The NCAA News - News and Features

January 5, 1998

Cardinal rules volleyball for fourth time in six seasons

Stanford captured a record fourth Division I Women's Volleyball Championship in six years and became only the fourth team to win back-to-back titles with a five-game victory over Penn State December 20.

The Cardinal's 15-10, 15-6, 2-15, 15-17, 15-9 victory in Spokane, Washington, was witnessed by 10,792 fans, the second-highest attendance total for the final in the tournament's 17-year history. The combined attendance for the semifinals and final was 21,086, just 30 shy of the record established at the 1993 championship at Wisconsin.

Stanford (33-2) won the first two games easily against the Nittany Lions (34-2), then nearly let the match get away. Penn State waltzed away with the third game by a 15-2 count, then outlasted the Cardinal in the fourth game, 17-15, after rallying from an 8-4 deficit.

Stanford jumped to a 4-1 lead in the rally-scored fifth game and was able to hold on thanks to five kills from Kristin Folkl, who finished the match with a team-leading 22 kills.

Paula McNamee contributed 20 kills and Sarah Clark added 18 for the Cardinal. Penn State was led by Terri Zemaitis, who planted 25 kills, compiled a .345 hitting percentage, posted a team-high 25 digs and was named the tournament's most outstanding player.

"I really admire the way Terri played," Penn State coach Russ Rose said. "I thought she kept us in the match almost single-handedly. She provided us with the emotion we needed."

"Hey, we could've quit in three," Zemaitis said of the Nittany Lions' comeback. "But we didn't. I'm just really proud of our team."

"We came out flat in game three," said Stanford coach Don Shaw, who also won titles in 1992, 1994 and 1996. "That's the worst position to be in when you have that 10-minute break and you're up and in control. Game four was a great effort, not only by Penn State, but by us as well. It was tough that we didn't pull that game off, but you move on."

Rose said game four may have taken its toll on the Nittany Lions.

"Even when we gained the momentum after winning the third and fourth games," he said, "there were a couple of players who were really gassed and looked like they didn't have the ability to focus on things they needed to focus on."

Penn State advanced to its second title match in five years by dispatching Florida in the semifinals, 15-11, 15-12, 15-13. Despite not statistically dominating the Gators, the Nittany Lions put together two decisive streaks in the third game to seal the victory and keep Florida (34-4) winless in four semifinal appearances.

"We never really got into a good rhythm or tempo," Rose said. "But we still found a way to win in three games in a match we easily could have lost."

Long Beach State (33-2) pushed Stanford to four games in the other semifinal before bowing out, 9-15, 15-10, 15-4, 17-15. The Cardinal let a 12-3 lead slip away in the fourth game, but Folkl blocked a 49er shot for Stanford's 16th point and Kerri Walsh and Jennifer Detmer combined on another block to end the match.

CHAMPIONSHIP

Stanford -- 15 -- 15 -- 2 -- 15 -- 15

Penn St. -- 10 -- 6 -- 15 -- 17 -- 9

Stanford -- K -- E -- TA -- Pct. -- SA -- DG -- BS

Lisa Sharpley -- 2 -- 4 -- 11 -- .000 -- 2 -- 30 -- 1

Paula McNamee -- 20 -- 4 -- 43 -- .372 -- 0 -- 6 -- 2

Barbara Ifejika -- 16 -- 4 -- 28 -- .429 -- 0 -- 14 -- 0

Kerri Walsh -- 14 -- 7 -- 37 -- .189 -- 0 -- 30 -- 2

Sarah Clark -- 18 -- 9 -- 44 -- .205 -- 0 -- 4 -- 0

Debbie Lambert -- 0 -- 1 -- 1 -- .000 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0

Jaimi Gregory -- 0 -- 0 -- 2 -- .000 -- 0 -- 7 -- 0 --

Sarah Neal -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- .000 -- 0 -- 4 -- 0

Kristin Folkl -- 22 -- 5 -- 72 -- .236 -- 1 -- 18 -- 1

Totals -- 92 -- 34 -- 238 -- .244 -- 3 -- 113 -- 6

Penn St. -- K -- E -- TA -- Pct. -- SA -- DG -- BS

Emily Stout -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- .000 -- 0 -- 1 -- 0

Lauren

Cacciamani -- 20 -- 3 -- 49 -- .347 -- 0 -- 4 -- 1

Bonnie Bremner -- 4 -- 2 -- 21 -- .095 -- 0 -- 14 -- 0

Terri Zemaitis -- 25 -- 6 -- 55 -- .345 -- 1 -- 25 -- 0

Carrie Schonveld -- 20 -- 9 -- 52 -- .212 -- 0 -- 22 -- 1

Lindsay Anderson -- 6 -- 7 -- 24 -- .000 -- 0 -- 9 -- 0

Christy Cochran -- 13 -- 8 -- 48 -- .104 -- 0 -- 16 -- 0

Jen Burdis -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- .000 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0

L Schlottfeldt -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- .000 -- 0 -- 1 -- 0

Kalna Miller -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- .000 -- 0 -- 6 -- 0

Totals -- 88 -- 35 -- 249 -- .213 -- 1 -- 98 -- 2