In the 40+ years of NCAA women's volleyball, some programs have etched their dynastic names into the NCAA record books. Here are the seven longest streaks in the sport:
1. Penn State — 109 matches (2007-10)
Penn State volleyball claims third straight National Championship in December 2009.
This dynasty more than doubles the next-longest winning streak. Dating from Sep. 21, 2007 to Sep. 10, 2010, this Penn State squad went almost three years without a loss and claimed four consecutive national championships. Four players on Michella Chester's Penn State all-time lineup shared the court during these seasons, including outsides Megan Hodge and Nicole Fawcett, MB Christa Harmotto and setter Alisha Glass. The 2008 season in particular was special — the Nittany Lions posted a 38-0 record and dropped just two sets throughout the entire campaign. They followed it up with another unblemished 2009 season, highlighted by Hodge's 560 kills, Glass' 1,452 assists and a .381 clip.
🏆 LEGENDARY: Read more about Penn State's 2008 season here
2. Southern California — 52 matches (2002-04)
The Trojans won their second consecutive DI volleyball national title in 2003.
Mick Haley's Trojans were the first repeat national champions (2002, 2003) to go undefeated in a single season (2003), as well as the only team in DI volleyball history to remain in the No. 1 slot in the Coaches' Poll for every week in a single season (2003). This historic run began with the 33-1 USC squad in 2002, when they topped Oregon on Nov. 8 after falling to the defending national champions, Stanford, one week prior. In the 2002 national final, the Women of Troy again faced the Cardinal and topped them in four sets — USC's Keao Burdine was named the Most Outstanding Player, recording a double-double of 15 kills and 15 digs in the national championship. The Trojans posted a 35-0 record in 2003, taking down Florida to claim their second-straight national championship. Their win streak lasted nearly two years until Illinois beat them in five sets in September 2004.
3. Penn State — 44 matches (1990)
This outstanding season for the Nittany Lions branded them as a national volleyball power. Although Penn State didn't win the 1990 national title, it entered the tournament on a 42-0 tear, bulldozing through Purdue and Wisconsin in the first two rounds. Of these 44 straight wins, 40 of these matches were sweeps, which set a school and national record. However, the hunt for the program's first national title died early as Nebraska stomped on the Nittany Lions, 3-1, in the regional final. At the end of the season, 11th year head coach Russ Rose earned his first AVCA National Coach of the Year honor (which he would go on to win four more times).
4. UCLA — 43 matches (1992)
A school now known for indoor and outdoor volleyball, UCLA emerged in the volleyball realm in the early 90s. The Bruins scooped up back-to-back titles in 1990 and 1991, and won 39 of their 44 matches in straight sets in 1992. They remained undefeated in 1992 up until the national championship match, during which Stanford — a dark horse at the time — beat the Bruins in four sets to claim its very first national title that year. This UCLA team was most notably was led by two-sport athlete Natalie Williams. Williams was a three-time first-team All-American and two-time Honda Award recipient in volleyball, in addition to being a three-time all-conference player in basketball. She set school records for single-season hitting, .416 in 1992, and career kills with 2,115. Williams played in the WNBA for six years (1999-2005) and won gold with the USA women's basketball team in 2000 at the Sydney Olympics; she has since been inducted into the UCLA Hall of Fame and the women's basketball Hall of Fame.
We continue to recognize #TitleIX50 anniversary this week by honoring dual-sport athlete and two-time Honda award winner for volleyball, Natalie Williams. 💙 🏐 💛
— UCLA Athletics (@UCLAAthletics) September 28, 2022
ℹ️ :https://t.co/365ItyS3LA pic.twitter.com/nXhY5AiTBJ
5. Long Beach State — 42 matches (1998-99)
Misty May, Long Beach State women's volleyball.
Long Beach State posted an undefeated 1998 campaign — the first NCAA volleyball program to do so — and continued this unprecedented streak through September 1999. Setter Misty May captained this 36-0 team, earning the Honda-Broderick Cup for the best overall female collegiate athlete in 1998-99 and back-to-back AVCA Player of the Year awards in 1997 and 1998. Hitter Veronica Walls led the nation in hitting percentage in 1998, posting a .426 clip. As a whole, the 1999 Final Four squad (31-4) still holds the K/S and A/S school averages for a single season, killing 18.37 on average (2,168 K/118 S) and assisting 16.68 (1,968 A/118 S).
T6. Stanford — 37 matches (2018-19)
Stanford women's volleyball wins the 2018 national title over Nebraska in five sets.
This Stanford squad was arguably the most dominant one in the modern era of college volleyball. Starting on Sep. 1, 2018, the Cardinal won 37 consecutive matches, as well as back-to-back national titles in 2018 and 2019. The Cardinal posted 41 sweeps over those two years combined, including a three-set shutout win in the 2019 title match over Wisconsin. Holding down the backcourt was libero Morgan Hentz, who finished her career as Stanford's all-time career digs leader with 2,310. Averaging 5.22 K/S in 2019, hitter Kathryn Plummer ranks No. 6 in that statistic in Stanford's single-season record book; she also collected two AVCA Player of the Year awards.
💭 DREAM ROTATION: Michella Chester's all-time Stanford lineup
T6. Florida — 37 matches (1996)
The 1996 season for the Florida Gators was bookended by losses to Hawai'i — that year's national runner-up — as they dropped to 0-1 early, but routed their docket unscathed from September to December of 1996 before falling to the Aztecs once again in the Final Four. That season, the Gators killed a program-high 2,235 balls, a record still held to this day. Jenny Manz commanded the offensive effort, who still ranks third at UF in career kills at 1,657. Guiding her team to its third Final Four in five years, head coach Mary Wise was named AVCA DI Coach of the Year in 1996.
After Florida, there is a three-way tie for the next-longest streak at 36 matches, held (again) by Florida (2003), Nebraska (2000-01) and Penn State (1999). Hawaii (2003), Penn State (1998) and UCLA (1990-91) tie again next by winning 34 straight matches.
