2015 was a different kind of season for the Penn State Women’s Volleyball team:  It didn’t win the NCAA title (for that matter, the Nittany Lions didn’t make it to the Regional Finals).  Some Penn State fans were edging towards the cliffs.  That’s what happens when you win six NCAA Championships in eight seasons (prior to 2015).

Maintaining the level of success that the Nittany Lions have enjoyed over close to a decade is somewhere between incredibly difficult and impossible.  Just ask all of the other 300+ women’s volleyball programs, none of whom have won more than two consecutive NCAA titles (Penn State won four in a row from 2007 through 2010, and then won back-to-back in 2013 and 2014).

Six championships in nine years is astonishing — but it’s not perfection.  Perfection in sports is rare. The Nittany Lions came close in 2008, going 38-0 and dropping only two sets all season (those two coming in the classic NCAA Semifinal match against Nebraska in Omaha), en route to winning a second consecutive NCAA Division 1 Women’s Volleyball National Championship.

In 2009, Penn State extended its streak of consecutive sets without a loss to 141, before losing a set to Iowa at Rec Hall on October 2nd, followed by another dropped set on October 7th, (this time to Ohio State), and then two more against Michigan on October 16th, and ended with a 2009 total of eight sets lost.  The 2009 Penn State team ended its season with a third consecutive NCAA Division 1 Women’s Volleyball National Championship.

Since then, there’s been lots of talk about parity.  We think it’s more than just talk. We’ve compiled a table showing the records of all the NCAA Women’s Volleyball Final Four teams from 1998 on — total wins, total losses, sets won, and sets lost.  Nebraska — the 2015 champion — had a very, very strong team.  Yet they dropped 27 sets during the season — the third highest total for any champion during the period from 1998 to 2015 (Stanford, the champion in 2004, dropped 34, followed by UCLA in 2011, which dropped 31.)  Only four NCAA Champions in this period have dropped fewer than 10 sets in their Championship season (Penn State with a 114-2 record in 2008, Penn State with a 114-8 record in 2009, Long Beach State at 108-8 in 1998, and USC at 105-8 in 2003). The most sets lost by a Final Four team through 2015? Wisconsin’s 2013 Finalist, with 53.

Take a look at the table below and decide for yourself (if you click on a team logo, the link takes you straight to the team’s website).

If you find an error . . .

A final note. We tried our best to ensure that these statistics are accurate, but to err is human, and we are decidedly human, so if sharp-eyed readers notice any mistakes in this table, please let us know. We’ll be very grateful.

 

 

 

 

 

Wins & Losses (Matches and Sets): Final Four Teams from 1998 to 2015 (Click team logos for more team info)

Year	NCAA Finish	Team	Conf.	W	L	Sets Won	Sets Lost
2015	Champ		B1G	32	4	102	27
2015	Finals		Big 12	30	3	91	23
2015	Semi	Kansas	Big 12	30	3	93	20
2015	Semi		B1G	30	5	97	32
2014	Champ	Penn State	B1G	36	3	112	15
2014	Finals		WCC	30	5	95	26
2014	Semi		Pac 12	33	2	101	27
2014	Semi		Big 12	27	3	84	21
2013	Champ	Penn State	B1G	34	2	106	21
2013	Finals		B1G	28	10	94	53
2013	Semi		Pac 12	30	3	91	28
2013	Semi		Big 12	27	3	83	30
2012	Champ		Big 12	31	4	98	23
2012	Finals		Pac 12	30	5	96	29
2012	Semi		B1G	27	12	94	52
2012	Semi	Penn State	B1G	33	3	104	21
2011	Champ		Pac 12	30	6	97	31
2011	Finals		B1G	32	5	100	43
2011	Semi		ACC	28	7	90	39
2011	Semi		Pac 12	29	5	91	25
2010	Champ	Penn State	B1G	32	5	103	20
2010	Finals		Pac 12	30	4	95	23
2010	Semi		Big 12	28	6	89	34
2010	Semi		Pac 12	29	5	91	36
2009	Champ	Penn State	B1G	38	0	114	08
2009	Finals		Big 12	29	2	91	13
2009	Semi		WAC	32	3	100	17
2009	Semi		B1G	28	9	88	41
2008	Champ	Penn State	B1G	38	0	114	02
2008	Finals		Pac 10	31	4	95	23
2008	Semi		Big 12	31	3	97	21
2008	Semi		Big 12	29	4	94	24
2007	Champ	Penn State	B1G	34	2	104	18
2007	Finals		Pac 10	32	3	101	24
2007	Semi		Pac 10	26	8	87	36
2007	Semi		Pac 10	29	5	91	35
2006	Champ		Big 12	33	1	101	14
2006	Finals		Pac 10	30	4	92	19
2006	Semi		Pac 10	33	4	104	24
2006	Semi		Pac 10	29	5	92	26
2005	Champ		Pac 10	32	1	98	10
2005	Finals		Big 12	33	2	101	15
2005	Semi		SEC	19	12	70	49
2005	Semi		WCC	27	5	88	30
2004	Champ		Pac 10	30	6	98	35
2004	Finals		B1G	33	5	105	34
2004	Semi		Pac 10	28	3	89	23
2004	Semi		Pac 10	23	6	76	32
2003	Champ		Pac 10	35	0	105	08
2003	Finals		SEC	36	2	109	08
2003	Semi		WAC	36	2	109	16
2003	Semi		B1G	26	11	85	49
2002	Champ		Pac 10	31	1	95	12
2002	Finals		Pac 10	32	5	102	27
2002	Semi		WAC	34	2	102	12
2002	Semi		SEC	34	3	105	17
2001	Champ		Pac 10	33	2	101	21
2001	Finals		Big West	33	1	NA	NA
2001	Semi		Big 12	31	2	94	14
2001	Semi		Pac 10	25	5	79	25
2000	Champ		Big 12	34	0	102	13
2000	Finals		B1G	33	4	105	21
2000	Semi		WAC	31	2	95	16
2000	Semi		Pac 10	29	3	87	20
1999	Champ	Penn State	B1G	36	1	110	15
1999	Finals		Pac 10	31	3	95	18
1999	Semi		Big West	32	3	NA	NA
1999	Semi		Big West	31	4	95	23
1998	Champ		Big West	36	0	108	08
1998	Finals	Penn State	B1G	34	1	104	06
1998	Semi		Big 12	32	2	99	16
1998	Semi		SEC	35	3	107	24

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