NCAA Women’s Volleyball Final : Texas Sweeps Hawaii to Win Championship

The West Coast dominance of women’s volleyball received a jolt Saturday night in the National Collegiate Athletic Assn. final at the University of Minnesota when surprising Texas swept Hawaii, 15-4, 16-14, 15-13, to win the championship.

Dawn Davenport had 17 kills and 14 digs as the Longhorns dominated Hawaii, the defending champion.

The Longhorns won all 15 of their tournament games to become the first non-West Coast team to win the title in the event’s 8-year history. Texas shocked previously undefeated UCLA, the tournament favorite, in Thursday’s semifinals. Hawaii advanced by defeating Illinois in the semifinals.

Dagmara Szyszczak had 16 kills and 13 digs and setter Sue Schelfhout had 51 assists for Texas. Hawaii, which lost its bid for a fourth title in 7 years, was led by Teee Williams’ 28 kills and Martina Cincerova’s 17 digs.

Texas won with its defense, allowing Hawaii just one string of more than 3 straight points--a 5-point run in the third game.

The Longhorns took advantage of 32 Hawaii attack errors. Eight of those came in the first game, when Texas took control with a 5-point run that gave it a 7-2 lead. Davenport had 5 kills and 5 digs in the game.

Hawaii trailed 14-11 in the second game, but fought off 5 game points to tie the score, 14-14. But two straight points off Stacie Nichols’ blocks gave Texas the victory.

Hawaii, which led only once in the first two games, took a 10-6 lead in the third game. But Texas scored 9 of the final 12 points.