2003 NCAA Division I women's volleyball tournament

The 2003 NCAA Division I women's volleyball tournament began on December 4, 2003, with 64 teams and ended on 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, 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 appearance in the NCAA Final Four. 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. Lincoln RegionalSeedSchoolConference Berth TypeRecordArizonaPac-10At-large17-14Cal State NorthridgeBig WestAt-large16-12DaytonAtlantic 10Automatic25-9Loyola MarymountWest CoastAt-large25-6Michigan StateBig TenAt-large19-11MissouriBig 12At-large18-109NebraskaBig 12At-large26-4New HampshireAmerica EastAutomatic23-11Nicholls StateSouthlandAutomatic18-14San DiegoWest CoastAt-large17-1216Texas A&MBig 12At-large21-9UC IrvineBig WestAt-large23-98UCLAPac-10At-large21-81USCPac-10Automatic29-0ValparaisoMid-ContinentAutomatic27-7WisconsinBig TenAt-large21-10 Long Beach RegionalSeedSchoolConference Berth TypeRecordGreen BayHorizonAutomatic23-10KansasBig 12At-large21-10Long Beach StateBig WestAt-large19-10ManhattanMAACAutomatic21-1313MinnesotaBig TenAt-large22-10Northern IowaMissouri ValleyAutomatic27-5NorthwesternBig TenAt-large18-14PacificBig WestAt-large17-134PepperdineWest CoastAutomatic25-2Sacramento StateBig SkyAutomatic23-11San FranciscoWest CoastAt-large23-7Santa ClaraWest CoastAt-large20-105StanfordPac-10At-large23-6UC Santa BarbaraBig WestAutomatic19-8UtahMountain WestAt-large20-812WashingtonPac-10At-large19-8 Gainesville RegionalSeedSchoolConference Berth TypeRecord AmericanPatriotAutomatic22-9ArkansasSECAt-large26-6CincinnatiConference USAAt-large27-514Colorado StateMountain WestAutomatic28-43FloridaSECAutomatic31-1George MasonCAAAutomatic16-14Georgia SouthernSouthernAutomatic27-96Kansas StateBig 12Automatic28-4MarylandACCAutomatic26-7OhioMACAutomatic28-4PennIvy LeagueAutomatic20-611Penn StateBig TenAutomatic28-4PittsburghBig EastAutomatic25-5Robert MorrisNortheastAutomatic23-11Southwest Missouri StateMissouri ValleyAt-large27-5UCFAtlantic SunAutomatic22-6 Honolulu RegionalSeedSchoolConference Berth TypeRecordAlabama A&MSWACAutomatic23-5BYUMountain WestAt-large22-810CaliforniaPac-10At-large23-6ColoradoBig 12At-large21-9Florida A&MMEACAutomatic26-37Georgia TechACCAt-large31-32HawaiiWACAutomatic32-1IdahoBig WestAt-large19-1015IllinoisBig TenAt-large24-6LouisvilleConference USAAutomatic24-5MichiganBig TenAt-large20-11Murray StateOhio ValleyAutomatic24-5New Mexico StateSun BeltAutomatic30-4Notre DameBig EastAt-large23-6Saint Mary'sWest CoastAt-large20-12WinthropBig SouthAutomatic24-12

Lincoln Regional

Long Beach Regional

Gainesville Regional

Honolulu Regional

Final Four – Reunion Arena, Dallas, Texas

National Semifinals

Southern California vs. Minnesota Teams Game 1 Game 2 Game 3USC 30 30 30MIN 27 28 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 of three players with double digit kills, including Bibiana Candelas with 12, Keao Burdine with 13 and April Ross with 11. Cassie Busse led Minnesota with 23 kills, and Erin Martin with 11.

Florida vs. Hawaii Teams Game 1 Game 2 Game 3 Game 4FLA 30 30 23 30HAW 28 28 30 28

Florida and Hawaii battled in the second semifinal, with Florida seeking to advance to its first final in school history after being 0-for-6 in previous NCAA semifinals, while Hawaiʻi aimed to reach its 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 and 30-28. Hawaii 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 Hawaii once again played even in the fourth set, but Hawaii was unable to force a fifth set as Florida won the fourth set, 30-28. Hawaii was paced by AVCA National Player of the Year Kim Willoughby and Lily Kahumoku, who both had 21 kills.

National Championship: Southern California vs. Florida

Teams Game 1 Game 2 Game 3 Game 4USC 25 30 30 30FLA 30 27 19 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.

References