NCAA DIVISION I
WOMEN’S TITLES 1981-2012 Stanford
Penn State UCLA
Hawaii
Long Beach State Nebraska
Southern California Pacifi c Texas
Washington 2012 NCAA DIVISION I
CHAMPIONSHIP At the KFC Yum! Center, Louisville, Ky.
Semifi nals: Oregon def. Penn State 21-25, 30-28, 25-22, 25-19 • Texas def. Michigan 25-11, 21- 25, 23-25, 25-12, 15-11
DEFINITION OF A STAR: Bailey Webster of Texas enjoyed a defi ning moment of her ca- reer when she helped lift the Longhorns over Oregon and earned the Most Outstanding Player honor. (Photo courtesy: Jim Sigmon)
the Longhorns descended on Louisville for a chance to win what many coaches called the most wide-open NCAA Division I Tournament in years.
“The gorilla thing was mostly for the media,” Elliott said later. “I knew this team was com- pletely different than three years ago and didn’t have the same memories I had from that Penn State match.”
Elliott, who spent 48 sleepless hours respond-
ing to a Texas-sized folder of emails and texts congratulating the program, classifi ed the accom- plishment the Monday after as a career milestone. “I didn’t really doubt it was going to hap- pen for us as hard as our staff and players have worked,” he said. “I had a lot of coaches in the sport tell me how the process worked and that it (a national title) would eventually happen if you kept doing the right things.” The right things include Texas marching out some of the best women’s volleyball athletes in the country year after year. The 2012 team featured a ton of fi repower in the form of 6-3 outside hitter Bailey Webster (Baltimore, Md.), 6-3 outside hitter Haley Eckerman (Waterloo, Iowa), 6-1 opposite Sha’Dare McNeal (San Diego, Calif,) and 6-1 middle blocker Khat Bell (Mesquite, Texas). Webster, whom Elliott was reluctant to compare to former Texas all-American and cur- rent U.S. Women’s National Team star Destinee Hooker despite the physical likeness, entered the semifi nal hitting at a .519 clip in the previous four tournament matches. Webster’s defi nition of “on-fi re” included a
Final: Texas def. Oregon 25-11, 26-24, 25-19
6 5 4 3 3 3 3 2 2 1
NORTHWEST PASSAGE Oregon’s Alaina Bergs- ma had a banner season in leading the Ducks to the title match. (Photo: Geoff Thurner)
championship match-high 14 kills with just one hitting error against Oregon, as well as a team- high 18 kills in a fi ve-set semifi nal triumph over Michigan. Those numbers and her blocking role in neutralizing Oregon’s Alaina Bergsma (Chan- dler, Ariz.), AVCA Division I Player of the Year, by holding her to a zero hitting effi ciency in the title match propelled Webster to the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player award.
AVCA DIVISION I AWARDS
Player of the Year Alaina Bergsma | Oregon
Coach of the Year Jerritt Elliott | Texas
Freshman of the Year Ziva Recek | Florida
USAVOLLEYBALL.ORG | 47
PHOTO COURTESY: JIM SIGMON
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