DI Championship Match

In the words of the fantastic BYU volleyball commentator Steve Vail, “WOW!”

I don’t know if anyone across the volleyball world anticipated an NCAA DI championship match without a Big Ten team (especially Nebraska or Minnesota), but that’s what has evolved out of this enigmatic women’s DI volleyball season. On Thursday evening, 12/15/2016, Stanford defeated Minnesota 3 – 1 (26-24, 25-19, 22-25, & 25-22) in the first semifinal while the second semifinal saw Texas dominate Nebraska 3 – 0 (25-18, 25-23, & 25-21). So, in tonight’s final, championship match at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, we have the Texas Longhorns and the Stanford Cardinal battling for the coveted title at 9 PM ET (8 CT, 7 MY, 6 PT) on the ESPN network.

#4 seed Texas Longhorns

Texas is coached and directed by Head Coach Jerritt Elliott, who is assisted by Associate Head Coach/Recruiting Coordinator Tonya Johnson, Associate Head Coach/ Technical Coordinator Erik Sullivan, and Volunteer Assistant Coach Rachel Kidder. On the court the team is led by senior outside hitter Paulina Prieto-Cerame, freshman outside hitter Mikaya White, junior outside hitter Ebony Nwanebu, and junior libero Cat McCoy, all of whom are ably assisted and supported by the entire Texas team shown below. The “Horns” are 27 – 4 for the season and are looking to claim their third title overall and second under the tenure of Head Coach Jerritt Elliott.

#6 seed Stanford Cardinal

Stanford is coached and guided by Head Coach John Dunning, who is assisted by Associate Head Coach Denise Corlett, Assistant Head Coach Cassidy Lichtman, Volunteer Assistant Coach Tyler Taylor, and Sports Performance Coach Taylor Ungricht. On the court the team is led by senior middle blocker Inky Ajanaku, freshman middle blocker Audriana Fitzsimmons, and freshman outside hitter Kathryn Plummer, all of whom are ably assisted and supported by the entire Stanford squad shown below. The “Cardinal” are 26 – 7 overall and hope to claim their seventh title overall and third under the tenure of Head Coach John Dunning.

Additional information about the two finalists is provided below.

In the Net Set (NS) Index, a team’s position in each of the four polls is summed and then averaged to create a Net Set Index. This Net Set Index is then arranged, or ranked, in ascending order, with the lowest Net Set Index determining the number 1 team in the Net Set Ranking, and so forth. By combining polls and rankings into a single index number, we obtain both the mathematical benefits of the rankings and the human performance insights of the coaches from the polls.

Net Set Rank and the Net Set Index are an average from these four polls or rankings:

(1) The AVCA Coaches Poll, 11/28/16 (https://www.avca.org/polls/di-women/index.html).

(2) The Rich Kern Poll, 11/28/16 (http://www.richkern.com/vb/FreePage.asp).

(3) The Pablo Rankings, 11/28/16 (http://www.richkern.com/vb/FreePage.asp).

(4) The NCAA RPI Index, 11/28/16 (http://www.ncaa.com/rankings/volleyball-women/d1/).

LET’S GROW VOLLEYBALL!