Women's college volleyball is down to the final 16 for the NCAA tournament. For the first time ever, Iowa State has advanced to a regional! They knocked off #7 Wisconsin on their home court in Madison Friday, 3-0. ISU will face #10 California in Madison. The Badgers would have had four straight home games to get to the final four had they won. Most likely, ISU will face Nebraska if both teams advance. We have NEVER beaten the Huskers in volleyball. NU leads us something like 74-0 all-time. Ugh...

Seed #s 6, 7, 9, 11, 14, and 15 all lost in the second round this year. Stanford, Nebraska, Penn State, Texas, and USC are the top five seeds, respectively.

That's an impressive win for the Lady Cyclones. Do they actually call them the "Lady Cyclones"? My dad's an ISU grad, by the way.

Hawaii was stunned last night in women's volleyball. The 3-time NCAA champion Wahine were shockingly upset by Middle Tennessee, and it marked the first time Hawaii ever failed to advance to the Sweet 16 in the sport.

I'm not sure if the Cyclones have ever been referred to as the "Lady Cyclones." At least not that I can remember, anyway. When it comes to women's athletics, it's been "Cyclone women" for at least the last ten years (since I started paying attention). I don't ever hear anyone ranting and raving if they hear someone use "lady" so I guess it's not a huge deal.

Most women's sports at ISU don't have a men's counterpart, so it's generally pretty easy to tell when you're talking about the guys or the girls. I think the only overlaps anymore are basketball, track & field, and cross country. Everything else has been cut (men's gymnastics, men's tennis, men's swimming & diving, baseball) over time thanks to Title IX.

Cool that your dad is an ISU alum!!

After the year Hawaii had, I'm not even sure that should an upset. Hawaii lost to Oregon state and Utah state and those weren't good teams.

They're down to the final four now. Iowa State lost in 3 to California, but still had a great run. Then Cal when and beat defending national champ Nebraska in 3 to advance to the final four in Sacramento along with Penn State, Stanford, and USC. Cal will play Penn State and Stanford will play USC, so SOMEone from the Pac 10 will play for a national title this year. How funny would it be if it came down to Cal and Stanford? They'd be loving it in the Bay Area!

Looks like it will be Penn State vs. Stanford for the NCAA volleyball title. Penn State swept Cal in the semi-finals, 3-0. Stanford beat USC 3-2, taking the 5th game 16-14. Penn State has won 25 consecutive matches since losing to Stanford in September. Should make for an interesting final...

It was a GREAT final!

Congrats to Penn State on their win! The Lions beat Stanford in five, winning 30-25, 30-26, 23-30, 19-30, 15-8. Looks like it was an exciting match - just what you'd hope for in a championship game!