College | At last, Washington volleyball's Cassie Strickland earns a big postseason honor

UW senior libero wins an award no Husky athlete has ever won before 

College | Once again, Nebraska ends a stellar Washington volleyball season

How an unexpectedly successful season came to a sudden end 

• #5 Nebraska def. #1 Washington 3-1 (25-17, 21-25, 25-20, 25-21) 

College | Washington volleyball seniors lead the way to the Elite 8

Sybeldon, Wade, Strickland and Beals book another dance with Nebraska 

• #1 Washington def. #14 Ohio State 3-2 (23-25, 25-20, 25-18, 12-25, 15-8) 
• Dec 12 | 1PM (Pacific) | #1 Washington vs. #5 Nebraska | ESPNU 

College | Hot Washington volleyball will keep its cool in Lexington Regional

Terry Wood Previews the Sweet 16 

College | 48 down, 16 to go, including Washington volleyball

How do the Huskies stack up against the remaining contenders? 

• Fri, Dec 11 | 4:30PM | #1 Washington vs. #14 Ohio State | ESPN 3 

College | Washington volleyball dinged by tournament selection silliness

Huskies victimized by a flawed seeding system 

• Fri | 5:00PM | Michigan St. vs. Arkansas St @ Alaska Airline Arena 
• Fri | 7:30PM | Denver @ #1 Washington 

College | Volleyball Tournament Selection Sunday | Where will Washington wind up?

Pac-12 co-champs will find out where they stand tonight

Today | 6PM | ESPNU 

College | Washington volleyball’s prospects as the NCAA Tournament looms

UW’s balance and passing will be key

• #2 Washington def. Oregon State 3-0 (25-19, 25-10, 25-21)
• Fri, Nov 20 | 4:00PM | #2 Washington @ Oregon

NCAA | As Washington volleyball’s season ends, reflecting on what we all saw

Win or lose, a volleyball match that matters is an unforgettable experience

#11 Nebraska def. #3 Washington 3-1 (20-25, 25-20, 25-22, 29-27)
#12 BYU def. #8 Florida State 3-1 (25-20, 25-19, 19-25, 26-24)

• #12 BYU vs. #11 Nebraska | Sat, Dec. 13 | 8:30PM |Alaska Airlines Arena

NCAA | Nebraska outlines strategy for facing Washington volleyball’s Krista Vansant

John Cook calls tonight’s Washington match “the ultimate test”

• #12 BYU vs #8 Florida State| Fri, Dec 12 | 4:00PM | Alaska Airlines Arena
• #11 Nebraska @ #3 Washington| Fri, Dec 12 | 6:30PM | Alaska Airlines Arena
• Regional Final | Sat, Dec 13 | 8:30PM | Alaska Airlines Arena

NCAA | Impressive tournament pedigrees for four volleyball teams headed to Seattle

Seattle Region foursome boasts consistent postseason success and recently-honored athletes

• #12 BYU vs #8 Florida State| Fri, Dec 12 | 4:00PM | Alaska Airlines Arena
• #11 Nebraska @ #3 Washington| Fri, Dec 12 | 6:30PM | Alaska Airlines Arena
• Regional Final | Sat, Dec 13 | 8:30PM | Alaska Airlines Arena

NCAA | Can Seattle stake a claim as college volleyball’s epicenter?

Mounting wins and big crowds put Washington in elite company

• #12 BYU vs #8 Florida State| Fri, Dec 12 | 4:00PM | Alaska Airlines Arena
• #11 Nebraska @ #3 Washington| Fri, Dec 12 | 6:30PM | Alaska Airlines Arena
• Regional Final | Sat, Dec 13 | 8:30PM | Alaska Airlines Arena

see also: Jade Finau fits in as Washington volleyball returns to the Sweet 16

NCAA | Hawai’i rematch is next as Washington volleyball rolls

Jade Finau fills in at setter and does just fine

#23 Hawai’i def. #21 Duke 3-0 (25-15, 25-19, 25-17)

#3 Washington def. New Hampshire 3-0 (25-9, 25-6, 25-18)

• #23 Hawai’i @ #3 Washington| Sat, Dec 6 | 7:30PM

NCAA | December Delirium—2014 volleyball tournament underway

Pac-12 teams are 3-0 on first day; Beals injury identified

• #21 Duke vs. #23 Hawai’i | Fri, Dec 5 | 5PM | Alaska Airlines Arena
• New Hampshire @ #3 Washington | Fri, Dec 5 | 7PM | Alaska Airlines Arena
• NCAA Second Round | Sat, Dec 6 | 7PM | Alaska Airlines Arena

NCAA | Ticket sales climbing for volleyball tournament’s first 4 rounds

Is Seattle the best of the 16 subregionals? Consider coaches, rankings, rivalries and geography

• #21 Duke vs. #23 Hawai’i | Fri, Dec 5 | 5PM | Alaska Airlines Arena
• New Hampshire @ #3 Washington | Fri, Dec 5 | 7PM | Alaska Airlines Arena
• NCAA Second Round | Sat, Dec 6 | 7PM | Alaska Airlines Arena

NCAA | Washington volleyball will host New Hampshire in Tournament first round

Hawai’i and Duke also in Seattle; Nebraska, Florida State & Arizona other seeds in Seattle Regional

Ten Pac-12 teams qualify

• #16 Duke vs. Hawai’i | Fri, Dec 5 | 5PM | Alaska Airlines Arena
• New Hampshire @ #3 Washington | Fri, Dec 5 | 7PM | Alaska Airlines Arena

NCAA | Washington volleyball earns top four seed in 2014 Tournament

Washington top seed in Seattle Regional; Stanford, Texas, Wisconsin, also headline Regionals

College | Where will Washington volleyball land in the NCAA Tournament?

Our best guesses and a Huskies injury update

• #5 Washington def. Washington State 3-0 (25-20, 25-18, 26-24)
• NCAA Selection Show | Sun, Nov 30 | 5:30PM | ESPNU

College | Three questions for Washington’s four remaining matches

Four matches in eight days will offer answers [CORRECTED VERSION]

• #13 Arizona @ #5 Washington | Fri, Nov 21 | 8PM
• #22 Arizona State @ #5 Washington | Sun, Nov 23 | 11AM

NCAA | Volleyball fans do Seattle proud

Huge crowds fill Key Arena, even when home team no longer in contention

• #2 Penn State def. #14 Wisconsin 3-1 (25-19, 26-24, 20-25, 25-23)

Penn State libero Dominique Gonzalez stood on the Key Arena volleyball court and marveled at the noise.

Wisconsin's Lauren Carlini
-Volleyblog Seattle photo by Leslie Hamann

“It was really loud,” she said. “They filled the stands. Even though their home team wasn’t playing here, they still came out to cheer on the national championship game. That is, obviously, great.”

Two days after the Nittany Lions eliminated Washington in the national semifinals, there was trepidation in some circles about whether Seattle fans would show for Penn State vs. Wisconsin. Not only were the seats filled, but players figured fans had picked a favorite.

“There were a couple times I heard boos,” said PSU setter Micha Hancock, voted the championship’s Most Outstanding Player. “It was, like, dang! Tough crowd!”

“I think a lot of people were cheering for Wisconsin, the underdog,” said Gonzalez. “And why not? They play hard. They want to win.”

The loudest explosion came toward the end of the third set, when Wisconsin’s 5-7 Deme Morales stuffed 6-1 All-American Deja McClendon. That gave the Badgers a 23-18 lead, on the way to their only set win of the match.

Penn State players celebrate their championship in front of an appreciative Seattle crowd
-Volleyblog Seattle photo by Brett Hamann

From our perspective at courtside, the roar of the crowd seemed evenly balanced. More than anything, appreciative fans screamed approval for big plays, especially on defense, no matter which team won the point. And the crowd stood and cheered for both squads when Penn State won the final point and the school’s sixth championship.

See also:

Photo gallery (Bettina Hansen)

Penn State beats Wisconsin for NCAA volleyball title (Terry Wood)

NOTES:

• In case you missed it, Wisconsin’s gritty libero, Annemarie Hickey, suffered a shoulder separation in set four … and stayed in the match. See details in Penn State defeats Wisconsin 3-1 for fifthvolleyball championship in seven years and Wisconsin’s Annemarie Hickey tries to gut out dislocated shoulder (Jayda Evans)
• The all-Championship Team, selected by media, did not include Wisconsin middle Dominque Thompson, who hit .314 and led the Badgers with 16 kills, trailing only the 21 kills by Penn State’s Ariel Scott. C’mon, media … if Wisconsin had won, Thompson was our leading candidate for Most Outstanding Player, and was—on the ballot we submitted—second only to Micha Hancock on the “outstanding” scale.