ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - Expectations were once again high for Don Shaw’s Stanford club as it entered the 1992 season.
The Cardinal was coming off its best season yet, a 30-2 campaign that included a Pac-10 title and an 18-0 conference record. But the graduation of three players – Nicole Appleman, Amy Cooper and Kristin Klein – who had a combined eight seasons of starting experience, meant that the 1992 squad would not have it easy.
Easy it wasn’t, but the Cardinal still achieved its ultimate goal – winning its first-ever NCAA title. The Cardinal (31-2) did it by upsetting previously unbeaten UCLA 15-8, 15-9, 6-15, 15-10 in the championship match in Albuquerque, N.M.
Stanford won the crown on the shoulders of three seniors - Carrie Feldman, Bev Oden and Jennifer Jackson – and a standout newcomer, freshman Cary Wendell. Oden led the team for the season with 478 kills and Feldman, the team’s setter, notched 1,248 assists.
The road to Albuquerque was definitely not an easy one. Stanford opened the season with a grueling eight-match road trip, but topped three ranked opponents and came home 8-0. Stanford then rallied through Pac-10 play, faltering only in its two meetings with UCLA. After UCLA handed Stanford its second loss of the season, however, the Cardinal would never lose again. Stanford closed the regular-season with a nine-match win streak, and gained momentum for the NCAA Tournament.
Stanford was anxious for a rematch with UCLA in the NCAA final, and the team got its wish. After sweeping Pittsburgh at home, the Cardinal captured the Mideast Regional crown by topping Penn State in three games and Illinois in four. In its first Final Four appearance in five years, the Cardinal then downed Long Beach State in four games to earn another chance at the Bruins.
The third time turned out to be a charm when the Bruins and Cardinal met in the title match. Behind all-tournament selections Feldman, Oden and Wendell, the Cardinal avenged its previous two losses to the Bruins with a four-game win to claim its first NCAA title.