Courting new blood

It had seemed lately that the NCAA women’s volleyball championship was always coming down to the same few schools. This won’t be one of those years. First-timer Illinois (pictured right) and UCLA, a once-invincible giant of the 1980s and early ’90s before being surpassed by West Coast rivals, play for the national title today (ESPN2, 5:30 p.m.) in San Antonio in the biggest facelift to the final match in the last eight tournaments. Illinois (32-4) hadn’t been to the semifinals since 1988, while UCLA (29-6) hasn’t played for a title since winning its third in 1994. Since 2004, at least one of the same five schools has played in the championship match: four-time defending champion Penn State, Nebraska, Texas, California and Stanford. – AP