Dec. 13, 2001
San Diego, Calif. - The Cardinal (32-2, 17-1 Pac-10) defeated No. 2 and defending champion Nebraska 3-0 (31-29, 30-28, 30-21) to advance to the NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball National Championship game. Stanford will face No. 1 Long Beach State who defeated Arizona 3-0.
Logan Tom finished with 22 kills and scored five of Stanford's last six points as the Cardinal rallied from a 27-24 deficit in the second game. Ogonna Nnamani added 13 kills for the Cardinal.
Tough serving, some great digs and timely blocking gave Stanford the advantage in the match.
Game one remained close between the two teams. With the game tied at 24-all, Nebraska went on a four point run to go up 28-24. A block solo by Tara Conrad closed the gap to 25-28 but on the next play, Nancy Metcalf's kill put Nebraska at game point. Stanford would hold off four game points to tie the game up at 29-all and reached game point on a Husker miscue. A kill by Ogonna Nnamani gave the Cardinal the 31-29 win. Stanford rallied off six consecutive points at the end of the game to grab the win.
In game two, Stanford jumped out to a 5-2 lead but Nebraska stormed back to tie it up, then take the lead. With the Huskers leading 10-7, Stanford took a timeout and bounced back to tie it up at 11-all. But Nebraska would press forward taking a 23-17 lead on a service ace. With the Huskers leading 25-19, Stanford scored three quick points to close the gap to 22-25 but Nebraska would reach 27-23 on a kill by Laura Pilakowski. Once again, the Cardinal rallied off five consecutive points to go up 28-27. A kill by Logan Tom, gave Stanford game point at 29-28 and a block by Tara Conrad and Ashley Ivy put the Cardinal up two game to none.
Game three stayed close early until Stanford went on an eight point run in the middle of the match to take a 25-16 lead. Nebraska would get to within six at 21-27 but the Cardinal kept the pressure on and reached game and match point on a Husker hitting error. A kill by Tara Conrad gave Stanford the 30-21 win.
Junior rightside hitter Ashley Ivy led the match with three service aces and 11 digs. Logan Tom led the team with five blocks, including three solos. Tara Conrad added eight kills and three blocks. Setter Robyn Lewis had 41 assists and seven digs.
Nancy Metcalf had 14 kills and Laura Pilakowski added 12 for Nebraska (31-2), which lost for just the second time in 66 matches.
The 49ers will face third-seeded Stanford (32-2) in Saturday's championship match at 12:00 p.m., PT. The championship game will be live on ESPN.