2003 NCAA Division I women's volleyball tournament explained

Year:2003
Titlecount:3rd NCAA (6th national)
Runnerup:Florida
Gamecount:1st
Semifinal1:Hawaiʻi
Finalfourcount:8th
Semifinal2:Minnesota
Finalfourcount2:1st
Coach:Mick Haley
Coachcount:3rd
Mop:Keao Burdine (2nd)
Mopteam:(Southern California)

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,[1] 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.

Records

Three teams in the 2003 NCAA Volleyball Tournament qualified with either 0 or 1 losses: USC (29-0), Hawaii (32-1), and Florida (31-1). It is the most recent tournament to feature at least three such teams.

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Lincoln Regional
SeedSchoolConference Berth TypeRecord
ArizonaPac-10At-large17-14
Cal State NorthridgeBig WestAt-large16-12
DaytonAtlantic 10Automatic25-9
Loyola MarymountWest CoastAt-large25-6
Michigan StateBig TenAt-large19-11
MissouriBig 12At-large18-10
9NebraskaBig 12At-large26-4
New HampshireAmerica EastAutomatic23-11
Nicholls StateSouthlandAutomatic18-14
San DiegoWest CoastAt-large17-12
16Texas A&MBig 12At-large21-9
UC IrvineBig WestAt-large23-9
8UCLAPac-10At-large21-8
1USCPac-10Automatic29-0
ValparaisoMid-ContinentAutomatic27-7
WisconsinBig TenAt-large21-10
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Long Beach Regional
SeedSchoolConference Berth TypeRecord
Green BayHorizonAutomatic23-10
KansasBig 12At-large21-10
Long Beach StateBig WestAt-large19-10
ManhattanMAACAutomatic21-13
13MinnesotaBig TenAt-large22-10
Northern IowaMissouri ValleyAutomatic27-5
NorthwesternBig TenAt-large18-14
PacificBig WestAt-large17-13
4PepperdineWest CoastAutomatic25-2
Sacramento StateBig SkyAutomatic23-11
San FranciscoWest CoastAt-large23-7
Santa ClaraWest CoastAt-large20-10
5StanfordPac-10At-large23-6
UC Santa BarbaraBig WestAutomatic19-8
UtahMountain WestAt-large20-8
12WashingtonPac-10At-large19-8
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Gainesville Regional
SeedSchoolConference Berth TypeRecord
AmericanPatriotAutomatic22-9
ArkansasSECAt-large26-6
CincinnatiConference USAAt-large27-5
14Colorado StateMountain WestAutomatic28-4
3FloridaSECAutomatic31-1
George MasonCAAAutomatic16-14
Georgia SouthernSouthernAutomatic27-9
6Kansas StateBig 12Automatic28-4
MarylandACCAutomatic26-7
OhioMACAutomatic28-4
PennIvy LeagueAutomatic20-6
11Penn StateBig TenAutomatic28-4
PittsburghBig EastAutomatic25-5
Robert MorrisNortheastAutomatic23-11
Southwest Missouri StateMissouri ValleyAt-large27-5
UCFAtlantic SunAutomatic22-6
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Honolulu Regional
SeedSchoolConference Berth TypeRecord
Alabama A&MSWACAutomatic23-5
BYUMountain WestAt-large22-8
10CaliforniaPac-10At-large23-6
ColoradoBig 12At-large21-9
Florida A&MMEACAutomatic26-3
7Georgia TechACCAt-large31-3
2HawaiiWACAutomatic32-1
IdahoBig WestAt-large19-10
15IllinoisBig TenAt-large24-6
LouisvilleConference USAAutomatic24-5
MichiganBig TenAt-large20-11
Murray StateOhio ValleyAutomatic24-5
New Mexico StateSun BeltAutomatic30-4
Notre DameBig EastAt-large23-6
Saint Mary'sWest CoastAt-large20-12
WinthropBig SouthAutomatic24-12

National Semifinals

Southern California vs. Minnesota

TeamsGame 1Game 2Game 3
USCalign=center 30align=center 30align=center 30
MINalign=center 27align=center 28align=center 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 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.[2]

Florida vs. Hawaiʻi

TeamsGame 1Game 2Game 3Game 4
FLAalign=center 30align=center 30align=center 23align=center 30
HAWalign=center 28align=center 28align=center 30align=center 28

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.[3] Hawaiʻi was paced by AVCA National Player of the Year Kim Willoughby and Lily Kahumoku who both had 21 kills.[4]

National Championship: Southern California vs. Florida

TeamsGame 1Game 2Game 3Game 4
USCalign=center 25align=center 30align=center 30align=center 30
FLAalign=center 30align=center 27align=center 19align=center 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 tournament.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Perfect ending to a perfect season! . 2008-10-18 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090105224614/http://usctrojans.cstv.com/sports/w-volley/recaps/122003aab.html . 2009-01-05 . dead .
  2. Web site: Minnesota vs. USC boxscore . 2008-10-18 . 2011-07-08 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110708214405/http://www.cvu.com/boxscore.aspx?season=women&box=2003-12-18-umn-usc . dead .
  3. Web site: Florida VB advances to National Championship match . 2019-08-27 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150906161149/http://www.gatorzone.com/story.php?sport=vollb&id=6362&html=volleyball%2Fnews%2F20031219024200.html . 2015-09-06 . dead .
  4. Web site: Florida vs. Hawaii boxscore . 2008-10-18 . 2011-07-08 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110708214417/http://www.cvu.com/boxscore.aspx?season=women&box=2003-12-18-ufl-hawa . dead .

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