Stanford Captures Fourth NCAA Championship

By NICHOLAS K. GERANIOS
Associated Press Writer

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) - Kristin Folkl was around to help Stanford write itself into the record books.

Stanford won a record fourth national women's NCAA Division I volleyball championship Saturday by beating Penn State in a five-game match.

Folkl, playing for her third championship team, had 22 kills, including the final three points, as the Cardinal (33-2) won 15-10, 15-6, 2-15, 15-17 and 15-9.

"To win the last match of your college career feels pretty special," said Folkl, a member of Stanford's 1994 and 1996 title winners. Stanford won its first in 1992.

Hawaii and UCLA have won three championships apiece.

"Experience all the way around was a big factor," Stanford coach Don Shaw said.

Penn State (34-2), which defeated Stanford twice during the season, dropped the first two games. The Nittany Lions rallied but fell short despite an outstanding performance by Terri Zemaitis, who had 25 kills.

Zemaitis was named the most outstanding player of the tournament, and added a team-leading 25 digs on Saturday. Lauren Cacciamani and Carrie Schonveld added 20 kills each for Penn State.

"I feel proud of my team," said Penn State's Terri Zemaitis, who led all players with 25 kills and was named the most outstanding player of the tournament. "We could have lost in three, but we didn't."

"We played hard but not well," Nittany Lions coach Russ Rose said. "Terri kept up in the match almost singlehandedly."

The Cardinal won a school-record 28th straight match with its last loss coming against Penn State on Sept. 6. Paula McNamee added 20 kills for the Cardinal, while Kerri Walsh and Lisa Sharpley had 30 digs each.

Folkl, the Pac-10's Player of the Year, and McNamee each had six kills as Stanford jumped to an 11-4 lead and cruised to victory in the first game.

McNamee had seven kills as Stanford easily won the second game.

But the Nittany Lions roared back in Game 3, building a 10-1 lead and cruising to a 15-2 victory behind six kills by Schenveld and only one hitting error for the entire team.

Stanford jumped to a 7-3 lead in Game 4, but Cacciamani's kill tied the game at 10-10, and the teams traded points until Schonveld recorded a kill and Barbara Ifejika of Stanford hit the final ball out.

Stanford outblocked Penn State 4-1 in the final game. The score was 12-8 in Stanford's favor when Folkl made the final three kills for victory.

Stanford University Women's Volleyball