ESPN College Sports

In the 24-year history of the NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship, only 21 schools have appeared in the national semifinals. Only 12 of those teams have earned a spot in the championship match, and just nine have gone on to win the national title.

When Tennessee defeated Missouri in its regional final match last week, the Lady Vols joined a more exclusive club. Since the NCAA began sponsoring women's volleyball in 1981, only three other teams from the Eastern time zone -- Florida, Ohio State and Penn State -- have qualified for the national semifinals. Only the Nittany Lions went on to win the national championship.

"Our players never questioned that we were going to the Final Four," Tennessee head coach Rob Patrick said. "We set that as a goal at the beginning of the year. They talked about it right after they lost in the regional semifinals last year."

No. 17 Tennessee (25-8) will take a five-match winning streak into Thursday's first national semifinal against No. 3 Washington (30-1) at the Alamodome in San Antonio (ESPNU, 7 p.m. ET). The second semifinal will feature No. 11 Santa Clara (27-4) vs. top-ranked Nebraska (32-1) (ESPNU, 9:30 p.m. ET).

Washington, the two-time Pac-10 champion, might seem like a daunting challenge in Tennessee's first-ever Final Four appearance. But UT has won its last four matches against top-10 opponents, including a four-game tournament victory over second-ranked Penn State on the Nittany Lions' home court.

"We were pretty confident going into Penn State," Patrick said. "We didn't think that we were definitely going to win, but we were pretty confident that we could play with them and put ourselves in a position to win. And that's what we did."

One of the reasons Tennessee has been so successful is that the Lady Volunteers don't rely on one player to carry the team in every match. In nearly every tournament match, a different player has stepped up at just the right time.

Senior middle blocker Kristen Andre had 11 kills and seven blocks as UT opened the NCAA Tournament with a sweep of Jacksonville State. In the second round against Minnesota, sophomore outside hitter Yuliya Stoyanova led a balanced attack with 16 kills as the Lady Vols rallied for a five-game victory.

Against Penn State, junior outside hitter Kelsey Fautsch had 16 kills, while junior middle blocker Sarah Blum had eight kills and 11 blocks. And in the victory over No. 8 Missouri in the regional final, Andre had 19 kills, Fautsch added 16, and Blum came through with 12 kills and nine blocks.

"The thing that you're not going to see in the statistics and on tape is how much heart and confidence we play with," Patrick said. "They feel that they're going to make whatever play they need to make to get the point."

That heart and confidence were never as evident as in the second round, when Tennessee rallied to beat the 17th-ranked Golden Gophers. Trailing two games to one and down 25-20 in Game 4, the Lady Volunteers used an 8-1 run to win the game, 30-27, and then kept the momentum going for a 15-11 win in the deciding game.

Tennessee first demonstrated the ability to come from behind in its final match of the regular season, when the Lady Vols rallied from a two-game deficit for a victory at No. 7 Notre Dame. That was the first of five consecutive victories, and the infusion of confidence has carried UT all the way to San Antonio.

"Usually, Final Four teams have one big player," Patrick said. "We could be a team that doesn't even have an All-American and be in the Final Four. That's something that you don't normally see with teams playing this far into the tournament."

Whether or not she earns All-America honors, senior setter Julie Knytych sets the tone for the Lady Volunteers. Tennessee's career assists leader (with 5,767), Knytych is the only player in the program's history to play in every match during a four-year career.

"She's an amazing setter," said Blum, who was named the Most Outstanding Player at the State College Regional. "She's really smart and she's very athletic. She knows where to put the ball and who to set at the right time."

Patrick knew Knytych was the player the program needed when he went to watch her play in a junior tournament during the recruiting process. Despite suffering a broken finger while trying to block Stanford's Ogonna Nnamani, last year's AVCA Division I co-Player of the Year, she continued to play through the painful injury that would require surgery later.

"We would not have achieved the levels of success that we've had if it wasn't for Julie's work ethic, leadership and competitiveness," Patrick said. "I told her when I recruited her that I wanted the team to take on her personality, and if it did, I knew we could have something very special."

Knytych's decision to play for Tennessee has had exactly the effect Patrick predicted. During her four seasons in Knoxville, Knytych and her four classmates have compiled a 97-31 record (a .758 winning percentage), which makes them the winningest class in the program's history.

"We've worked really hard and come a long way," Knytych said. "We're hoping the tradition continues and we'll be able to say that we were part of the first class that put Tennessee volleyball on the map."

But first, Knytych and the Lady Vols have their sights set on volleyball's biggest prize.

"We like being the underdog," she said. "No one thinks that we're going to beat Washington, but we don't really worry about whatever anyone else says. We're just out there to have fun."

Here is a brief look at the participants in the Final Four:

Nebraska Cornhuskers
2005 Record: 32-1
Conference/Finish (record): Big 12/1st (19-1)
NCAA Seeding: No. 1
AVCA Ranking: No. 1
How they advanced: First round: def. Alabama A&M 3-0; Second round: def. Duke 3-0; Regional semifinal: def. UCLA 3-0; Regional final: def. Florida 3-0.
NCAA Tournament Appearances: 25
Final Four Appearances: 9 (including this year)
Best NCAA Finish: National champions in 1995, 2000

What you should know: Nebraska has not lost a game in the tournament, beating its opponents by an average score of 30-19. … The Huskers won 17 of 18 matches against teams in this year's tournament, including six vs. seeded teams. … With one more tournament victory, Nebraska will tie UCLA for second place on the all-time list with 63. Stanford owns 77 NCAA Tournament wins. … The Huskers rank third with nine appearances in the national semifinals, trailing only Stanford (15) and UCLA (10). … Sophomore outside hitter Sarah Pavan was named the Big 12 Player of the Year, while head coach John Cook was named Coach of the Year for the second season in a row. … Nebraska looks to join UCLA (1992) and USC (2003) as the only teams to be ranked No. 1 in the CSTV/AVCA Coaches Poll throughout an entire season.

What they're saying -- Senior middle blocker Melissa Elmer on Santa Clara: "They've beaten a ranked team in every match of the tournament so far. They're playing great and they've beaten some great teams. They're going to be fired up. It's their first time in the national semifinals, and they're going to come ready to play, and [they] definitely have some confidence, so we've got to come ready to play, too."

Santa Clara Broncos
2005 Record: 27-4
Conference/Finish (record): West Coast/1st (12-2)
NCAA Seeding: Unseeded
AVCA Ranking: No. 11
How they advanced: First round: def. Sacramento State 3-0; Second round: def. Stanford 3-1; Regional semifinal: def. Pepperdine 3-0; Regional final: def. Arizona 3-2.
NCAA Tournament Appearances: 10
Final Four Appearances: 1
Best NCAA Finish: National semifinals in 2005
What you should know: Santa Clara is the only unseeded team remaining in the tournament. … SCU is making its first-ever appearance in the national semifinals. … Santa Clara is 6-1 vs. Top 25 opponents in 2005, including a 3-0 mark in the NCAA Tournament. … The Broncos swept the West Coast Conference awards, with senior outside hitter Cassie Perret (Player of the Year), outside hitter Brittany Lowe (Freshman of the Year) and Jon Wallace (Coach of the Year).

What they're saying -- Santa Clara head coach Jon Wallace on Nebraska: "They are big and they are the best blocking team in the country. I know they are very well-coached and very well-organized. We'll just have to find a way to beat them and sell it to the girls that there is a way to beat them. I talked to Kim McGiven the other day, and she was so pumped up for this week. She told me, 'I'm so excited. I just want to play Nebraska.' That's something I love to hear."

Tennessee Lady Volunteers
2005 Record: 27-4
Conference/Finish (record): Southeastern/2nd -- Eastern Division (13-3)
NCAA Seeding: No. 15
AVCA Ranking: No. 17
How they advanced: First round: def. Jacksonville State 3-0; Second round: def. Minnesota 3-2; Regional semifinal: def. Penn State 3-1; Regional final: def. Missouri 3-1.
NCAA Tournament Appearances: 8
Final Four Appearances: 1
Best NCAA Finish: National semifinals in 2005
What you should know: Tennessee is the only team in the Final Four that did not win its conference championship. … Prior to this year, the Lady Vols had never advanced past the regional semifinals. … UT has won 14 of its last 15 matches and five consecutive matches against top-20 opponents. … Tennessee joins Florida and LSU as the only Southeastern Conference teams to advance to the national semifinals. … Junior outside hitter Kelsey Fautsch spent three seasons, including a redshirt year, at Nebraska before transferring to UT. … Head coach Rob Patrick was part of two national championship teams as an assistant coach at Stanford.

What they're saying -- Tennessee head coach Rob Patrick on playing Washington: "We played a lot of different types of teams this whole year. Penn State is a big physical team, Missouri was more of a finesse team.We've found some success against both styles of play. I haven't seen Washington play. I know they run a little bit quicker offense than we have seen and they have two great outside hitters. We're going to watch some tape and put in a game plan that we think will be successful."

Washington Huskies
2005 Record: 30-1
Conference/Finish (record): Pacific/1st (17-1)
NCAA Seeding: No. 3
AVCA Ranking: No. 3
How they advanced: First round: def. Siena 3-0; Second round: def. Colorado State 3-0; Regional semifinal: def. Purdue 3-0; Regional final: def. Wisconsin 3-0.
NCAA Tournament Appearances: 10
Final Four Appearances: 3
Best NCAA Finish: National semifinals in 2004, 2005
What you should know: Washington is making its second consecutive appearance in the national semifinals and is the only team from the 2004 Final Four to earn a return trip. … The Huskies have not lost a game during this year's tournament, beating opponents by an average score of 30-22. … Washington is 13-1 against Top 25 opponents this season, including a 6-0 record in matches at neutral sites. … Senior outside hitter Sanja Tomasevic was named the Pac-10 Player of the Year, while head coach Jim McLaughlin was named Coach of the Year for the third time in the last four seasons. … Washington won 26 of 30 matches this season in three games.

What they're saying -- Sophomore outside hitter Christal Morrison: "[Going to the Final Four] is a lot different [this year], and one of the big things is expectations. Last year we talked so much about, 'Let's get to the Final Four. Let's get one step further,' and we reached our big goal. Now we want to take it one step further. We want to win it all. We didn't just want to get there this year. We're going to have a good semifinal match, but we want to be in the championship."

No one can deny that Santa Clara and Tennessee advancing to the Final Four is good for Division I volleyball. Their victories over top-10 opponents are a sure indication that parity has arrived and the gap has been closed between the ranked programs and the elite programs. While the Broncos and the Lady Vols are confident, competitive and talented, Nebraska and Washington have the experience of playing in the national semifinals. That's why the Huskers and Huskies will advance to the championship match.

Neither team would have a clear-cut statistical advantage in the championship match. Both Nebraska and Washington are ranked among the national leaders in kills per game, blocks per game, assists per game and team hitting percentage. The difference could come down to the location of the Final Four. Because Nebraska will have more fans in San Antonio and it played its regional at the Quest Center Omaha -- a site more like the Alamodome -- I think Nebraska will end the Pac-10's four-year title run and claim its third national championship.

Dave Reed has covered college volleyball for national publications since 1996.