Penn State wins fourth consecutive NCAA Championship to crowd of 14,032

Katie Slay had one kill and it was the only one she needed: the winning kill. The six-foot-six freshman from North Carolina leaped into the air, her eyes wide, as her team leaped toward her to celebrate. Once she landed, she burst into tears in joy.

"The seniors did such a good job of keeping us relaxed so that if the moment was there, we were ready to step up. I'm just so happy that I could contribute," said a modest Slay, when asked how she was able to make that kill in such a high-pressure moment.

Freshman phenom Deja McClendon, who was awarded Most Outstanding Player of the tournament, added that "the biggest thing I've learned on this team is how to push through when it gets hard." McClendon also credited her teammates with teaching her everything she knows this season.

Coach Russ Rose praised the Cal team and head coach Rich Feller for a great competition. He also made sure to list many of his athletes who were not at the press conference and their important contributions, whether they were recognized with awards or not.

As for senior Blair Brown's contributions to the four straight championships, including 18 kills in tonights match, he said, "Blair's contributions have run the gamut. She redshirted her freshman year, so I was on her for four and a half years because that's how I go. She had to deal with that. She was at times the recipient of some hard love."

When asked what she will do now that her collegiate career is over, Brown said, "I'm not going to do sand [volleyball], but I want to continue playing as a tribute to my former teammates and coach for how they've helped me get to where I am."

Cal senior setter Carli Lloyd, who was named American Volleyball Coaches Association National Player of the Year Friday night, has similar aspirations to play post-collegiate ball, saying, "I don't know where, but I'll play somewhere."

The Golden Bears put up a fantastic fight, hitting game point twice in the second set before losing 27-25 and attempting to rally back from a 7 point deficit with a 3 point run before losing the third and final set 25-20. At the end of it all, Penn State had too much height and too many strong and accurate hitters to deal with.

Lloyd's teammate Terah Murrey broke down in tears when asked if she was ready to take the torch from the graduating senior. Choking back sobs, determined to pay homage to her friend, Murrey said, "I've learned so much from her. You all don't know her personally, but she works so hard. Every day. Yes, I was scared of her freshman year because she's so amazing. We've had our ups and downs and are better because of it. Carli brought this program to where it is and we are going to take it on up from here."

Congratulations to the 4-Time National Champions and the very impressive Runner-Ups. You had over 14,000 people on the edge of their seats.

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bobby3 says:

Deja McClendon is incredible, and she's only going to get better which is amazing.

I almost wanted to see Cal take a set just because 3-0 makes it look like a blow out when it was actually hard fought.

Monday, December 20, 2010 at 12:59am EST