2003 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament
Encyclopedia
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.
It was Southern California's second consecutive NCAA title and they capped off the 2003 season undefeated at 35-0, becoming only the third team in NCAA history to accomplish the feat, and became the first repeat national champion to go undefeated and the first team to be ranked #1 in the coaches poll for the entire season.
Florida made the school's first national championship match in the program's seventh final four appearance. Minnesota also made the program's first NCAA final four appearance.
Lincoln
Long Beach
Gainesville
Final Four – Reunion Arena
Minnesota, making their first NCAA Final Four appearance in program history, played top-seeded USC tough in the first two sets, falling 30-27, 30-28. USC rode the momentum in the third set, winning easily 30-20 to advance to the national championship match for the second consecutive year. USC's balanced attack consisted off three players with double digit kills, including Bibiana Candelas
with 12, Keao Burdine with 13 and April Ross with 11. Minnesota was led by Cassie Busse with 23 kills and Erin Martin with 11.
Florida and Hawaii battled in the second semifinal, with Florida looking to advance to their first final in school history after being 0-for-6 in previous NCAA semifinals, while Hawaii was looking to advance to their first final since 1996.
Both teams played even in the first two games, but it was Florida who won them by the scores of 30-28, 30-28. Hawaii answered back after the break to win 30-23. The 30-23 loss was the first individual game the Gators lost since August 23, breaking their NCAA record of 105 straight game wins. Florida and Hawaii once again played even in the fourth set, but Hawaii was unable to force a fifth set as Florida won the fourth set, 30-28. Hawaii was paced by AVCA National Player of the Year Kim Willoughby
and Lily Kahumoku who both had 21 kills.
Florida started out the match well by winning the first set off of undefeated Southern California. USC answered back by taking the second set 30-27 and used a 6-0 run in the third set to win easily, 30-19. In the fourth set, USC never trailed and led 22-15 before Florida mounted a comeback to cut USC's lead to 25-23. USC did not let up and won the fourth and final set 30-26 to cap off an undefeated season at 35-0. Florida ended their season at 36-2 with their only other loss coming to USC in the season opening AVCA Showcase
tournament.
University of Florida
The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...
3 games to 1 in Dallas, Texas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
for the program's third NCAA title.
It was Southern California's second consecutive NCAA title and they capped off the 2003 season undefeated at 35-0, becoming only the third team in NCAA history to accomplish the feat, and became the first repeat national champion to go undefeated and the first team to be ranked #1 in the coaches poll for the entire season.
Florida made the school's first national championship match in the program's seventh final four appearance. Minnesota also made the program's first NCAA final four appearance.
LincolnLincoln, NebraskaThe City of Lincoln is the capital and the second-most populous city of the US state of Nebraska. Lincoln is also the county seat of Lancaster County and the home of the University of Nebraska. Lincoln's 2010 Census population was 258,379....
Regional
Long BeachLong Beach, CaliforniaLong Beach is a city situated in Los Angeles County in Southern California, on the Pacific coast of the United States. The city is the 36th-largest city in the nation and the seventh-largest in California. As of 2010, its population was 462,257...
Regional
GainesvilleGainesville, FloridaGainesville is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Alachua County, Florida, United States as well as the principal city of the Gainesville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area . The preliminary 2010 Census population count for Gainesville is 124,354. Gainesville is home to the sixth...
Regional
Honolulu Regional
Final Four – Reunion ArenaReunion ArenaReunion Arena was an indoor arena, in the Reunion district of downtown Dallas, Texas . It held 18,293 for basketball and 17,001 for ice hockey.It was demolished in November 2009 and the site was cleared by the end of the year.-History:...
, Dallas, TexasDallas, TexasDallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
Southern California vs. Minnesota
| Teams | Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 |
| USC | 30 | 30 | 30 |
| MIN | 27 | 28 | 20 |
Minnesota, making their first NCAA Final Four appearance in program history, played top-seeded USC tough in the first two sets, falling 30-27, 30-28. USC rode the momentum in the third set, winning easily 30-20 to advance to the national championship match for the second consecutive year. USC's balanced attack consisted off three players with double digit kills, including 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....
with 12, Keao Burdine with 13 and April Ross with 11. Minnesota was led by Cassie Busse with 23 kills and Erin Martin with 11.
Florida vs. Hawaii
| Teams | Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 | Game 4 |
| FLA | 30 | 30 | 23 | 30 |
| HAW | 28 | 28 | 30 | 28 |
Florida and Hawaii battled in the second semifinal, with Florida looking to advance to their first final in school history after being 0-for-6 in previous NCAA semifinals, while Hawaii was looking to advance to their first final since 1996.
Both teams played even in the first two games, but it was Florida who won them by the scores of 30-28, 30-28. Hawaii answered back after the break to win 30-23. The 30-23 loss was the first individual game the Gators lost since August 23, breaking their NCAA record of 105 straight game wins. Florida and Hawaii once again played even in the fourth set, but Hawaii was unable to force a fifth set as Florida won the fourth set, 30-28. Hawaii was paced by AVCA National Player of the Year Kim Willoughby
Kim Willoughby
Kim Marie Willoughby is an American indoor volleyball player. She is 5'10" and is an outside hitter. In 2007, she played professionally for the Italian Serie A League Familia Chieri. In April 2008, she joined the U.S. national team...
and Lily Kahumoku who both had 21 kills.
National Championship: Southern California vs. Florida
| Teams | Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 | Game 4 |
| USC | 25 | 30 | 30 | 30 |
| FLA | 30 | 27 | 19 | 26 |
Florida started out the match well by winning the first set off of undefeated Southern California. USC answered back by taking the second set 30-27 and used a 6-0 run in the third set to win easily, 30-19. In the fourth set, USC never trailed and led 22-15 before Florida mounted a comeback to cut USC's lead to 25-23. USC did not let up and won the fourth and final set 30-26 to cap off an undefeated season at 35-0. Florida ended their season at 36-2 with their only other loss coming to USC in the season opening 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.