29-6 Automatic
San Diego
University of San Diego
The University of San Diego is a Roman Catholic university in San Diego, California. USD offers more than sixty bachelor's, master’s, and doctoral programs...

WCC
West Coast Conference
The West Coast Conference is an NCAA collegiate athletics conference consisting of nine member schools across the states of California, Oregon, Utah and Washington....

23-5 Automatic
Tulsa
University of Tulsa
The University of Tulsa is a private university awarding bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees located in Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA. It is currently ranked 75th among doctoral degree granting universities in the nation by US News and World Report and is listed as one of the "Best 366 Colleges" by...

C-USA
Conference USA
Conference USA, officially abbreviated C-USA, is a college athletic conference whose member institutions are located within the Southern United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports...

30-2 Automatic
UCLA Pac-10 21-8 At-Large Bid
UTSA Southland
Southland Conference
The Southland Conference is a college athletic conference which operates in the south central United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I for all sports; for football, it participates in the Division I Football Championship Subdivision...

22-11 Automatic
Utah St.
Utah State University
Utah State University is a public university located in Logan, Utah. It is a land-grant and space-grant institution and is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities....

WAC 24-8 Automatic
Virginia Tech ACC 19-11 At-Large Bid
Washington
University of Washington
University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...

Pac-10 21-8 At-Large Bid
Western Kentucky
Western Kentucky University
Western Kentucky University is a public university in Bowling Green, Kentucky, USA. It was formally founded by the Commonwealth of Kentucky in 1906, though its roots reach back a quarter-century earlier....

Sun Belt 27-8 At-Large Bid
Wichita State MVC 21-7 At-Large Bid

Austin Regional

Regional recap

The biggest upset of the tournament occurred when Purdue swept top ranked Florida in 3 sets, recording their first win over a #1 team in program history. Despite holding 4 consecutive set points in the 1st set, Florida lost their 24-20 lead and eventually lost 28-26. Florida never seemed to regain their rhythm, as Purdue went up 8-0 in the second set and maintained a 10-point lead throughout the set, winning 25-15. Purdue went up early in the third set as well, and won 25-19, shocking the Gators who had only lost one match all season.

In the other semifinal, Illinois played Texas hard on their home floor, going up 2-1 in sets. However, Texas stormed back to win the fourth set easily and then took control of the fifth set, winning 15-11.

In the regional final, Purdue won the first set rather easily but lost their senior starting setter Jaclyn Hart to an apparent leg injury in the late stages of set 1. Hart did not end up returning in the match, as Texas dominated sets 2 and 3. Despite Purdue going up early and showing signs of life in what was the final set, Texas won the fourth set 27-25 to earn their third straight trip to the Final Four and a rematch of the 2009 NCAA Championship
2009 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament
The 2009 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament began on December 3, 2009 with 64 teams and ended on December 19, when Penn State defeated Texas, 3-2, in the NCAA National Championship match. With the win, Penn State won its fourth overall title, and became the first team in the history of...

 final with Penn State in the national semifinals.

Austin Regional All-Tournament Team
  • Juliann Faucette (Most Outstanding Player) - Texas
  • Michelle Kocher - Texas
  • Rachael Adams - Texas
  • Jennifer Doris - Texas
  • Jaclyn Hart - Purdue
  • Ariel Turner - Purdue
  • Jazmine Orozco - Illinois

University Park Regional

Regional recap

Having upset the 5th overall seed in the tournament in the 1st round, Missouri advanced to the Sweet 16 to face 12th seeded Duke. Duke won in four sets, and advanced to the Elite Eight, which was the first time that an ACC team made it past the Sweet 16.

Penn State downed Oklahoma in 3 sets, as senior All-American Blair Brown had 24 kills. In the regional final against Duke, Penn State won the first two sets rather easily, 25-19, 25-18, but Duke came back to win the third set 25-23. It was the first time since the 2006 tournament
2006 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament
The 2006 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament began on November 30, 2006 with 64 teams and concluded on December 16, 2006, when top ranked Nebraska defeated second ranked Stanford 3 sets to 1 in Omaha, Nebraska for the program's third NCAA title....

 that Penn State lost a single set before the Final Four. In the fourth set, Penn State knocked off any chance of an upset, as they separated themselves early from Duke and won 25-17. Big Ten
Big Ten volleyball
Big Ten volleyball represents the 12 women's teams that participate in the conference. Through 2009, Big Ten volleyball has earned a combined 17 NCAA final four appearances by 6 different teams. In 1987, Illinois became the first program to represent the Big Ten in the final four, and in 1999...

 Freshman of the Year Deja McClendon had a career high 20 kills while Blair Brown added 16 kills. Penn State also extended their NCAA-record home court winning streak to 94 matches.

University Park All-Tournament Team
  • Blair Brown (Most Outstanding Player) - Penn St.
  • Deja McClendon - Penn St.
  • Kristin Carpenter - Penn St.
  • Sophia Dunworth - Duke
  • Kellie Catanach - Duke
  • Brianne Barker - Oklahoma
  • Paola Ampudia - Missouri

Dayton
Dayton, Ohio
Dayton is the 6th largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County, the fifth most populous county in the state. The population was 141,527 at the 2010 census. The Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 841,502 in the 2010 census...

 Regional

Regional recap

Third seeded Stanford downed Ohio State in four sets, with the help of senior Alix Klineman's 29 kills. Southern California defeated Indiana in straight sets, setting up an all-Pac 10 regional final. In the regular season, Stanford beat Southern Cal both times.

Stanford jumped out to an early lead, winning the first set 25-20, however Southern Cal responded by winning the second set 25-17. With 11 tie scores and three lead changes, the third set was competitive but Stanford pulled out the win, 25-22. The fourth set was also a close battle, as it had 10 tie scores and three lead changes, but Southern Cal narrowly defeated Stanford, 26-24, and forced a fifth set. Despite having a 10-7 advantage in the decisive fifth set, Southern Cal responded back to tie the set up at 11. Stanford held a match point at 14-13, but Southern Cal's freshman Falyn Fonoimoana, who was the top recruit in the 2010 class, recorded a kill to tie it up at 14. A Stanford hitting error gave Southern Cal match point, before a block by Fonoimoana and fellow freshman Alexis Olgard won the set, 16-14, and the match, 3-2.

It was the first time since the 2007 season that Southern Cal defeated Stanford. Alex Klineman finished her career with 2,008 kills, and joined former Stanford great Ogonna Nnamani
Ogonna Nnamani
Ogonna Nneka Nnamani is an American indoor volleyball player, currently playing professionally for VK Prostějov in Prostějov, Czech Republic....

 as the only two players to have more than 2,000 career kills.

Dayton Regional All-Tournament Team
  • Falyn Fonoimoana (Most Outstanding Player) - Southern California
  • Kendall Bateman - Southern California
  • Alex Jupiter - Southern California
  • Alix Klineman - Stanford
  • Cassidy Lichtman - Stanford
  • Katie Dull - Ohio State
  • Ashley Benson - Indiana

Seattle Regional

Regional recap

Seventh seeded California swept Minnesota in 3 close sets, 26-24, 25-23, 25-23 to advance to the program's fourth straight NCAA Regional Final.

In the other Regional Semifinal, unseeded Washington stunned overall #2 seeded Nebraska in four sets (25-16, 20-25, 25-21, 29-27). The fourth set of the match was considered controversial. Washington held a set point on which they hit a shot which might have been touched by the Nebraska block, but was ruled out, allowing Nebraska to tie up the set. Then Nebraska held a set point on which a kill attempt by Washington landed near the back line and was called in by the line judge, allowing Washington to tie up the set. Nebraska players and coaches were visibly upset as they thought they had won the point and started to celebrate. Washington then scored the next two points and won the match. When Nebraska head coach John Cook
John Cook (coach)
John Cook is currently the head coach for the Nebraska Cornhuskers women's volleyball team, entering his 11th season as head coach in 2010. He led the Huskers to two NCAA Women's Volleyball Championships, in 2000 by defeating the Wisconsin Badgers, and in 2006 by defeating Stanford. He is a two...

 shook hands with Washington head coach Jim McLaughlin
Jim McLaughlin (coach)
Jim McLaughlin is an American volleyball coach. Currently, he is the head coach for the University of Washington women's volleyball team. In 2005, he led the Washington to their first NCAA title in after defeating the Nebraska in San Antonio, Texas, and took the #1 ranking from them, which was...

, he allegedly said "The ball was out. Nice Match" to which McLaughlin allegedly responded with foul language and had to be restrained. Both the controversial call and the coach incident were hot topics on the news outlets.

California, which had already beaten Washington twice in the regular season, then swept the Huskies in the regional final (25-21, 25-20, 25-14).

Seattle Regional All-Tournament Team
  • Carli Lloyd (Most Outstanding Player) - California
  • Shannon Hawari - California
  • Tarah Murrey - California
  • Kindra Carlson - Washington
  • Bianca Rowland - Washington
  • Lauren Gibbemeyer - Minnesota
  • Jordan Wilberger - Nebraska


Final Four - Sprint Center
Sprint Center
Sprint Center is a large, multi-use indoor arena in downtown Kansas City, Missouri. The building is located at 14th Street and Grand Boulevard, on the east side of the Power & Light District...

, Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...

Penn State vs. Texas
Teams Set 1 Set 2 Set 3
PSU 25 25 25
TEX 13 13 22


In the rematch of the 2009 finals, Penn State defeated Texas in straight sets, 25-13, 25-13, 25-22. Led by AVCA National Freshman of the Year Deja McClendon, who had 11 kills on 15 errorless attempts, Penn State held Texas to just .131 hitting as a team in the sweep. Penn State's freshmen had 24 of the team's 54 kills in the match, as Katie Slay and Ariel Scott also made big contributions. On Texas's side, senior All-American and Big 12 Player of the Year Juliann Faucette led all players with 14 kills, and she was the only Texas player with double-digit kills. Penn State improved its all-time program record to 11-6 over Texas, and became the first team in NCAA history to advance to four straight NCAA Championship finals.
California vs. Southern California
Teams Set 1 Set 2 Set 3
CAL 25 25 25
USC 14 17 20


Despite USC defeating California in both Pac-10 matchups earlier in the season, California took control of the match from the start, going up 11-2 in set 1 and eventually defeating USC easily in a sweep, 25-14, 25-17, 25-20. Cal Junior All-American Tarah Murrey had 23 kills and hit .413, while Adrienne Gehan, a freshman, was second on the team with 14 kills. Cal setter Carli Lloyd, who was named the National Player of the Year the day after the match, had 39 assists and 16 digs in the match. USC hit just .101 as a team and only 1 player hit higher than .200, as Katie Fuller was USC's only offensive spark in the match as she had 7 kills and hit .400. California advanced to the programs first ever final match to face the same team who ended their seasons in the NCAA tournament the previous three years.

National Championship recap: Penn State vs. California

Teams Set 1 Set 2 Set 3
PSU 25 27 25
CAL 20 25 20


Playing each other for the fourth consecutive year in the tournament, Penn State defeated California once again in a sweep by the scores of 25-20, 27-25, 25-20. Deja McClendon, who had 16 kills in the final, was named the Final Four Most Outstanding Player and became only the second player in NCAA history (the other being Kerri Walsh
Kerri Walsh
Kerri Lee Walsh-Jennings is an American professional beach volleyball player.Walsh-Jennings and teammate Misty May-Treanor were the gold medalists in beach volleyball at both the 2004 and 2008 Summer Olympics...

from 1996) to win the award as a freshman. Senior Blair Brown had 18 kills against the Bears, while Cal hitter Tarah Murrey led her team with 16 kills.

In set 1, Penn State held a slim 12-11 lead but kills by McClendon and Brown and a service ace from Alyssa D'Errico made the score 16-12. Cal fought back to cut the lead to 16-15, but Penn State pulled away again to lead 21-17. Two Brown kills and a kill from freshman Ariel Scott sealed the first set, 25-20. It was the first set Cal lost in the entire tournament.

Set 2 was a battle throughout, and Cal took a 3 point lead at 17-14. However Penn State fought back to tie it at 17. Two Penn State blocks put them up 19-17, but Cal responded with kills and a block to make the score dead even at 20-20. Two straight Cal kills gave them set point 24-23, however Penn State tied it up at 24. 2010 National Player of the Year Carli Lloyd gave the Bears another set point at 25-24 with a kill, but Penn State used another crucial block to tie it up at 25. Two Brown kills won set 2 for the Nittany Lions, 27-25.

Cal stepped up its blocking in what was the final set, taking a 10-6 lead. However Penn State clawed its way back after a timeout and took a 13-12 lead. Freshman Ali Longo for Penn State ended up serving 8 straight points which included 3 service aces and Penn State went up 18-13. Cal came within 3 at 18-15 but another Penn State run put them up 23-16 and only 2 points away from the title. Cal outscored Penn State 4-2 in the final points, but a kill by freshman Katie Slay on an overpass sealed the set, 25-20, as Penn State went on to win their fourth straight NCAA title. Penn State seniors Brown, D'Errico, and Arielle Wilson went 24-0 in NCAA play their entire careers, and had a four year overall record of 142-7. Wilson also graduated as the NCAA career hitting percentage leader.

Final Four All-Tournament Team:
  • Deja McClendon - Penn State (Most Outstanding Player)
  • Arielle Wilson - Penn State
  • Blair Brown - Penn State
  • Kristin Carpenter - Penn State
  • Carli Lloyd - California
  • Tarah Murrey - California
  • Juliann Faucette - Texas
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