The 1997 NCAA Division I women's volleyball tournament began with 56 teams and ended on December 20, 1997, when Stanford defeated Penn State 3 games to 2 in the NCAA championship match.
Stanford won their second straight title and 4th in 6 years. After winning the first two games 15-10, 15-6, Penn State forced a fifth game as the Nittany Lions won the next two 15-2, 17-15. In the decisive fifth game, Stanford jumped out to the 12-8 lead before Kristin Folkl recorded the final three kills for the 15-9 win. Stanford finished the year 33-2, with their only two losses coming from Penn State in the early season.
The 1997 NCAA tournament was the first, and would be the last, year with 56 tournament teams, as it was expanded from 48 teams (1993-1996). In 1998, the tournament would be expanded to its present-day 64 tournament teams.
Play-in games
Records East RegionalSeedSchoolConference Berth TypeRecordBYUWACAutomatic27-5FairfieldMAACAutomatic25-9HofstraAmerica EastAutomatic23-13MarylandACCAt-large26-1Miami (OH)Mid-AmericanAt-large23-7MichiganBig TenAt-large20-11MinnesotaBig TenAt-large22-9Northern IllinoisMid-AmericanAutomatic26-3Ohio StateBig TenAt-large22-10Penn StateBig TenAuto (shared)30-1PrincetonIvy LeagueAutomatic22-5TempleAtlantic 10Automatic29-4Texas A&MBig 12At-large24-7VillanovaBig EastAt-large20-8 Central RegionalSeedSchoolConference Berth TypeRecordAmericanCAAAutomatic30-3ArkansasSECAt-large29-5Arkansas-Little RockSun BeltAutomatic16-12ClemsonACCAutomatic26-7Colorado StateWACAt-large26-5FloridaSECAutomatic31-3Florida StateACCAt-large25-8LehighPatriotAutomatic18-12LibertyBig SouthAutomatic26-8Notre DameBig EastAutomatic23-8South FloridaConference USAAt-large25-8UCFTrans AmericaAutomatic27-3Washington StatePac-10At-large24-6WisconsinBig TenAuto (shared)28-2 Pacific RegionalSeedSchoolConference Berth TypeRecordButlerMidwestern CollegiateAutomatic27-6Cal State SacramentoBig SkyAutomatic23-8ChattanoogaSouthernAutomatic26-9HawaiiWACAt-large25-7Kansas StateBig 12At-large20-12Long Beach StateBig WestAutomatic30-1Loyola MarymountWest CoastAt-large21-6Michigan StateBig TenAt-large22-11Morgan StateMEACAutomatic25-9NebraskaBig 12At-large25-6PacificBig WestAt-large22-8San DiegoWest CoastAutomatic25-3USCPac-10At-large21-5WashingtonPac-10At-large18-9 Mountain RegionalSeedSchoolConference Berth TypeRecordArizonaPac-10At-large20-6ColoradoBig 12At-large20-8HoustonConference USAAutomatic22-9Illinois StateMissouri ValleyAutomatic24-8OklahomaBig 12At-large19-12Oral RobertsMid-ContinentAutomatic28-9PepperdineWest CoastAt-large23-5South CarolinaSECAt-large20-7StanfordPac-10Automatic28-2Stephen F. AustinSouthlandAutomatic23-12Tennessee TechOhio ValleyAutomatic23-9TexasBig 12Automatic23-6UC Santa BarbaraBig WestAt-large29-4UCLAPac-10At-large16-12
Brackets
East Regional - University Park, PA
Central Regional - Madison, WI
Pacific Regional - Long Beach, CA
Mountain Regional - Stanford, CA
Final Four - Spokane Arena, Spokane, Washington
References