SPOKANE, Wash. - The 1997 Stanford women’s volleyball seniors turned in numerous show-stopping performances over the course of their four-year run atop the collegiate world, but saved the most memorable performance for last.
Kristin Folkl, Barbara Ifejika, Debbie Lambert, Paula McNamee and Lisa Sharpley made their 125th and final win one for the ages as they outlasted Penn State in five games in one of the most thrilling NCAA Championship matches ever. The fivesome further etched its name into the national record book by becoming the first class ever to win three women’s volleyball national titles in four seasons.
Stanford started the season 5-2, dropping two early battles with Penn State. The Cardinal, however, would not lose again. In fact, the team lost just six games the rest of the way en route to a 28-match winning streak and an undefeated record in the Pac-10.
The Cardinal’s domination continued in the postseason, as it blew by Oklahoma, Colorado and UC Santa Barbara to earn a trip to Spokane, Wash. for the Final Four. Stanford won an exciting five-game battle with Long Beach State in the national semifinal and earned a third chance at Penn State.
This time, a national title was at stake and the Cardinal was more than ready to defend its 1996 crown.
Stanford rolled through the first two games, 15-10, 15-6 before Penn State took a decisive game three, 15-2. Game four featured 58 sideouts and lasted 44 minutes, but the Nittany Lions reeled off two consecutive points at 15-15 to send the match to five games.
Stanford took immediate control in the fifth game, scoring six of the first eight points. The Nittany Lions pulled the score to 13-9 before the Cardinal put the match away in fitting fashion. Folkl wrapped up her brilliant collegiate career with back-to-back kills that gave Stanford (33-2) its fourth national title.