The 2004

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of College athletics, intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major ...

women's volleyball tournament began on December 2, 2004, with 64 teams and ended December 18 when

Stanford Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is considere ...

defeated

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

3 games to 0 in

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

for the program's sixth NCAA title. Stanford, who was the tournament's 11th overall seed, became the lowest seed to win the national title. Minnesota was making the school's first national championship match appearance. Stanford's sixth NCAA national championship was the most of any other program in Division I, although UCLA and Southern California had each won six overall national collegiate titles up to that point.

Ogonna Nnamani Ogonna Nneka Nnamani (born July 29, 1983) is a physician, retired American indoor volleyball player and former member of the United States National and Olympic team. She was awarded the Honda-Broderick Cup in 2004 as the nation's top female at ...

, the tournament's Most Outstanding Player, set an NCAA tournament record for kills in a tournament, as she had 165 in six matches, including 29 against Minnesota in the final. Nnamani also set the NCAA tournament record for kill attempts at 356. Stanford setter Bryn Kehoe became the first freshman setter to lead a team to an NCAA national championship.

Records

Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...
Regional

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...
Regional

Green Bay Regional

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
Regional

Final Four –
Long Beach Arena The Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center is a convention center located in Long Beach, California. Built on the former site of the Long Beach Municipal Auditorium, the venue is composed of the Long Beach Convention Center, Long Beach Ar ...
,
Long Beach, California Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

National Semifinals

Southern California vs. Minnesota

Behind 18 kills from Minnesota's Erin Martin, the Golden Gophers knocked out two-time defending NCAA Champion USC with a 3-1 decision to advance to their first NCAA Championship match in school history.

Stanford vs. Washington

Stanford, the surprise of the tournament, came through with a 3–1 win over Pac-10 champion Washington.

had 33 kills to lead Stanford to the championship match. During the regular season, Stanford and Washington split the match ups, with Washington sweeping the Cardinal in Seattle and Stanford returning the favor in

Palo Alto Palo Alto (; Spanish for "tall stick") is a charter city in the northwestern corner of Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a coastal redwood tree known as El Palo Alto. The city was estab ...

by defeating the Huskies in five.

National Championship: Stanford vs. Minnesota

Behind 29 kills from Nnamani, Stanford completed their NCAA run by sweeping the Golden Gophers. Stanford easily won the first set, 30–23. The second was much closer, with Stanford going on a late run to win the second set, 30–27. The third set was not competitive, which may have been due to an injury. Early in the third set, Minnesota's All-American libero, Paula Gentil, collided with a teammate while trying to dig a ball which left her unable to move on the court for over five minutes. Gentil was able to get up, but could not return to the match with a neck injury. Stanford won easily, 30–21. Stanford's surprising run was due to the fact that they started out the season 15-6 and were ranked outside of the top ten in the beginning of the season. However, the Cardinal found momentum in the middle of the season, winning their last 15 matches including an upset of then-#1 and undefeated Washington in five sets.

NCAA Tournament records

There are four NCAA tournament records that were set in the 2004 tournament. *Kills, tournament (individual record) - Ogonna Nnamani, Stanford University - 165 total kills (18 vs. Jacksonville, 30 vs. Florida, 28 vs. Texas, 27 vs. Wisconsin, 33 vs. Washington, 29 vs. Minnesota). *Total attempts, tournament (individual record) - Ogonna Nnamani, Stanford University - 356 total attempts (36 vs. Jacksonville, 89 vs. Florida, 56 vs. Texas, 49 vs. Wisconsin, 78 vs. Washington, 48 vs. Minnesota). *Solo blocks, tournament (individual record) - Ogonna Nnamani, Stanford University - 15 solo blocks (2 vs. Jacksonville, 3 vs. Florida, 2 vs. Texas, 2 vs. Wisconsin, 5 vs. Washington, 1 vs. Minnesota). *Total digs, tournament (individual record) - Paula Gentil, University of Minnesota - 173 total digs (25 vs. Long Island, 21 vs. Yale, 38 vs. Ohio State, 41 vs. Georgia Tech, 33 vs. Southern California, 15 vs. Stanford).

References

{{2004–05 NCAA Division I championships navbox NCAA women's volleyball tournament

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

Sports in Long Beach, California

NCAA Division I women's volleyball tournament The NCAA Division I women's volleyball tournament is an annual event that leads to the championship in women's volleyball from teams in Division I contested by the NCAA each winter since 1981. Texas won the most recent tournament, defeating Louis ...

Volleyball in California December 2004 sports events in the United States Sports competitions in California Women's sports in California College sports tournaments in California