Final Four: UCLA vs. Florida State pre-match

SAN ANTONIO—We’re less than an hour before the Final Four first serve. It’s raining in Texas; the skies look a lot like Seattle, even if the temperature is several clicks warmer.

UCLA warming up prior to semifinal match with Florida State
[Volleyblog Seattle photo by Leslie Hamann]

San Antonio’s Alamodome brings back good memories for Washington Huskies’ volleyball fans. It was here in 2005 that a team led by Courtney Thompson, Sanja Tomasevic and Christal Morrison crushed favored Nebraska, 3-0, in front of a red sea of Cornhusker fans.

Frankly, Nebraska fans are a huge part of most Final Fours. Whether the Huskers advance or not, their loyal followers buy tickets and travel packages far in advance, and have been regular fixtures at recent Final Fours in Tampa, Kansas City and here in San Antonio. Most Husker fans are on the other side of 50; you can spot them a mile away in their bright red Nebraska gear, head to toe.

Florida State is the first Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) team to ever reach the Final Four. Since 1981, the Pac-12 has sent 46 teams to the Final Four, led by Stanford (18 appearances), UCLA (12), USC (10), Washington (3), Cal (2) and Arizona (1).

The Seminoles’ roster includes seven international players, including Turkey (2), Serbia (2), New Zealand, Latvia and Brazil. The 14-player roster has 5 athletes from Florida. The Bruins have two international players (Brazil & Canada) and 12 Californians.

Kudos to the New York Times, for an extensive preview of the Final Four, focusing particular on Florida State's blocking.