Wednesday, December 15, 1999

NCAA WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS

The Teams

LONG BEACH STATE UNIVERSITY

Long Beach State University
Cheryl Weaver
MIDDLE BLOCKER

49ers

33-1 overall 14-2 Big West Mountain Regional champion

Ranking: No. 6

Coach: Brian Gimmillaro (15th season, 425-96), three NCAA titles .

Top players: Cheryl Weaver (6-2 So. MB) 4.56 kpg, .400, 38 aces, 2.59 dpg, 1.26 bpg; , Keri Nishimoto (5-7 So. S) 14.41 apg, 2.49 dpg; Veronica Walls (5-10 Sr. OH) 2.86 kpg, .324; Tayyiba Haneef (6-6 So. MB) 3.42 kpg, .385, 1.25 bpg; Anja Grabovac (6-0 Sr. OH) 3.36 kpg, .315, 33 aces, 2.61 dpg; Brandy Barratt (3.10 kpg, .278, 33 aces, 2.86 dpg.

About the 49ers: Long Beach State earned its third straight trip to the final four with a 3-0 win over Texas A&M in the Mountain Regional final at the Stan Sheriff Center. Barratt had 17 kills and 10 digs in the win over the Aggies. She and Haneef were named to the all-tournament team while Weaver was named the MVP ... The Beach has won nine straight since the Nov. 13 loss to Pacific, 3-1. The 49ers also lost at Pacific on Sept. 25, 3-0, and at Hawaii, 3-1, on Sept. 16 ... As a team, The Beach is hitting .324 to its opponents' .168.

Final Four history: The defending national champions are making their third consecutive final four appearance, seventh overall. The Beach won its first NCAA title in 1989, defeating Nebraska at Blaisdell Arena and has added two banners since (1993 and 98). Last year's team beat Penn State to finish 36-0, the first undefeated team in NCAA history. The 49ers finished second to UCLA in 1991, and third in 1992 and 1997, losing to Stanford in the semifinal both times.

No.	Name			Pos.	Ht.	Yr.	Hometown
 1	Kristy Kierulff		OH	5-9	SR	Yorba Linda, Calif.
 3	Mariah Marquis		OH	5-10	SR	Santa Cruz, Calif.
 4	Veronica Walls		OH	5-10	SR	Austin, Texas
 6	Brittany Hochevar	S	6-1	FR	Fowler, Colo.
 8	Anja Grabovac		OH	6-0	SR	Rijeka, Croatia
10	Keri Nishimoto		S	5-7	SO	Redlands, Calif
11	Blair Wilkes		MB	6-3	RFR	Las Vegas, Nev
12	Brandy Barratt		OH	6-2	SR	Spokane, Wash.
13	Sarah Connor		OH	6-0	FR	Orem, Utah
15	Kim Kinell		OH	5-10	FR 	Cerritos, Calif.
16	Tayyiba Haneef		MB	6-6	SO	Laguna Hills, Calif.
19	Tracy Bulquerin		DS	5-3	RFR	Cerritos, Calif.
20	Melissa Ohta		DS	5-6	JR	Cypress, Calif.
26	Elisha Thomas		MB	6-2	FR	Grass Valley, Calif.
27	Cheryl Weaver		MB	6-2	SO	Washington, D.C.

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STANFORD UNIVERSITY

Stanford Daily
Logan Tom
OUTSIDE HITTER

Cardinal

30-2 overall 17-1 Pac-10 Pacific Regional champion

Ranking: No. 2.

Coach: Don Shaw (16th season, 439-69), four titles, first nationally in win percentage.

Top players: Kerri Walsh (6-2 Sr. OH) 3.22 kpg, .356, 3.16 kpg, 1.34 bpg; Logan Tom (6-1 Fr. OH) 4.56 kpg,.324, 43 aces, 2.65 dpg; Lindsay Kagawa (5-9 Jr. S) 13.11 apg, 22 aces, 2.24 dpg; Tara Conrad (6-3 So. MB) 2.55 kpg, .334, 24 aces, 1.38 bpg.

About the Cardinal: Walsh, the two-time Pac-10 player of the year, became Stanford's second four-time first-team All-American yesterday... Stanford has won its last 19 matches and tied UCLA for the Pac-10 title. The Cardinal's two losses were at Texas and at UCLA... Sarah Clark, a Hawaii Prep product, will finish out her Cardinal career this week... Tom was the District 8 Freshman of the Year... Stanford leads the series with Long Beach State, 11-1 overall, 2-0 in the NCAA Tournament. The Cardinal leads Pacific, 24-22, including a 3-2 win over the Tigers this year. The series between Stanford and Penn State is tied at 2-2, with the Cardinal defeating the Nittany Lions in the 1997 final... During the season, Stanford's home streak reached 45 straight. The Cardinal's last home loss was to Penn State on Aug. 23, 1997.

Final Four history: This is Stanford's 12th appearance in the final four, and fifth in six years. The Cardinal's four titles have all come in the 1990s ('92, '94, '96 and '97). They have finished second three times, third three times and fourth once. Stanford has the most victories in the NCAA Tournament (55-15).

No.	Name			Pos.	Ht.	Yr.	Hometown 
 5	Emily Lawrence		DS	5-8	So.	West Linn, Ore.
 9	Kerri Walsh		OH/MB	6-2	Sr.	Saratoga, Calif. 
10	Tara Conrad		MB	6-3	So.	Torrance, Calif.
11	Lindsey Yamasaki	OH/MB	6-2	Fr.	Oregon City, Ore.
12	Sarah Clark		OH	6-0	Sr.	Kamuela, Hawaii
13	Ashley Ivy		OH	6-0	Fr.	Arlington, Texas 
15	Logan Tom		OH	6-1	Fr.	Salt Lake City, Utah
16	Jaimi Gregory		OH	5-8	Sr.	Westminster, Calif.
17	Lindsay Kagawa		S	5-9	Jr.	Albany, Calif. 
18	Michelle Chambers	OH	6-0	So.	San Juan Capistrano, Calif.
24	Sara Sandrik		MB	6-1	So	Pelham, Ala.
31	Robyn Lewis		S	5-10	Jr.	Long Beach, Calif.
32	Jennifer Detmer		MB	6-3	Jr.	Thousand Oaks, Calif.

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PENN STATE UNIVERSITY

Centre Daily Times
Lauren Cacciamani
MIDDLE HITTER

Nittany Lions

34-1 overall 20-0 Big Ten Central Regional champion

Ranking: No. 1.

Coach: Russ Rose (21st season, 689-121), second nationally in win percentage.

Top players: Lauren Cacciamani (6-2 Sr. MB) 4.66 kpg, .404, 25 aces, 2.98 dpg, 1.57 bpg; Bonnie Bremner (5-9 Sr. S) 12.89 apg, 22 aces, 1.76 dpg; Katie Schumacher (6-0 So. OH) 3.18 kpg, .308, 1.57 dpg; Carrie Schonveld (6-0 So. OH) 2.78 kpg, .271, 40 aces, 3.13 dpg; Amanda Rome (5-10 So. OH) 2.33 kpg, .218, 15 aces, 3.21 dpg.

About the Lions: Penn State advanced to its third consecutive final four by sweeping UCLA Friday in the Central Regional title match. Cacciamani was named the Regional MVP. The Lions have won 34 straight since losing their season opener to Florida, 3-2, at the State Farm/NACWAA Classic ... Penn State's seniors are 77-3 in Big Ten play and have never lost a home conference match ... Penn State has won four consecutive Big Ten titles. Cacciamani was named the Big Ten Player of the Year. Bremner won the honor twice, as a sophomore and junior ... Penn State and Pacific have met four times, the last was 15 years ago, when the Tigers knocked the Lions out of the 1984 NCAA Tournament. Pacific leads the series, 3-1.

Final Four history: Penn State has finished second three times. The Lions lost their only match of the season to Long Beach State in the 1998 final that pitted two undefeated teams. The Lions lost to Stanford in 1997 and Long Beach State in 1993.

No.	Name			Pos.	Ht.	Yr.	Hometown
1 	Falin Schaefer 		OH	6-0 	Fr. 	Saskatchewan, Canada
2 	Lauren Cacciamani 	MH	6-2 	Sr. 	Paramus, N.J. 
3 	Bonnie Bremner		S. 	5-9 	Sr.	Lisle, Ill.
4 	Tina Huisenga		BR. 	5-6 	Fr.	Oak Forest, Ill.
5 	Mishka Levy 		MH 	6-2 	Fr. 	Stafford, Texas
6 	Nadia Edwards 		MH. 	6-0 	So. 	Frankfort, Ill.
7 	Carrie Schonveld	OH.	6-0 	Sr. 	Portage, Mich.
8 	Hilary Sexton 		OH 	5-9 	Fr. 	Crystal Lake, Ill.
9 	Solena Quick		BR 	5-6 	So. 	Middletown, N.Y.
10	Katie Schumacher	OH.	6-0 	So. 	Chicago, Ill.
11	Robyn Guokas		MH 	6-3 	Fr. 	Burr Ridge, Ill.
12	Amanda Rome		OH. 	5-10 	So 	Chaska, Minn.
13	Erin Iceman 		OPP 	6-2 	Fr. 	Wooster, Ohio
14	Shannon Bortner 	S. 	5-11 	Fr. 	Jacobus, Pa. 
15	Leilani Schlottfeldt	BR.	5-10 	Jr. 	Brasilia, Brazil
16	Dawn Ippolito		BR	5-7	Fr. 	Merritt Island, Fla.
17	Kalna Miller		BR	5-7 	Jr. 	Pittsburgh, Pa.

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UNIVERSITY OF THE PACIFIC

Stockton Record
Elsa Stegemann
OUTSIDE HITTER

Tigers

32-2 overall 15-1 Big West East Regional champion

Ranking: No. 5

Coach: John Dunning (15th season, 409-97), two NCAA titles, eighth in win percentage.

Top players: Elsa Stegemann (5-10 Sr. OH) 5.61 kpg, .317, 19 31 aces, 3.0 dpg Tanja Dimirijevic (6-1 Sr. S) 12.59 apg, 16 aces, 2.11 dpg Tracy Chambers (6-3 Sr. MB) 3.08 kpg, .383, 1.34 bpg, 1.34 dpg. Jennica Smith (6-2 Sr. OH) 3.42 kpg, .348, 1.05 bpg; Danielle Shinn (6-0 Jr. OH) 2.04 kpg, .237, 2.26 dpg, 23 aces.

About the Tigers: UOP is one of only four teams that have qualified for all 19 NCAA Tournaments (Penn State, Stanford and UC Santa Barbara are the others) ... Stegemann, the Big West co-Player of the Year, had a match-high 30 kills in Saturday's 15-8, 16-14, 15-8 sweep of Florida in the East Regional final in Stockton... Stegemann was named the regional MVP as the Tigers advanced to their seventh NCAA semifinal, the first since 1990. She is the only Tiger to tally more than 1,700 kills, 1,000 digs and 200 blocks in a career ... UOP has won 15 in a row, last losing at Stanford on Oct. 19, 14-16, 7-15, 15-6, 15-5, 13-15. The Tigers' other loss was to UC Santa Barbara, 10-1, 6-15, 8-15, on Oct. 2, their only conference defeat ... UOP has an edge over opponents in kills (17.17 kpg-13.94 kpg) and digs (16.61 dpg14.41 dpg) and is outblocking foes by nearly one block per game.

Final Four history: In six appearances, the Tigers have won the title twice (1985-86), placed second once (1990), third once (1984) and fourth twice (1981 and '83)

No.	Name			Pos.	Ht.	Yr.	Hometown
1	Kara Gormsen		S	5-10	Jr.	Stockton, Calif.
2	Jamie Hamm		OH	6-0	So.	Bellevue, Neb
3	Michele Kelley		DS	5-7	So.	Byron, Calif.
5	Megan Hauschild		S	5-10	Fr.	Sacramento, Calif.
6	Tanja Dimitrijevic	S	6-1	Sr.	Belgrade, Yugoslavia
7	Elaine Goeders		MB	6-0	Fr.	Apple Valley, Minn.
8	Denée Ezerins		OH	6-0	Fr.	Long Beach, Calif.
9	Clarissa Bonner		OH	6-0	So.	Arlington, Texas
10	Elsa Stegemann		OH	5-10	Sr.	Santa Cruz, Calif.
11	Angela Rosenquist	S	5-5	Sr.	Stockton, Calif.
12	Sara Westling		MB	6-2	Fr.	Lincoln, Neb
14	Sara Bronson		MB	6-1	Sr.	San Jose, Calif.
15	Tracy Chambers		MB	6-3	Sr.	Hacienda Heights, Calif.
16	Danielle Shinn		OH/MB	6-0	Jr.	Arnold, Calif.
21	Courtney Miller		OH	6-2	So.	Thousand Oaks, Calif.
23	Jennica Smith		OH	6-2	Sr.	Forestville, Calif.