Volleyball Powers Head To San Diego

North County Times

Women's Volleyball Home HEADLINES MWC Volleyball Scoreboard - Nov. 24, 2009 Mountain West Conference Volleyball Press Release Week No. 14 2009 Mountain West All-Conference Volleyball Team Announced RELATED LINKS • Follow all of the college volleyball action at CollegeSports.com • Email this to a friend

Dec. 10, 2001

By Mike Sullivan
North County Times

SAN DIEGO - It will be a powerhouse field this week as four of the nation's top women's volleyball programs compete for the NCAA Division I title at Cox Arena.

Second-seeded Nebraska (31-1) and third-seeded Stanford (31-2) won matches Saturday night to join top-seeded Long Beach State (32-0) and fifth-seeded Arizona (25-4) in this week's Final Four.

Arizona, featuring North County products Jill Talbot (Mt. Carmel High) and Lisa Rutledge (Vista), will face Long Beach State on Thursday at 6 p.m. in the first semifinal match. The defending champion Cornhuskers and Cardinal will meet in the second semifinal, which will start approximately 30 minutes after the conclusion of the first.

The national championship match is slated for Saturday at noon.

``We could not have asked for a better championship field,'' said San Diego State assistant athletic director Al Zitlau, who is the tournament director. ``Nebraska will be looking to defend its title against three programs from the west. It should make for a great atmosphere at Cox Arena.''

The teams will practice Wednesday at Cox Arena and the sessions are open to the public.

Arizona will practice from 10 to 11:30 a.m., followed by Long Beach State (11:35-1:05), Stanford (1:10-2:40) and Nebraska (2:45-4:15).

SDSU officials are hopeful of a sellout, but said that tickets still remain.