1997 NCAA Men's Volleyball Tournament
The 1997 NCAA Men's Volleyball Tournament was the 28th annual tournament to determine the national champion of NCAA men's collegiate volleyball. The single-elimination tournament was played at St. John Arena in Columbus, Ohio, during May 1997.[1]
 | |
| Dates | May 1997 |
|---|---|
| Teams | 4 |
| Champions | Stanford (1st title) |
| Runners-up | UCLA (19th title match) |
| Matches played | 3 |
| Attendance | 6,237 (2,079 per match) |
| Best player | Mike Lambert (Stanford) |
← 1996 1998 → | |
Stanford defeated UCLA in the final match, 3–2 (15–7, 15–10, 9–15, 6–15, 15–13), to win their first national title. The Cardinal (27–4) were coached by Ruben Nieves.
Stanford's Mike Lambert was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. Lambert, along with five other players, comprised the All-Tournament Team.
Qualification
Until the creation of the NCAA Men's Division III Volleyball Championship in 2012, there was only a single national championship for men's volleyball. As such, all NCAA men's volleyball programs, whether from Division I, Division II, or Division III, were eligible. A total of 4 teams were invited to contest this championship.
| Team | Appearance | Previous |
|---|---|---|
| Ball State | 15th | 1995 |
| Penn State | 13th | 1996 |
| Stanford | 3rd | 1992 |
| UCLA | 19th | 1996 |
Tournament bracket
- Site: St. John Arena, Columbus, Ohio
| Semifinals | Championship | ||||||||||||||||
| – | UCLA (3) | 15 | 13 | 15 | 10 | 15 | |||||||||||
| – | Penn State (2) | 13 | 15 | 14 | 15 | 10 | |||||||||||
| – | UCLA (2) | 7 | 10 | 15 | 15 | 13 | |||||||||||
| – | Stanford (3) | 15 | 15 | 9 | 6 | 15 | |||||||||||
| – | Stanford (3) | 15 | 15 | 15 | |||||||||||||
| – | Ball State (0) | 6 | 9 | 10 | |||||||||||||
All tournament team
- Mike Lambert, Stanford (Most outstanding player)
- Matt Fuerbringer, Stanford
- Keenan Whitehurst, Stanford
- Paul Nihipali, UCLA
- Adam Naeve, UCLA
Ivan Contreras, Penn State
See also
- NCAA Men's National Collegiate Volleyball Championship
- NCAA Women's Volleyball Championships (Division I, Division II, Division III)
References
- "Men's Volleyball National Championship Results" (PDF). NCAA. NCAA.org. Retrieved July 5, 2015.