2003 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament
| 2003 NCAA Women's Division I Volleyball Tournament | |
|---|---|
2003 NCAA Final Four logo
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| Champions | Southern California (3rd NCAA (6th National) title) |
| Runner-up | Florida (1st title match) |
| Semifinalists | |
| Winning coach | Mick Haley (3rd title) |
| Most outstanding player | Keao Burdine (Southern California) |
| Final Four All-Tournament Team |
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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 and sixth national title overall.
It was Southern California's second consecutive NCAA title. The team capped off the 2003 season undefeated at 35-0, becoming the third team in NCAA history to accomplish the feat, the first repeat NCAA national champion to go undefeated, and the first team in the NCAA era 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.
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 Hawaiʻi 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 Hawaiʻi 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. Hawaiʻi 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 Hawaiʻi once again played even in the fourth set, but Hawaiʻi was unable to force a fifth set as Florida won the fourth set, 30-28. Hawaiʻi 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.
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