2006 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament
Encyclopedia
The 2006 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament began on November 30, 2006 with 64 teams and concluded on December 16, 2006, when top ranked Nebraska defeated second ranked Stanford
3 sets to 1 in Omaha, Nebraska
for the program's third NCAA title.
At the time, the 17,209 national championship match attendance was the highest attended volleyball match ever in the United States
. The record would later be broken during the 2008 NCAA Semifinals
, also held at the Qwest Center.
Gainesville
This marked the first time in Nebraska's history that they won a regional final outside of the state of Nebraska. Nebraska advanced in hopes of making up for their 2005 national championship loss to Washington.
Honolulu
Austin
Final Four – Qwest Center, Omaha, Nebraska
The first semifinal began on December 14, 2006. Top seeded Nebraska was playing in front of a NCAA record 17,013 Husker fans in Omaha. Nebraska dropped the first game, 23-30, but rallied to win the next three. AVCA National Player of the Year Sarah Pavan
served 10 straight points in one of the games and had 22 kills in the match. The loss ended UCLA's bid to win their first NCAA title since 1991, but it was still a successful season as AVCA National Coach of the Year Andy Banachowski
guided the 2006 squad to its first 30-win season since 1994.
In the second semifinal, second seeded Stanford completely dominated the match, knocking out defending national champion Washington. As a team, Washington hit .000% compared to the Cardinal's .315. Four of six Washington players hit either negative or .000 %. The Cardinal advanced to their 12th title match in school history, in hopes of winning their 7th NCAA title.
Nebraska and Stanford were the top two overall seeds and it was only the second time the top two seeds met in an NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball Championship title match.
Stanford took game 1, 30-27 thanks to a .304 hitting % compared to the Husker's .196. Nebraska responded in game 2, defeating the Cardinal, 30-26, to send the teams into the locker room with one game won apiece.
Game 3 was close like the first two, until the Huskers saw a 26-22 point deficit. With game 3 looking close to a Cardinal victory, behind good Husker defense, they rallied to tie the game at 28, and eventually won the game on a kill by Pavan, 30-28.
Game 4 was once again close until the end, when the Huskers took a 27-22 lead. However, by good defense and a reversal from game 3, the Cardinal rallied to catch up. Stanford staved off 2 championship points and came within two at 29-27, but a kill after a Husker timeout by sophomore Jordan Larson ricocheted off a Stanford defender and sent the Huskers to victory and their first title since going undefeated in 2000. They also became the first school since 1991 to win the national title as the host institution. Nebraska finished the season with a 33-1 record, with their only loss coming to Big 12 opponent Colorado in a 5 game upset. Nebraska became just the second team in NCAA history to stay at a number 1 ranking for the entire year.
Stanford Cardinal
The Stanford Cardinal is the nickname of the athletic teams at Stanford University.-Nickname and mascot history:Following its win over Cal in the first-ever Big Game in 1892, the color cardinal was picked as the primary color of Stanford's athletic teams...
3 sets to 1 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.
At the time, the 17,209 national championship match attendance was the highest attended volleyball match ever in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The record would later be broken during the 2008 NCAA Semifinals
2008 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament
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, 3 sets to 0, in Omaha, Nebraska for the program's third NCAA title....
, also held at the Qwest Center.
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
Upsets
In the Gainesville region, no seed was a victim of an upset, although some were very close to doing so. In the first round, unseeded American put a scare into top seeded Nebraska by taking game 3 from them, but Nebraska responded by winning the fourth game, 30-16. In the second round, unseeded St. John's took 8th seeded Minnesota to 5 games, losing the 5th, 15-12. As expected, Nebraska and Minnesota reached the regional finals, and Minnesota almost pulled off the biggest upset of the tournament by winning the first two games. Top seeded Nebraska rallied back from the 0-2 deficit and won the fifth game, 15-9. Nebraska sophomore Jordan Larson was named the regional's most outstanding player, as she tallied a career high 21 kills in the dramatic comeback win.This marked the first time in Nebraska's history that they won a regional final outside of the state of Nebraska. Nebraska advanced in hopes of making up for their 2005 national championship loss to Washington.
HonoluluHonolulu, HawaiiHonolulu is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii. Honolulu is the southernmost major U.S. city. Although the name "Honolulu" refers to the urban area on the southeastern shore of the island of Oahu, the city and county government are consolidated as the City and...
Regional
Upsets
Each expected team, Hawai'i, UCLA, Southern California and Oklahoma reached the regional semifinals, and as expected, UCLA defeated Oklahoma. The other semifinal was a different story, as 12th seeded Hawai'i pulled off the biggest upset of the regional by defeating Southern California in 5 games, 28-30, 30-21, 21-30, 30-27, 15-5 in front of a partisan Hawai'i crowd. Hawai'i could not continue the upsets however, against overall number 4 seed UCLA in the regional finals. UCLA advanced to their first final four since 1994.Seattle Regional
Upsets
Much like the previous two regionals, each seeded team reached the Sweet 16 as expected. Penn State swept past Big Ten foe Purdue, while host Washington swept past Ohio State. Perhaps the biggest upset of the tournament occurred in the regional final, when defending champion Washington defeated third seed Penn State on UW's home floor in front of 6,000 fans. The win improved the Huskies to 12-0 at home in postseason play. Washington advanced to their third consecutive final four in hopes of defending their 2005 national title.AustinAustin, TexasAustin 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
Upsets
The Austin regional saw no major upsets. In sub-regional final action, California upset #15 seed Cal Poly to become the only unseeded team to make the Sweet 16 and unseeded Missouri gave #2 seed Stanford a scare by pushing them to five games.Final Four – Qwest Center, Omaha, NebraskaOmaha, NebraskaOmaha 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...
Nebraska vs. UCLA
| Teams | Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 | Game 4 |
| NEB | 23 | 30 | 30 | 30 |
| UCLA | 30 | 28 | 23 | 28 |
The first semifinal began on December 14, 2006. Top seeded Nebraska was playing in front of a NCAA record 17,013 Husker fans in Omaha. Nebraska dropped the first game, 23-30, but rallied to win the next three. AVCA National Player of the Year Sarah Pavan
Sarah Pavan
Sarah Lindsey Pavan is a 6'5" Canadian volleyball player, who was born and raised in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. She attended the University of Nebraska in Lincoln, USA where she graduated in 2008...
served 10 straight points in one of the games and had 22 kills in the match. The loss ended UCLA's bid to win their first NCAA title since 1991, but it was still a successful season as AVCA National Coach of the Year Andy Banachowski
Andy Banachowski
Andy Banachowski is an American volleyball coach. He was the head coach of the women's volleyball team at UCLA . He has more wins than any other Division I coach, and his record since the 1970 season is 1,060-281 . He did not coach from 1968-1969 because of his graduation from UCLA...
guided the 2006 squad to its first 30-win season since 1994.
Stanford vs. Washington
| Teams | Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 |
| STAN | 30 | 30 | 30 |
| WASH | 12 | 25 | 15 |
In the second semifinal, second seeded Stanford completely dominated the match, knocking out defending national champion Washington. As a team, Washington hit .000% compared to the Cardinal's .315. Four of six Washington players hit either negative or .000 %. The Cardinal advanced to their 12th title match in school history, in hopes of winning their 7th NCAA title.
National Championship recap: Nebraska vs. Stanford
| Teams | Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 | Game 4 |
| NEB | 27 | 30 | 30 | 30 |
| STAN | 30 | 26 | 28 | 27 |
Nebraska and Stanford were the top two overall seeds and it was only the second time the top two seeds met in an NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball Championship title match.
Stanford took game 1, 30-27 thanks to a .304 hitting % compared to the Husker's .196. Nebraska responded in game 2, defeating the Cardinal, 30-26, to send the teams into the locker room with one game won apiece.
Game 3 was close like the first two, until the Huskers saw a 26-22 point deficit. With game 3 looking close to a Cardinal victory, behind good Husker defense, they rallied to tie the game at 28, and eventually won the game on a kill by Pavan, 30-28.
Game 4 was once again close until the end, when the Huskers took a 27-22 lead. However, by good defense and a reversal from game 3, the Cardinal rallied to catch up. Stanford staved off 2 championship points and came within two at 29-27, but a kill after a Husker timeout by sophomore Jordan Larson ricocheted off a Stanford defender and sent the Huskers to victory and their first title since going undefeated in 2000. They also became the first school since 1991 to win the national title as the host institution. Nebraska finished the season with a 33-1 record, with their only loss coming to Big 12 opponent Colorado in a 5 game upset. Nebraska became just the second team in NCAA history to stay at a number 1 ranking for the entire year.