The 2008 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament began on December 4, 2008 with 64 teams and concluded on December 20, 2008 when Penn State defeated Stanford

Stanford University

The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...

, 3 sets to 0, in Omaha, Nebraska

Omaha, Nebraska

Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River...

 for the program's third NCAA title.

With the win, Penn State repeated as national champions and won their NCAA record 64th consecutive match, becoming only the fourth team in NCAA history to finish the season undefeated, as they went 38-0 and joined Southern California as the only repeat national champions to go undefeated.

The 2008 NCAA Final Four, held at the Qwest Center, had every top overall seeded teams make it, which the first time in the rally-scoring era (since 2001) that all top four seeds reached the final four.

Qualifying teams

Seed	School	Conference	Record	Berth Type
1	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...	32-0	Automatic
2	Stanford Stanford University The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...	Pac-10	26-3	Automatic
3	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 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...	25-3	At-Large Bid
4	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	27-2	Automatic
5	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	24-4	At-Large Bid
6	Minnesota	Big Ten	26-6	At-Large Bid
7	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...	28-3	Automatic
8	California	Pac-10	23-6	At-Large Bid
9	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	24-7	At-Large Bid
10	Purdue Purdue University Purdue University, located in West Lafayette, Indiana, U.S., is the flagship university of the six-campus Purdue University system. Purdue was founded on May 6, 1869, as a land-grant university when the Indiana General Assembly, taking advantage of the Morrill Act, accepted a donation of land and...	Big Ten	24-8	At-Large Bid
11	Oregon University of Oregon -Colleges and schools:The University of Oregon is organized into eight schools and colleges—six professional schools and colleges, an Arts and Sciences College and an Honors College.- School of Architecture and Allied Arts :...	Pac-10	23-8	At-Large Bid
12	Utah University of Utah The University of Utah, also known as the U or the U of U, is a public, coeducational research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. The university was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret by the General Assembly of the provisional State of Deseret, making it Utah's oldest...	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...	24-5	Automatic
13	Saint Louis Saint Louis University Saint Louis University is a private, co-educational Jesuit university located in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1818 by the Most Reverend Louis Guillaume Valentin Dubourg SLU is the oldest university west of the Mississippi River. It is one of 28 member institutions of the...	Atlantic 10	28-4	Automatic
14	UCLA	Pac-10	20-10	At-Large Bid
15	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...	25-3	Automatic
16	Tulane Tulane University Tulane University is a private, nonsectarian research university located in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States...	Conference 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...	27-5	Automatic
	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...	12-14	Automatic
	Albany (N.Y.)	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...	23-8	Automatic
	American 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...	24-8	Automatic
	Belmont Belmont University Belmont University is a private, coeducational, liberal arts university located in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. It is the largest Christian university in Tennessee and the second largest private university in the state, behind nearby Vanderbilt University.-Belmont Mansion:Belmont Mansion...	Atlantic Sun Atlantic Sun The Atlantic Sun is a local newspaper for the West Coast region of Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa. An affiliate of Cape Community Newspapers, the newspaper does not have its own website, but the news is distributed via IOL....	25-7	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...	26-6	At-Large Bid
	Clemson Clemson University Clemson University is an American public, coeducational, land-grant, sea-grant, research university located in Clemson, South Carolina, United States....	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...	23-9	At-Large Bid
	Colorado State	MWC	22-6	At-Large Bid
	Dayton University of Dayton The University of Dayton is a private Roman Catholic university operated by the Society of Mary located in Dayton, Ohio...	Atlantic 10	21-12	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,...	19-15	Automatic
	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	24-8	At-Large Bid
	Florida A&M	MEAC	14-12	Automatic
	Florida International Florida International University Florida International University is an American public research university in metropolitan Miami, Florida, in the United States, with its main campus in University Park...	Sun Belt Sun Belt The Sun Belt or Spanish Belt is a region of the United States generally considered to stretch across the South and Southwest . Another rough boundary of the region is the area south of the 36th parallel, north latitude. It is the largest region which the U.S government does not recognize officially...	28-6	At-Large Bid
	Furman Furman University Furman University is a selective, private, coeducational, liberal arts college in Greenville, South Carolina, United States. Furman is one of the oldest, and more selective private institutions in South Carolina...	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...	21-13	Automatic
	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	19-12	At-Large Bid
	Kansas State Kansas State University Kansas State University, commonly shortened to K-State, is an institution of higher learning located in Manhattan, Kansas, in the United States...	Big 12	24-7	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	26-5	At-Large Bid
	Lamar Lamar University Lamar University, often referred to as Lamar or LU, is a comprehensive coeducational public research university located in Beaumont, Texas, United States. Lamar confers bachelors, masters and doctoral degrees and is classified as a Doctoral Research University by the Carnegie Commission on Higher...	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...	17-11	Automatic
	Liberty Liberty University Liberty University is a private Christian university located in Lynchburg, Virginia. Liberty's annual enrollment is around 72,000 students, 12,000 of whom are residential students and 60,000+ studying through Liberty University Online...	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...	25-8	Automatic
	Long Beach State	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...	25-5	Automatic
	Long Island Long Island University Long Island University is a private, coeducational, nonsectarian institution of higher education in the U.S. state of New York.-History:...	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...	19-11	Automatic
	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	19-10	Automatic
	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	18-9	At-Large Bid
	Miami (Oh.) 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...	Mid-American 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...	21-11	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	24-8	At-Large Bid
	Middle Tennessee	Sun Belt	26-7	At-Large Bid
	Milwaukee	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....	23-8	Automatic
	Missouri State	Missouri Valley Missouri Valley Conference The Missouri Valley Conference is a college athletic conference whose members are located in the midwestern United States...	23-12	Automatic
	New Mexico State	WAC	25-8	At-Large Bid
	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	21-10	Automatic
	North Dakota State	Summit League	24-3	Automatic
	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...	Missouri Valley	25-8	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...	Mid-American	24-7	Automatic
	Pepperdine Pepperdine University Pepperdine University is an independent, private, medium-sized university affiliated with the Churches of Christ. The university's campus overlooking the Pacific Ocean in unincorporated Los Angeles County, California, United States, near Malibu, is the location for Seaver College, the School of...	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....	20-7	At-Large Bid
	Portland State	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,...	20-8	Automatic
	Rice Rice University William Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University or Rice, is a private research university located on a heavily wooded campus in Houston, Texas, United States...	Conference USA	23-7	At-Large Bid
	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	23-4	Automatic
	San Francisco University of San Francisco The University of San Francisco , is a private, Jesuit/Catholic university located in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1855, USF was established as the first university in San Francisco. It is the second oldest institution for higher learning in California and the tenth-oldest university of...	WCC	22-7	At-Large Bid
	Santa Clara Santa Clara University Santa Clara University is a private, not-for-profit, Jesuit-affiliated university located in Santa Clara, California, United States. Chartered by the state of California and accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, it operates in collaboration with the Society of Jesus , whose...	WCC	17-9	At-Large Bid
	Siena Siena College Siena College is an independent Roman Catholic liberal arts college in Loudonville, in the town of Colonie, New York, United States. Siena is a four-year, coeducational, independent college in the Franciscan tradition, founded by the Franciscan Friars in 1937. It has 3,000 full-time students and...	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...	20-12	Automatic
	Southern California	Pac-10	16-11	At-Large Bid
	St. Mary's (Cal.) Saint Mary's College of California Saint Mary's College of California is a private, coeducational college located in Moraga, California, United States, a small suburban community about east of Oakland and 20 miles east of San Francisco. It has a 420-acre campus in the Moraga hills. It is affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church...	WCC	20-7	At-Large Bid
	Tennessee University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee is a public land-grant university headquartered at Knoxville, Tennessee, United States...	SEC	22-9	At-Large Bid
	Tennessee Tech	Ohio Valley 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...	19-12	Automatic
	UAB University of Alabama at Birmingham The University of Alabama at Birmingham is a public university in Birmingham in the U.S. state of Alabama. Developing from an extension center established in 1936, the institution became an autonomous institution in 1969 and is today one of three institutions in the University of Alabama System...	Conference USA	26-7	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	26-9	Automatic
	Western Michigan Western Michigan University Western Michigan University is a public university located in Kalamazoo, Michigan, United States. The university was established in 1903 by Dwight B. Waldo, and as of the Fall 2010 semester, its enrollment is 25,045....	Mid-American	26-6	At-Large Bid
	Wichita State	Missouri Valley	29-1	At-Large Bid
	Yale Yale University Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...	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...	20-5	Automatic

University Park Regional

Regional recap

Just as they had done all season, Penn State swept past Western Michigan, who was making their first Sweet 16 appearance in 21 years. When Penn State won the third set, they broke the NCAA record for consecutive sets won at 106 (The previous record of 105 was held by Florida from 2003.)

In the other Sweet 16 match, California swept Illinois, setting up a rematch of the 2007 NCAA National Semifinals with Penn State.

Despite getting a test from California in the first set, Penn State swept the Bears again to head to their second straight Final Four, bringing the program's total to seven Final Four appearances. California ended their season at 26-7, which was the most wins in the program's history in a single season.

University Park Regional All-Tournament Team:

• Megan Hodge
  Megan Hodge
  Megan Hodge is an American indoor collegiate volleyball player who played for Pennsylvania State University's volleyball team.-Early life and high school:...
  
   (MVP) - Penn State
• Christa Harmotto
  Christa Harmotto
  Christa Deanne Harmotto is an American indoor volleyball player who plays the middle blocker position. She played college volleyball at Pennsylvania State University team from 2005–2008. In 2009, she joined the U.S. National Team....
  
   - Penn State
• Nicole Fawcett
  Nicole Fawcett
  Nicole Marie Fawcett is an American indoor volleyball player who played for Penn State University's volleyball team from 2005–2008, winning two NCAA National Championships in 2007 and 2008....
  
   - Penn State
• Alisha Glass - Penn State
• Blair Brown - Penn State
• Am'ra Soloman - California
• Laura DeBruler - Illinois

Seattle Regional

Regional recap

Washington and Nebraska both swept past their Sweet 16 opponents with ease, to set up a rematch of the 2005 NCAA National Championship

2005 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament

The 2005 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament began on December 1, 2005 with 64 teams and concluded on December 17, 2005, when Washington defeated Nebraska 3 games to 0 in San Antonio, Texas for the program's first NCAA title....

.

Washington, who had never lost an NCAA regional that they hosted, seemed to be heading to the Final Four after going up 2-0 on Nebraska. Out of the break, however, Nebraska regained focus and easily beat Washington in set 3, before winning a close set 4. In the decisive fifth set, Washington looked to be on the brink of victory after building a seemingly insurmountable 9-3 lead. Nebraska mounted a stunning comeback, though, and took 9 straight points. The Huskies tied it up at 13, before a Husky hitting error gave the Huskers match point. Nebraska senior Jordan Larson served out an ace to close out the stunning comeback. Nebraska advanced to their third Final Four in four years, and eleventh overall. Washington finished their season 27-5 and was the Pac-10 runners-up.

Seattle Regional All-Tournament Team:

• Tara Mueller (MVP) - Nebraska
• Jordan Larson - Nebraska
• Sydney Anderson - Nebraska
• Lindsey Licht - Nebraska
• Becky Perry - Washington
• Tamari Miyashiro - Washington
• Jenna Hagglund - Washington

Austin

Austin, Texas

Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...

 Regional

Regional recap

Texas defeated UCLA in four sets to advance to their third straight NCAA Regional Final. Iowa State continued their dream run, upsetting 11th-seeded Oregon in five sets, just after upsetting sixth-seeded Minnesota in four sets in Minneapolis in the second round.

After Texas took the 2-0 lead, Iowa State bounced back to take the third set and extend the match. However, Texas responded in the fourth set, defeating the Cyclones easily to advance to the program's first final four since 1995. Iowa State ended their season at 22-13 and made their first Elite Eight appearance in school history.

Austin Regional All-Tournament Team

• Lauren Paolini (MVP) - Texas
• Destinee Hooker - Texas
• Michelle Kocher - Texas
• Victoria Henson - Iowa State
• Kaylee Manns - Iowa State
• Ali Daley - UCLA
• Heather Myers - Oregon

Fort Collins Regional

Regional recap

Second seeded Stanford had no troubles with 15th-seeded Florida, sweeping them to earn their spot in the Elite Eight. Hawaii defeated Purdue in four close sets to advance.

Stanford dominated Hawaii in the regional final, which included winning the second set 25-9. Hawaii recorded 29 hitting errors in the match, while Stanford had just 7. Hawaii ended their season at 31-4 as the 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...

 co-Champions. Stanford advanced to their third Final Four in a row, bringing the school total to an NCAA record 18 appearances.

Fort Collins Regional All-Tournament Team

• Foluke Akinradewo
  Foluke Akinradewo
  Foluke Atinuke Akinradewo is a member of the U.S. national volleyball team. She played college women'svolleyball at Stanford University. She was named Pac-10 Player of the Year in 2007 and 2008. From February to July 2008, she trained with the U.S...
  
   (MVP) - Stanford
• Cassidy Lichtman - Stanford
• Alix Klineman - Stanford
• Kanani Danielson - Hawaii
• Jamie Houston - Hawaii
• Kristin Arthurs - Purdue
• Stephanie Lynch - Purdue

Final Four – Qwest Center, Omaha, Nebraska

Omaha, Nebraska

Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River...

Stanford vs. Texas

Teams	Set 1	Set 2	Set 3	Set 4	Set 5
STAN	20	18	25	25	15
TEX	25	25	15	22	13

In a rematch of the 2008 AVCA Showcase

AVCA Showcase

The AVCA Showcase, established by the American Volleyball Coaches Association, is an annual NCAA volleyball tournament that is held at the start of each fall season. In the old format, four teams, usually ranked in the top 15, compete for the showcase title...

, Stanford once again beat Texas in five sets to advance to their 14th NCAA title match in school history.

After Texas went up two sets to none, Stanford came back to win in five sets behind play from seniors Foluke Akinradewo

Foluke Akinradewo

Foluke Atinuke Akinradewo is a member of the U.S. national volleyball team. She played college women'svolleyball at Stanford University. She was named Pac-10 Player of the Year in 2007 and 2008. From February to July 2008, she trained with the U.S...

 and Cynthia Barboza

Cynthia Barboza

Cynthia Jane Barboza is an American volleyball player. She is an outside hitter who played at Stanford University for four years.-High school:...

. It was the first time in the history of the NCAA tournament that a team came back to win after being down two sets to none in the National Semifinals. Stanford advanced to their third straight title match, while Texas, who had advanced to their first Final Four since 1995, finished their season at 29-4.

Penn State vs. Nebraska

Teams	Set 1	Set 2	Set 3	Set 4	Set 5
PSU	25	25	15	22	15
NEB	17	18	25	25	11

Penn State, unbeaten in both matches and individual sets, seemed to be easily heading to their second straight final after going up 2 sets to 0 on Nebraska in front of an NCAA record crowd of 17,430, mostly Husker fans. The Nittany Lions NCAA record of consecutive sets won stood at 111 before it being snapped by Nebraska.

Coming out of the break, Nebraska mounted a big comeback - much like the first semifinal. Behind nearly flawless play, the Huskers forced a game five off of Penn State, and attempted to pull of one of the greatest upsets in NCAA history. The Huskers, unbeaten at the Qwest Center with a 14-0 record and never having lost a match in the state of Nebraska in 96 matches, went up 10-8 in the decisive fifth set. However, AVCA National Player of the Year Nicole Fawcett

Nicole Fawcett

Nicole Marie Fawcett is an American indoor volleyball player who played for Penn State University's volleyball team from 2005–2008, winning two NCAA National Championships in 2007 and 2008....

 served six straight points, which included a service ace, to swing the momentum to the Nittany Lions at 14-10. Nebraska fought off one match point before Megan Hodge

Megan Hodge

Megan Hodge is an American indoor collegiate volleyball player who played for Pennsylvania State University's volleyball team.-Early life and high school:...

 crushed her 23rd kill of the night to finish the match and set up a rematch of the 2007 NCAA championship.

National Championship recap: Penn State vs. Stanford

Teams	Set 1	Set 2	Set 3
PSU	25	26	25
STAN	20	24	23

For the first time in NCAA tournament history, the same two teams met for the national title in consecutive years. Stanford's senior class, appearing in their third straight title match, was attempting to win their first national title. A Stanford class had not gone through without winning at least one NCAA championship since the program won their first national championship in 1992. Penn State and Stanford met for the fourth time in the NCAA championship - all of which have occurred since 1997 - which is the most meetings between any two schools. Penn State and Stanford are the only two programs to appear in every NCAA tournament since the NCAA started to sponsor women's volleyball in 1981.

Stanford started the match on fire, going up 10-5, then 15-10 at the media timeout. However, Penn State went on a 15-5 run to close out the first set, 25-20. Both teams remained even in set 2, with a Hodge kill giving Penn State the narrow 15-14 lead heading into the media timeout.

The national championship was halted in set 2 for at least 10 minutes, though, after a scoring discrepancy. Penn State seemingly earned the point to go up 21-19 after a Nicole Fawcett kill, but the scoring table had a miscommunication, thinking Stanford had gotten the point and that it was 20-20. Despite both Penn State head coach Russ Rose

Russ Rose

Russell "Russ" David Rose is an American author, professor and volleyball coach at Penn State University . His coaching record is 1,033-164, an .863 winning percentage which ranks first in NCAA history...

 and Stanford head coach John Dunning agreeing the score was, in fact, 21-19 in favor of Penn State, the scoring table did not adjust the score and replayed the point. Another scoring miscommunication took place once again later in set 2, but Penn State eventually prevailed, 26-24, to take the 2-0 lead to the match. The incident led the NCAA Volleyball panel to recommend a protocol for score discrepancies.

In what was the final set, Penn State eased up to the 21-17 lead. Two consecutive kills from Megan Hodge put Penn State just two points away from their second straight national title at 23-18. Stanford, however, managed to pull within one at 23-22 after four consecutive kills from Alix Klineman. Another Hodge kill halted the run to give Penn State two championship points at 24-22. After Stanford scored another kill to stave off one championship point, Penn State senior Nicole Fawcett sealed the set with a tip off of the Stanford block to take the national championship and the match. Penn State extended their NCAA record of consecutive matches won to 64 while Stanford's 16 match winning streak was snapped.

Stanford became the first team to ever lose in three consecutive title matches. Penn State joined USC from 2003 to become the only repeat champions to go undefeated, while also joining Long Beach State's 1998 team and Nebraska's 2000 team to be the only undefeated teams in NCAA history. The Nittany Lions joined USC's 2003 team and Nebraska's 2006 team as the only schools to be ranked #1 in the coaches poll for the entire season.

With the dominance Penn State showed throughout the 2008 season - going 114-2 in individual sets, 38-0 in matches, breaking the NCAA record for consecutive matches and sets won, being the first team in NCAA history to go through the regular season without losing a single set, leading the NCAA in blocks per set, and breaking the NCAA rally-scoring era record for team hitting percentage in a season (.390), some think Penn State could perhaps be the best team to ever play women's college volleyball.

Two of the best middle blockers in NCAA history ended their careers as well. Stanford senior Foluke Akinradewo

Foluke Akinradewo

Foluke Atinuke Akinradewo is a member of the U.S. national volleyball team. She played college women'svolleyball at Stanford University. She was named Pac-10 Player of the Year in 2007 and 2008. From February to July 2008, she trained with the U.S...

 broke the NCAA Division I all time career hitting percentage, ending her career with a .443 overall percentage. Penn State senior Christa Harmotto

Christa Harmotto

Christa Deanne Harmotto is an American indoor volleyball player who plays the middle blocker position. She played college volleyball at Pennsylvania State University team from 2005–2008. In 2009, she joined the U.S. National Team....

finished her career second all time in NCAA history, hitting .433 for her career.