Is there greater parity in Division 1 women’s volleyball in recent years than in the past?

The winners of the six NCAA Tournaments from 2011 to 2016 had more losses (26) than did the winners of the six NCAA Tournament from 2005 to 2010 (9).  But that’s a very small sample size.  And Penn State posted some very impressive records during the 2005 to 2010 period, coming close to perfection in 2008, with a 38-0 record 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.  The 2009 Penn State team extended the Nittany Lions’ streak of consecutive sets without a loss to 141, before losing a set to Iowa at Rec Hall on October 2, 2009.

So, small sample size, and that outlier Penn State run of four consecutive national titles from 2007 to 2010 (hard to call it anything other than an outlier when no one else has won more than two in a row).

What about sets lost?  Only four NCAA Champions in this sample dropped fewer than 10 sets in their Championship season — and two of those were Penn State teams during its four-year run — the Nittany Lions won 114 sets and dropped only 2  in 2008, and won 114 sets in 2009, while dropping only 8.  In 1998, Long Beach State went 108-8, and in 2003, USC went 105-8. The most sets lost by a Final Four team through 2016? Wisconsin’s 2013 Finalist, with 53.

But you don’t need us to compare the statistics — you can do that for yourself by taking a look at the table below, which lists the records of all the NCAA Women’s Volleyball Final Four teams from 1998 on — total wins, total losses, sets won, and sets lost.  If you click on a team’s logo, it should take you straight to the team’s website.  (Let us know if a link is broken)

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.

 

 

 

Final 4 Team Records: 1998-2018 (Click logos for more team info)

Year	NCAA Finish	Team	Conf.	W	L	Sets Won	Sets Lost
2018	Champ		Pac 12	34	01	104	17
2018	Finals		B1G	29	07	97	36
2018	Semi		WCC	31	02	93	14
2018	Semi		B1G	32	04	100	32
2017	Champ		B1G	32	04	101	24
2017	Finals		SEC	30	02	92	24
2017	Semi	Penn State	B1G	33	02	101	22
2017	Semi		Pac 12	30	04	99	23
2016	Champ		Pac 12	27	07	89	37
2016	Finals		Big 12	28	04	88	32
2016	Semi		B1G	29	05	95	31
2016	Semi		B1G	31	03	96	21
2015	Champ		B1G	32	04	102	27
2015	Finals		Big 12	30	03	91	23
2015	Semi	Kansas	Big 12	27	03	85	30
2015	Semi		B1G	30	05	97	32
2014	Champ	Penn State	B1G	36	03	112	15
2014	Finals		WCC	30	05	95	26
2014	Semi		Pac 12	33	02	101	27
2014	Semi		Big 12	27	03	84	21
2013	Champ	Penn State	B1G	34	02	106	21
2013	Finals		B1G	28	10	94	53
2013	Semi		Pac 12	30	03	91	28
2013	Semi		Big 12	27	03	83	30
2012	Champ		Big 12	31	04	98	23
2012	Finals		Pac 12	30	05	96	29
2012	Semi		B1G	27	12	94	52
2012	Semi	Penn State	B1G	33	03	104	21
2011	Champ		Pac 12	30	06	97	31
2011	Finals		B1G	32	05	100	43
2011	Semi		ACC	28	07	90	39
2011	Semi		Pac 12	29	05	91	25
2010	Champ	Penn State	B1G	32	05	103	20
2010	Finals		Pac 12	30	04	95	23
2010	Semi		Big 12	28	06	89	34
2010	Semi		Pac 12	29	05	91	36
2009	Champ	Penn State	B1G	38	00	114	08
2009	Finals		Big 12	29	02	91	13
2009	Semi		WAC	32	03	100	17
2009	Semi		B1G	28	09	88	41
2008	Champ	Penn State	B1G	38	00	114	02
2008	Finals		Pac 10	31	04	95	23
2008	Semi		Big 12	31	03	97	21
2008	Semi		Big 12	29	04	94	24
2007	Champ	Penn State	B1G	34	02	104	18
2007	Finals		Pac 10	32	03	101	24
2007	Semi		Pac 10	26	08	87	36
2007	Semi		Pac 10	29	05	91	35
2006	Champ		Big 12	33	01	101	14
2006	Finals		Pac 10	30	04	92	19
2006	Semi		Pac 10	33	04	104	24
2006	Semi		Pac 10	29	05	92	26
2005	Champ		Pac 10	32	01	98	10
2005	Finals		Big 12	33	02	101	15
2005	Semi		SEC	19	12	70	49
2005	Semi		WCC	27	05	88	30
2004	Champ		Pac 10	30	06	98	35
2004	Finals		B1G	33	05	105	34
2004	Semi		Pac 10	28	03	89	23
2004	Semi		Pac 10	23	06	76	32
2003	Champ		Pac 10	35	00	105	08
2003	Finals		SEC	36	02	109	08
2003	Semi		WAC	36	02	109	16
2003	Semi		B1G	26	11	85	49
2002	Champ		Pac 10	31	01	95	12
2002	Finals		Pac 10	32	05	102	27
2002	Semi		WAC	34	02	102	12
2002	Semi		SEC	34	03	105	17
2001	Champ		Pac 10	33	02	101	21
2001	Finals		Big West	33	01	NA	NA
2001	Semi		Big 12	31	02	94	14
2001	Semi		Pac 10	25	05	79	25
2000	Champ		Big 12	34	00	102	13
2000	Finals		B1G	33	04	NA	NA
2000	Semi		WAC	31	02	95	16
2000	Semi		Pac 10	29	03	87	20
1999	Champ	Penn State	B1G	36	01	110	15
1999	Finals		Pac 10	31	03	95	18
1999	Semi		Big West	32	03	NA	NA
1999	Semi		Big West	31	04	95	23
1998	Champ		Big West	36	00	108	08
1998	Finals	Penn State	B1G	34	01	104	06
1998	Semi		Big 12	32	02	99	16
1998	Semi		SEC	35	03	107	24

Credits

• Black and White photo of a Ewe Sheep in Scotland, by George Gastin.  This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.