AUSTIN, Texas - After taking out three Pac-10 rivals already in the NCAA tournament, it was only fitting that Stanford should see UCLA, another Pac-10 foe, on the other side of the net in the championship match. The Cardinal and Bruins had already met twice previously in a title match, including Stanford’s 1992 National Championship season. The Bruins, however, had also taken a title match from the Cardinal in the past and were responsible for the only loss on Stanford’s impressive 1994 record.
But like 1992, Stanford came out on top, defeating its California rival 15-10, 5-15, 16-14, 15-13. The win helped the Cardinal claim its second NCAA title in three years, and conclude its best season ever. Junior Cary Wendell, the National Player of the Year, was the Cardinal standout, but All-American Marnie Triefenbach and a pair of promising newcomers – Kristin Folkl and Lisa Sharpley – helped lead the way. The Cardinal finished with a 32-1 record and its third Pac-10 title.
For the second straight season, Stanford entered the 1994 campaign ranked No. 1 in the country. With a young team in 1993, the Cardinal had gone 22-7 and lost in the NCAA Third Round. And with three freshmen in the starting lineup, the 1994 team was even younger.
Stanford had no trouble living up to the ranking, however, winning its first 20 matches. The Cardinal lost just four games during that stretch, which included wins over UCLA and eight other ranked opponents. The Cardinal finished the regular season with a Pac-10 title and a 27-1 record, blemished only by a five-game loss to UCLA.
The NCAA Tournament featured familiar opponents, as the Cardinal raced to the Final Four with three-game sweeps of Washington, Arizona State and USC. In the NCAA semifinal match, Stanford shut down Ohio State’s highly-touted offense in a three-game win.
Stanford battled UCLA, the only team that it had fallen to in 1994, for the NCAA title in Austin, Texas. With the match tied at one game apiece, the Cardinal rallied back from late deficits in games three and four to take down the Bruins. Down 13-10 in the fourth game, Stanford reeled off the next five points, culminated by Eileen Murfee’s block, to clinch the national title.