Champions Stanford (4th title) | Winning coach Don Shaw (4th title) | |
Runner-up Penn State (2nd title match) Semifinalists Long Beach State (5th Final Four)
Florida (4th Final Four) Most outstanding player Terri Zemaitis (Penn State) Final Four All-Tournament Team Kristin Folkl (Stanford)
Paula McNamee (Stanford)
Lisa Sharpley (Stanford)
Carrie Schonveld (Penn State)
Lauren Cacciamani (Penn State) | ||
The 1997 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament began with 56 teams and ended on December 20, 1997, when Stanford defeated Penn State 3 games to 2 in the NCAA championship match.
Stanford won their second straight title and 4th in 6 years. After winning the first two games 15-10, 15-6, Penn State forced a fifth game as the Nittany Lions won the next two 15-2, 17-15. In the decisive fifth game, Stanford jumped out to the 12-8 lead before Kristin Folkl recorded the final three kills for the 15-9 win. Stanford finished the year 33-2, with their only two losses coming from Penn State in the early season.
The 1997 NCAA tournament was the first, and would be the last, year with 56 tournament teams, as it was expanded from 48 teams (1993-1996). In 1998, the tournament would be expanded to its present-day 64 tournament teams.