Stanford Wraps Up Third Volleyball Title

Stanford had just won its third NCAA volleyball championship, and Kerri Walsh was already talking about another one.

“It was a lot of fun,” said Walsh, whose 17 kills and eight digs led the Cardinal over Hawaii 15-7, 15-3, 15-5 Saturday for the national championship. “I want to do it again next year. This year was great.”

Walsh, selected as the tournament MVP, was supported by Kristin Folkl, who had 16 kills and nine digs.

Stanford, which also won the title in 1992 and 1994, became the third school to win three championships, joining UCLA and Hawaii.

“I’ve said all along, if this team plays to its potential, it can be scary,” Stanford coach Don Shaw said. “We just put it together tonight. It’s the most focused team I’ve had.”

Stanford (31-2) jumped ahead 3-0 in the first game and 4-0 in the second. Hawaii (35-3) was tied 2-2 in the third game when Stanford put it away with a six-point run.

“We didn’t play poorly. We just faced a bigger, better, stronger team,” Hawaii coach Dave Shoji said. “They had too much power on the other side of the net.”

Joselyn Robins led Hawaii with seven kills and eight digs.

The Stanford victory ended a three-match losing streak to Hawaii in NCAA Tournament play. The Rainbow Wahine had won semifinal matches against Stanford in 1982 and 1983 and the championship match in 1987.

The crowd of 8,009 at Cleveland State was the fourth-largest to attend a Division I women’s volleyball championship match.

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: FINAL FOUR IN SPOKANE Next season, the NCAA women’s volleyball championships will be held in the Spokane Arena.