2005 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament
| 2005 NCAA Women's Division I Volleyball Tournament | |
|---|---|
2005 NCAA Final Four logo
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| Champions | Washington (1st title) |
| Runner-up | Nebraska (5th title match) |
| Semifinalists |
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| Winning coach | Jim McLaughlin (1st title) |
| Most outstanding player | Christal Morrison (Washington) |
| Final Four All-Tournament Team |
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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.
The 2005 NCAA Final Four, held at the Alamodome, had two participants who were making the school's first ever Final Four appearance. 15th seeded Tennessee and unseeded Santa Clara upset their way into the semifinals. In the rally scoring era (since 2001), no unseeded team had ever reached the national semifinals, while Tennessee was the lowest overall seed to reach the Final Four.
The 2005 NCAA Tournament was the 25th Anniversary of the NCAA Women's Volleyball Championship.
As expected, Nebraska, UCLA, Louisville, and Florida got to the Sweet 16 round. Florida swept past Louisville and top seeded Nebraska swept past UCLA to advance to the regional finals. Nebraska defeated Florida, 30-26, 30-24, 30-16 to advance to the final four.
Many upsets were seen in this regional. In the second round, defending national champion and fifth seeded Stanford was stunned by unseeded Santa Clara on their home floor. Then, unseeded Pepperdine defeated twelfth seeded Southern California on Southern California's home court. The upsets continued in the second round, as unseeded Ohio defeated thirteenth seeded Ohio St. on the Buckeye's home floor. The only upset not seen was 4th seeded Arizona defeating Utah, and advanced to the Sweet 16 as the only remaining seeded participant.
Santa Clara defeated Pepperdine, 3-0, to advance to the regional finals. Arizona was nearly the victim of yet another upset, outlasting a 5-game match to Ohio. However, in the next round, Arizona was the victim of an upset, as Santa Clara defeated them, 3-2, to advance to their first final four in school history. Santa Clara won the fifth and deciding game, 17-15.
No upsets were seen up until the regional semifinals, when Wisconsin defeated 6th seeded Notre Dame in a 5-game match.
The University Park regional ended up much like the Stanford regional in terms of upsets. In the first regional semifinal, Missouri surprised Hawai'i by defeating them, 3-1. Then, Tennessee stunned second seeded Penn State on Penn State's home floor, 3-1. Missouri and Tennessee battled in University Park, with Tennessee outlasting Missouri in four games, and much like Santa Clara in the Stanford regional who upset high seeds, advanced to their first final four in school history.
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