2000 NCAA Division I women's volleyball tournament

The 2000 NCAA Division I women's volleyball tournament began on November 30, 2000 with 64 teams and ended December 16 when Nebraska defeated Wisconsin 3 games to 2 in Richmond, Virginia for the program's second NCAA title.[1]

2000 NCAA women's Division I volleyball tournament
2000 NCAA Final Four logo
ChampionsNebraska (2nd title)
Runner-upWisconsin (1st title match)
Semifinalists
Winning coachJohn Cook (1st title)
Most outstanding playerGreichaly Cepero (Nebraska)
Final Four All-Tournament Team
  • Amber Holmquist (Nebraska)
  • Laura Pilakowski (Nebraska)
  • Lizzy Fitzgerald (Wisconsin)
  • Sherisa Livingston (Wisconsin)
  • Lily Kahumoku (Hawaiʻi)
«1999 2001»

Nebraska became the second team in NCAA history to finish the season undefeated, as they joined Long Beach State from 1998 to pull off the feat. The win gave John Cook his first national title in just his first year as Nebraska's head coach. Wisconsin, for whom Cook was the previous head coach, made the program's first Final Four appearance.

This was the last season that the NCAA used side out scoring, switching to rally scoring in 2001.

Records

For the third straight year, the tournament field remained fixed at 64 teams. The Big Ten, Big 12, and Pac-10 tied for the most bids in the 2000 NCAA Tournament with six bids each. The top six seeds each came from different conferences, the only such instance of this in the 64-team era. Nebraska went undefeated en route to a national championship, joining 1998 Long Beach State and later teams 2003 USC and 2008-09 Penn State as undefeated national champions.

Central Regional
SeedSchoolConferenceBerth TypeRecord
Alabama A&MSWACAutomatic31-2
8ArizonaPac-10Auto (shared)25-4
Ball StateMACAt-large25-6
9BYUMountain WestAutomatic24-6
CincinnatiConference USAAt-large24-9
George WashingtonAtlantic 10Automatic25-5
HofstraAmerica EastAutomatic23-10
LouisvilleConference USAAutomatic26-7
MichiganBig TenAt-large18-13
MissouriBig 12At-large24-6
1NebraskaBig 12Automatic28-0
Notre DameBig EastAutomatic25-6
16Ohio StateBig TenAt-large21-9
PrincetonIvy LeagueAutomatic20-8
South CarolinaSECAt-large21-6
Utah StateBig WestAt-large21-9
West Regional
SeedSchoolConferenceBerth TypeRecord
Arizona StatePac-10At-large17-11
Cal State SacramentoBig SkyAutomatic21-11
DavidsonSouthernAutomatic24-11
DukeACCAt-large21-12
5HawaiiWACAutomatic27-1
Long Beach StateBig WestAt-large22-7
Loyola MarymountWest CoastAt-large20-8
4MinnesotaBig TenAt-large28-3
Robert MorrisNortheastAutomatic21-15
San Jose StateWACAt-large22-9
12Santa ClaraWest CoastAutomatic26-4
StanfordPac-10At-large18-11
Texas TechBig 12At-large24-8
13UC Santa BarbaraBig WestAt-large23-7
UtahMountain WestAt-large22-7
UTSASouthlandAutomatic24-8
Pacific Regional
SeedSchoolConferenceBerth TypeRecord
Ark.-Little RockSun BeltAutomatic23-6
Cal PolyBig WestAt-large16-11
ColoradoBig 12At-large16-11
6Colorado StateMountain WestAt-large30-4
14FloridaSECAutomatic27-4
Georgia StateTrans AmericaAutomatic28-9
Georgia TechACCAt-large25-7
James MadisonCAAAutomatic21-9
North CarolinaACCAutomatic26-7
11Penn StateBig TenAt-large27-5
RadfordBig SouthAutomatic28-6
South FloridaConference USAAt-large28-5
Southeast Missouri StateOhio ValleyAutomatic22-8
TennesseeSECAt-large23-9
3USCPac-10Auto (shared)25-2
Washington StatePac-10At-large18-9
Mideast Regional
SeedSchoolConferenceBerth TypeRecord
BucknellPatriotAutomatic17-14
FairfieldMAACAutomatic26-6
HoustonConference USAAt-large21-10
Kansas StateBig 12At-large20-8
Loyola (IL)Midwestern CollegiateAutomatic22-8
Michigan StateBig TenAt-large17-12
MilwaukeeMidwestern CollegiateAt-large23-4
Morgan StateMEACAutomatic25-15
Northern IowaMissouri ValleyAutomatic28-4
Oral RobertsMid-ContinentAutomatic21-11
2PacificBig WestAutomatic26-3
10PepperdineWest CoastAt-large23-6
Texas A&MBig 12At-large19-8
15UCLAPac-10At-large22-7
Western MichiganMACAutomatic25-5
7WisconsinBig TenAutomatic28-3

Central Regional (Lincoln)

First round
November 30-December 1
Second round
December 2–3
Regional semifinals
December 7–8
Regional finals
December 9–10
            
1Nebraska3
Princeton0
1Nebraska3
Lincoln, NE
South Carolina2
South Carolina3
George Washington0
1Nebraska3
16Ohio State0
Notre Dame3
Cincinnati0
Notre Dame2
Columbus, OH
16Ohio State3
Ball State1
16Ohio State3
1Nebraska3
8Arizona0
9BYU3
Hofstra0
9BYU3
Orem, UT
Utah State2
Utah State3
Missouri2
9Brigham Young0
8Arizona3
Michigan3
Louisville1
Michigan0
Tucson, AZ
8Arizona3
Alabama A&M0
8Arizona3

West Regional (Honolulu)

First round
November 30-December 1
Second round
December 2–3
Regional semifinals
December 7–8
Regional finals
December 9–10
            
5Hawaiʻi3
Davidson0
5Hawaiʻi3
Honolulu, HI
Utah0
Texas Tech2
Utah3
5Hawaiʻi3
Long Beach State2
Long Beach State3
San Jose State1
Long Beach State3
Santa Clara, CA
12Santa Clara2
Cal St. Sacramento0
12Santa Clara3
5Hawaiʻi3
13UCSB1
13UCSB3
Texas San Antonio0
13UCSB3
Santa Barbara, CA
Stanford2
Loyola Marymount0
Stanford3
13UCSB3
4Minnesota1
Arizona State3
Duke1
Arizona State0
Minneapolis, MN
4Minnesota3
Robert Morris0
4Minnesota3

Pacific Regional (Los Angeles)

First round
November 30-December 1
Second round
December 2–3
Regional semifinals
December 7–8
Regional finals
December 9–10
            
3Southern California3
Georgia State University0
3Southern California3
Los Angeles, CA
Cal Poly0
Cal Poly3
South Florida1
3Southern California3
14Florida0
North Carolina2
SE Missouri State3
SE Missouri State0
Gainesville, FL
14Florida3
Arkansas-Little Rock0
14Florida3
3Southern California3
11Penn State0
11Penn State3
James Madison0
11Penn State3
University Park, PA
Washington State1
Tennessee0
Washington State3
11Penn State3
6Colorado State1
Georgia Tech1
Colorado3
Colorado2
Fort Collins, CO
6Colorado State3
Radford0
6Colorado State3

Mideast Regional (Madison)

First round
November 30-December 1
Second round
December 2–3
Regional semifinals
December 7–8
Regional finals
December 9–10
            
7Wisconsin3
Bucknell0
7Wisconsin3
Madison, WI
Northern Iowa1
Western Michigan1
Northern Iowa3
7Wisconsin3
Kansas State1
Kansas State3
Loyola (Ill.)1
Kansas State3
Malibu, CA
10Pepperdine1
Fairfield1
10Pepperdine3
7Wisconsin3
15UCLA2
15UCLA3
Morgan State0
15UCLA3
Los Angeles, CA
Michigan State2
UW–Milwaukee1
Michigan State3
15UCLA3
2Pacific1
Texas A&M3
Houston0
Texas A&M0
Stockton, CA
2Pacific3
Oral Roberts0
2Pacific3
National Semifinals
December 14
National Championship
December 16
      
1Nebraska3
5Hawaiʻi1
1Nebraska3
7Wisconsin2
3Southern California0
7Wisconsin3

National Semifinals

TeamsGame 1Game 2Game 3Game 4
NEB1515915
HAW3121510

Nebraska vs. Hawaiʻi

Aided by 23 team blocks, top seeded Nebraska cruised past Hawaiʻi in four sets. Nebraska junior Jenny Kropp had 16 kills to lead the way for the Huskers. Sophomore outside hitter Lily Kahumoku led Hawaiʻi with 18 kills, while freshman Kim Willoughby had 15.

TeamsGame 1Game 2Game 3
WISC151515
USC1099

Wisconsin vs. Southern California

Appearing in the program's first ever Final Four, Wisconsin swept USC to earn a spot in the title match against Nebraska.

National Championship: Nebraska vs. Wisconsin

TeamsGame 1Game 2Game 3Game 4Game 5
NEB15971515
WISC9151529

Nebraska jumped on top to start out the match, with a block giving NU the first game, 15-9. In the second game, Wisconsin raced out to the 13-4 lead before winning, 15-9, to tie the match at one game a piece.

Leading 5-4 in the third game, Wisconsin pulled away by winning eight straight points to go up 13-4. Nebraska responded with three straight points of their own to cut the lead to 13-7, before two Badger kills ended the game, 15-7, to put the Badgers up 2-1 on the undefeated Huskers.

Nebraska responded strongly in set 4, crushing the Badgers, 15-2, to force a fifth game. In the decisive fifth game, Nebraska raced out to the 4-0 lead. Nebraska continued to roll, going up 11-5. Nebraska earned championship point on a kill, before Laura Pilakowski crushed her 23rd kill of the match to seal the victory.

The national title capped a season in which the Huskers achieved much success. The Huskers became just the second team in NCAA history to finish the season undefeated with a national title, joining the 1998 Long Beach State squad. Nebraska, ranked No. 1 in the AVCA/USA Today Coaches poll for 14 straight weeks, swept 26 of its 33 opponents in 2000. It was Nebraska head coach John Cook's first season with the program. Cook was previously the head coach at Wisconsin.

NCAA Tournament records

There are three NCAA tournament record that were set in the 2000 tournament that still stands.

  • Total attacks in NCAA tournament (team record) - Wisconsin, 1019 (56 vs. Bucknell, 178 vs. UNI, 182 vs. Kansas State, 260 vs. UCLA, 152 vs. Southern California, 191 vs. Nebraska).
  • Total digs, tournament (team record) - Wisconsin, 200 (26 vs. Bucknell, 72 vs. UNI, 71 vs. Kansas State, 99 vs. UCLA, 67 vs. Southern California, 75 vs. Nebraska).
  • Hitting percentage, tournament (individual record - min. 75 attempts) - .564%, Marissa Dalee, University of Arizona (.588 vs. Alabama A&M, .667 vs. Michigan, .294 vs. BYU, .654 vs. Nebraska).

References