Things couldn’t have gone much better for the Nebraska volleyball program and the city of Omaha, which hosted the Division I Women’s Volleyball Championship December 14 and 16 at the Qwest Center.

The host Cornhuskers won their third national championship and showed that a game famous for being played on a beach can thrive in Middle America after an NCAA record crowd of 17,209 witnessed the 3-1 victory over the Stanford Cardinal in the final.

Nebraska’s Sarah Paven, the American Volleyball Coaches Association Player of the Year, led the way with one of the best all-around performances in her three-year career with 22 kills and 13 digs.

Paven and Jordan Larson each registered a .378 hitting percentage for the Huskers, who rallied for a 27-30, 30-26, 30-28, 30-27 victory over the second-seeded Cardinal (30-4).

Nebraska coach John Cook said the 33-1 season record ranks this team as one of the best.

"Of all the teams to win a national championship, this may be one of the best of all time," said Cook, who also guided Nebraska to the 2000 national title. "These players maxed out everything they had. With the pressure they had to deal with all season, and then to be able to play in front of 17,000 each night is just an unbelievable experience."

The top-seeded Huskers were coming off a loss in last year’s final to Washington. With this year’s national semifinals and final being played about an hour from the Nebraska campus and the event sold out in less than 24 hours a year in advance, the pressure was on the Huskers to deliver.

Nebraska, which won its first national title in 1995, had to rally in each of its last three matches in the tournament. The closest scare came in the Gainesville regional final when the Huskers faced an 0-2 deficit against Minnesota before storming back to win the match in five games.

UCLA took the first game against Nebraska in the first national semifinal, but Nebraska kept its poise and rallied to win in four games.

Stanford, which swept past defending champion Washington in the other semifinal, took the first game of championship match. Again, Nebraska remained undaunted.

"I don’t even know what I’m thinking right now," Paven said. "I’ve won championships before, but this doesn’t even compare. These are my best friends, and to share this experience with them and the coaching staff, I am just ecstatic. It is unbelievable to know we are the best team in the country."

The key point in the match came in the third game when Nebraska put together an 8-2 run to overcome a 26-22 deficit and take a 2-1 lead in the match.

Nebraska rode the momentum and controlled the fourth game with Paven leading the way.

"What makes Paven different is the point of contact," said Stanford coach John Dunning, whose program is 6-6 all-time in NCAA finals. "She’s wonderfully skilled and hits the ball from a different point than a lot of people. That makes her hard to dig and block."

Even though the crowd was rooting for the Huskers, the Cardinal players enjoyed the atmosphere. The event drew an NCAA record 34,222 for the two sessions.

"It was great for volleyball to have that kind of support," said Stanford’s Cynthia Barboza. "So, thanks to the state of Nebraska."

Dunning added: "It was an amazing crowd, and an amazing tournament. This was probably the biggest match in women’s volleyball history in terms of scope."

Paven was joined on the all-tournament team by her teammates Larson, Tracy Stalls and freshman setter Rachel Holloway, who recorded a career-high 58 assists.

Stanford’s all-tourney selections were Barboza, Kristin Richards and Foluke Akinradewo.

Semifinals