The 1996 NCAA Division I women's volleyball tournament began with 48 teams and ended on December 21, 1996, when Stanford defeated Hawaii 3 games to 0 in the NCAA championship match.

Stanford's win over Hawaii for the title was, and remains, one of the most lopsided finals in NCAA championship history. Stanford won 15-7, 15-3, 15-5. The 15 points scored by Hawaii was the lowest in an NCAA championship match since the NCAA tournament began in 1981.

Play-in games

Records Pacific RegionalSeedSchoolConference Berth TypeRecordCal State NorthridgeBig SkyAutomatic22-10Colorado StateWACAt-large22-10HoustonConference USAAt-large24-7Kansas StateBig 12At-large25-8Loyola MarymountWest CoastAutomatic25-2Northern IllinoisMidwestern CollegiateAutomatic27-7South FloridaConference USAAutomatic27-4Southeast Missouri StateOhio ValleyAutomatic28-7StanfordPac-10Automatic26-2UC Santa BarbaraBig WestAt-large22-8USCPac-10At-large19-8Washington StatePac-10At-large25-5 East RegionalSeedSchoolConference Berth TypeRecordArkansasSECAt-large24-10BrownIvy LeagueAutomatic20-13Coastal CarolinaBig SouthAutomatic27-6ColgatePatriotAutomatic28-6George MasonCAAAutomatic26-2Georgia TechACCAt-large31-7LouisvilleConference USAAt-large24-4MarylandACCAutomatic26-4NebraskaBig 12Automatic27-3Penn StateBig TenAuto (shared)29-2Rhode IslandAtlantic 10Automatic31-6WisconsinBig TenAt-large23-7 Mountain RegionalSeedSchoolConference Berth TypeRecordArizonaPac-10At-large19-9BYUWACAutomatic25-6ColoradoBig 12At-large18-9HawaiiWACAt-large31-2Oral RobertsIndependentAt-large27-4PacificBig WestAt-large25-6Sam Houston StateSouthlandAutomatic25-14San DiegoWest CoastAt-large22-7San Diego StateWACAt-large21-10TexasBig 12At-large22-6Texas TechBig 12At-large25-8WashingtonPac-10At-large22-7 Central RegionalSeedSchoolConference Berth TypeRecordArk.-Little RockSun BeltAutomatic29-7FloridaSECAutomatic34-1HofstraAmerica EastAutomatic19-18Illinois StateMissouri ValleyAutomatic28-7Long Beach StateBig WestAutomatic32-2Miami (OH)Mid-AmericanAutomatic24-6Michigan StateBig TenAuto (shared)24-6MinnesotaBig TenAt-large23-10Notre DameBig EastAutomatic21-11Ohio StateBig TenAt-large26-5Texas A&MBig 12At-large24-7UCFTrans AmericaAutomatic23-12

Brackets

Pacific regional

East regional

Mountain regional

Central regional

Final Four - CSU Convocation Center, Cleveland, Ohio

References