USC Volleyball
Encyclopedia
Mick Haley
Mick Haley is an American volleyball coach. Currently, he is the head coach of the University of Southern California women's volleyball team. He has also coached the U.S. Women's National Team at the Olympics.-Early life:...
, who began in 2001. Under Haley, USC became the first repeat NCAA Volleyball National Champion
NCAA Women's Volleyball Championship
The NCAA has contested team championships in women's volleyball since 1981. The following is a list of the champions of each division with their record for the year in which they won the championship, and the runner up, city, site and other final four participants for division I...
in 2002-03 since Stanford in 1996-97. They became the first repeat champion to go undefeated, as they finished off 2003 with a record of 35-0 whilst becoming the first school in NCAA history to stay at number one in the coaches poll every week. The former coach, Chuck Erbe, led the team to four national championships, 1 NCAA (1981) and three AIAW
AIAW Champions
The Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women was founded in 1971 to govern collegiate women’s athletics and to administer national championships...
(1976–77, 1980)
Women's volleyball also has 9 final four appearances (1981, 1982, 1985, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2011), finishing as the National runner-up in 1982.
More recently, USC sent three female volleyball athletes to the 2008 Olympics - 2004 graduate Nicole Davis
Nicole Davis
Nicole Marie Davis is an American indoor volleyball player. She is 5'6" and plays at the libero position. She played for Fenerbahçe Women's Volleyball Team for the 2007 season and wore the number 1 jersey. She was the first foreign-born libero to play in the Turkish league and led her team to a...
represented the indoor United States team
United States women's national volleyball team
The United States women's national volleyball team represents the United States of America in international volleyball competitions and friendly games, and is governed by USA Volleyball.-Current Squad:...
, earning a silver medal. 2008 graduate Asia Kaczor represented her native Poland
Poland women's national volleyball team
The Poland women's national volleyball team is the national volleyball team from Poland, controlled by the Polski Związek Piłki Siatkowej , and represents the country in international competitions and friendly matches....
for indoor play, while 2006 alum Bibiana Candelas
Bibiana Candelas
Bibiana Candelas Ramírez is a 6'5" beach volleyball and indoor volleyball player who represented her native country, Mexico, at the 2008 Olympics with her beach partner, Mayra Garcia....
teamed up with Mayra Garcia
Mayra García
Mayra Aide García Lopez is a female beach volleyball player from Mexico, who won the silver medal in the women's beach team competition at the 2003 Pan American Games in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, partnering Hilda Gaxiola...
in beach volleyball, representing her native country, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
.
1981
1981 was the first year the NCAA started sponsoring women's volleyball. USC, with a 26-10 record, defeated favored UCLA at Pauley PavilionPauley Pavilion
Edwin W. Pauley Pavilion, commonly known as Pauley Pavilion, is an indoor arena located in the Westwood Village district of Los Angeles, California, on the campus of UCLA. It is home to the UCLA Bruins men's and women's basketball teams...
to win the first NCAA volleyball championship in NCAA history.
2002-04
USC won the program's second NCAA championship by defeating No. 2 and defending national champion Stanford 3-1. Keao Burdine was named the Most Outstanding Player.In 2003, USC repeated as national champions. With a 35-0 record, the Women of Troy became the first team to repeat since Stanford in 1996-97 and were the first repeat champion to go undefeated. USC defeated Florida 3-1 in the final
2003 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament
The 2003 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament began on December 4, 2003 with 64 teams and ended December 18 when Southern California defeated Florida 3 games to 1 in Dallas, Texas for the program's third NCAA title....
.
In 2004, USC made its third consecutive final four, by upsetting No. 1 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...
in the regional final. In the national semifinals, the Women of Troy lost to No. 4 seeded Minnesota
Minnesota Golden Gophers
The Minnesota Golden Gophers are the college sports team for the University of Minnesota. The university fields both men's and women's teams in basketball, cross country, gymnastics, golf, ice hockey, swimming, tennis, and track and field. Men's-specific sports include baseball, football, and...
, the eventual national runners-up.
USC is the only school in the history of the 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...
tournament to win back-to-back AVCA Showcase titles, as the Women of Troy won in 2003 by defeating Hawaii and 2004 by defeating Minnesota.
2007
USC made its first final four since 2004, upsetting fourth-seeded TexasTexas 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....
in the regional final. In the national semifinal, the Women of Troy nearly defeated top-seeded and eventual national runner-up Stanford, even having match point, but ended up losing the fifth set in extra points, 16-14. During the regular season, USC had beaten the Cardinal once.
2011
Starting the season ranked 10th nationally, the Women of Troy compiled a 25-4 regular-season record, the 8th 25-win season in coach Haley's 10-year tenure. Notably, in the regular season USC recorded a sweep of crosstown rival UCLA in conference play, including a 3-2 margin in the last match before postseason play, avenging losses in both 2009 matches.The Women of Troy dropped just one set through the first three rounds of the NCAA tournament before facing Stanford in the quarterfinal. Though the Cardinal had defeated USC in both regular-season matches, the Women of Troy edged Stanford in a five-setter, lead by Falyn Fonoimoana's season-high 25 kills. It was USC's first win against Stanford in seven tries dating to 2007.
Despite having won both regular season matches against Cal, the Women of Troy hit a season low .107 as a team--including a negative hitting percentage in the first set--and were swept, 3-0, in the semifinal. USC finished 29-5 on the season.
Notable players
- Paula WeishoffPaula WeishoffPaula Jo Weishoff is a retired female volleyball player from the United States, who won two medals with the USA National Women's Team at the Summer Olympics: 1984 and 1992 ....
– 19841984 Summer OlympicsThe 1984 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held in Los Angeles, California, United States in 1984...
, 19921992 Summer OlympicsThe 1992 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event celebrated in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, in 1992. The International Olympic Committee voted in 1986 to separate the Summer and Winter Games, which had been held in the same...
, and 1996 indoor volleyball Olympian - Susan WoodstraSusan WoodstraSusan Jean Woodstra is a retired female volleyball player from the United States, who won the silver medal with the USA National Women's Team at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California....
– 19841984 Summer OlympicsThe 1984 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held in Los Angeles, California, United States in 1984...
indoor volleyball Olympian, assistant coach for the 2008 Olympics. - Debbie Green, – 19841984 Summer OlympicsThe 1984 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held in Los Angeles, California, United States in 1984...
indoor volleyball Olympian, highly regarded as the greatest women's volleyball setter in USA volleyball history. - Nicole Davis – 2008 indoor volleyball Olympian
- Bibiana CandelasBibiana CandelasBibiana Candelas Ramírez is a 6'5" beach volleyball and indoor volleyball player who represented her native country, Mexico, at the 2008 Olympics with her beach partner, Mayra Garcia....
– 2008 beach volleyball Olympian - Joanna KaczorJoanna KaczorJoanna "Asia" Kaczor is a Polish volleyball player. Kaczor made her Olympic debut at the 2008 Beijing Olympics with the Poland indoor national team.-Early life:...
– 2008 indoor volleyball Olympian