Click here to see a UST Newsroom story with photos:

http://www.stthomas.edu/news/2013/04/08/division-iii-volleyball-national-champions-meet-governor-dayton/

One bright spot: the 2013 year should be an exciting one, too.

During the last 10 months, the Tommies had top-five NCAA team finishes in five different sports and placed eighth in the 2011-12 Division III Directors’ Cup. The team highlights:

--Volleyball (40-1) won the program’s first national championship;

--Football (14-1) was NCAA runner-up with UST’s first appearance in the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl;

--Baseball (41-10) and women’s basketball (31-2) each placed third nationally, and combined for three wins over No. 1-ranked teams during 2012;

--Men’s Indoor Track and Field placed fifth at nationals.

St. Thomas also had top-20 NCAA team finishes in women’s indoor track and field and in the men’s sports of hockey, basketball, golf and outdoor track and field.

On the MIAC scene in the last calendar year, Tommie teams also won 12 of the 22 regular-season championships and four of the 11 playoff crowns.

Twenty-seven different Tommies received All-America honors in the 2012 calendar year, in 13 different sports. May graduate Mike Hutton was NCAA champion indoors in the 800 meters and national runner-up outdoors in the 800. Eyo Ekpo was NCAA runner-up indoors in the triple jump. Senior distance runner Taylor Berg earned All-America honors in three sports -- cross country, and indoor and outdoor track and field -– and also was MIAC champion in cross country. UST’s All-America honorees include 17 first-time recipients.

NCAA’s Best

St. Thomas’ 9-0 finish at O’Shaughnessy Stadium gave it the best home-field record among all 639 NCAA football programs in 2012. UST's total included four postseason wins and four conference victories.

Ohio State (8-0) and Mount Union (8-0) were tied for second in best home winning percentage.

Notre Dame, Stanford, Nebraska, Georgia, South Carolina and Kansas State each posted 7-0 home records.

FCS North Dakota State and Division II MSU Mankato each closed with 8-1 home records.

Poll Talk

When the updated basketball polls are released this week, the Tommies could have five teams ranked in the top three nationally.

UST might climb one spot to No. 3 in both the men’s and women’s polls. St. Thomas baseball is ranked No. 2 in the first preseason 2013 poll. The Tommies closed the fall national polls ranked No. 1 in volleyball and No. 2 in football.

Points of Pride

Out of the 1,000 NCAA institutions, just three -- North Carolina, St. Thomas and Messiah (Pa.) -- had two teams play in national championship contests in fall 2012.

In all, 29 institutions were represented among the 32 teams that played in fall national title games/matches in the sports of football, volleyball, soccer and field hockey.

The Tar Heels took first in women’s soccer and second in field hockey. St. Thomas won volleyball and was runner-up in football. Messiah swept the men’s and women’s soccer crowns.

When you add in the sports of men’s and women’s cross country, Oregon and Calvin also had a pair of top-two NCAA team places. Oregon was women’s CC champ and volleyball runner-up. Calvin took second to the Tommies in volleyball and second in men’s cross country.

Rare Double

St. Thomas joins UW-Whitewater as the only institutions to reach the NCAA Division III title contests in football and volleyball in the same season.

The 2007 Warhawks beat Mount Union in the football title game but lost 3-2 to Washington (Mo.) in volleyball.

Did You Know? 

St. Thomas is the lone NCAA institution at any level to win national team championships in each of the sports of volleyball, softball, baseball and women’s and men’s basketball.

Stanford was national champion in four of those sports (all except softball).

Top 2s

The fall success pushed St. Thomas’ all-time total of top-2 national team finishes to 27, achieved in 11 different sports:

--Women’s Cross Country:  Five firsts, four runners-up

--Men’s Cross Country: Two firsts

--Baseball: Two firsts, two runners-up

--Softball: Two firsts, one runner-up

--Women’s Basketball: One first

--Men’s Basketball: One first

--Volleyball: One first

--Men’s Indoor Track & Field: One first

--Men’s Hockey: Two runners-up

--Women’s Outdoor Track & Field: Two runners-up

--Football: One runner-up

Location, Location, Location

When St. Thomas (Division III) and neighboring Concordia University (Division II) captured national volleyball crowns this fall, it marked the first time in that sport’s 32-year history of NCAA championships that two teams from the same city won the gold trophies.

Just 2.48 miles separate the St. Thomas and CU campuses.

Two Los Angeles-area teams won in 1982: Cal Riverside (Division II) and Laverne (Division III). Those campuses are approximately 40 miles apart. 

Winning Streaks, Part 1

With 17 consecutive victories at O’Shaughnessy Stadium, the Tommies will go into 2013 with the third longest active home winning streak out of all NCAA football programs.

Only Mount Union with 55 in a row and Trinity (Ct.) at 24 have longer current home win streaks.  

Winning Streaks, Part 2

Tommie volleyball’s current 35-match winning streak is the longest in NCAA volleyball.

Concordia University (33-4) won its last six matches of the season to take the Division II crown.

Division I champion Texas (29-4) won its last six matches after losing its regular-season finale at Iowa State.

In the AVCA 2012 preseason polls, Concordia was ranked first and Texas was second. St. Thomas was picked seventh.

Winning Streaks, Part 3

Volleyball’s season-ending 35-match victory string was among several St. Thomas impressive winning streaks in 2012.

Four UST teams set school records for consecutive victories in a season: 35 in volleyball; 30 in women’s basketball; 21 in baseball; and 14 in football.

Men’s hockey also had an 11-game win streak last winter en route to winning a conference championship.

Winning Streaks, Part 4

Six Tommie teams will go into 2013 with six notable on-campus winning streaks: 29 victories in a row in volleyball; 29 in softball; 26 in baseball; 20 in women's basketball; 17 in football; and eight in men's basketball.

Computer Love

Tommie men’s basketball (9-0) is ranked first nationally this week in separate Division III computer rankings by Masseyratings.com and talismanred.com. Unbeaten Augsburg is also ranked in the top 13 of both polls:

http://talismanred.com/ratings/hoops/divisioniii.shtml

http://masseyratings.com/rate.php?lg=cb&yr=2013&sub=11620

Tough Schedule

Thanks to its five postseason games and a strong year by the MIAC, St. Thomas football had the third toughest 2012 schedule among all NCAA programs.

The Tommies’ 15 opponents had a combined 104-45 record, a .698 win percentage. Only Wesley (.779) and Linfield (.708) had a better opponent win percentage. Ten St. Thomas opponents made the Division III’s top 25 list for toughest schedule.

Part of their appeal? Sports are not life and death.

Except, that is, when sports are life and death.

Tommie freshman Hannah Infelt experienced both extremes in 2011-12 as a high school senior. Her volleyball team shed some tears of joy but many more tears of sadness.

Sixteen months later, the two gut-wrenching losses still seem unreal. What is real is the pressure a team faced and overcame, the bonding and achievement of a school and community, and the start of a long healing process. 

This story is set in the idyllic college town of Iowa City, Iowa, an unlikely place for heartache. Most of the city’s high school and university students are in no hurry to leap into full adulthood. With its tailgating, sports and concerts, Iowa City is a place, like a Rod Stewart song, to feel Forever Young.  

West High’s Class of 2012 didn’t get a slow and smooth sendoff into their college years. That’s one of the downsides.  

The upsides? These classmates faced a nightmare and came away stronger and wiser. They’re part of a tight-knit team, a tight-knit class who share the tragedy and memory of Caroline Found. 

Everybody's Best Friend

You may have heard about this unique girl -- a setter in volleyball, a uniter in the school hallways -- Iowa City’s “Sweet Caroline.”

West High’s fall 2011 season will be remembered as one of mettle and medals. After the many emotions began to calm, West’s volleyball coach wrote a letter to sports journalist Frank Deford. Coach Kathy Bresnahan thought Caroline’s impact deserved a good storyteller.

A nationally-acclaimed writer, Deford’s byline has appeared in Sports Illustrated for 50 years. He also produces TV features for HBO’s Real Sports. Deford receives countless story ideas and pitches. Few subjects intrigue him enough for him to depart LaGuardia and touchdown at a place like the Cedar Rapids airport for a rare journey into the world of girls’ high school athletics.

Deford has made a living finding the best stories. Yet sometimes, the best stories find him.

At Christmas 2012, a time when we pause and momentarily reflect on life and blessings, it seems appropriate to share Caroline’s legacy, and our Hannah Infelt’s mature perspective.

PHOTO: Caroline Found

Passionate, Popular

As a junior setter for Iowa City West’s 2010 state champion volleyball team, the youngest daughter of Ernie and Ellyn Found was the igniter, the one who put others in position to score and shine. Caroline’s leadership and charisma were not limited to the volleyball court.

Friends say Caroline, if the situation called, would be the hardest worker. “She had the type of mentality that after a practice, she’d ask coach to make it harder next time,” said Infelt, who’s now an Engineering major at St. Thomas and a member of the unbeaten 2012 junior-varsity volleyball team.

When levity was needed, though, the free-spirit and class clown in Caroline surfaced.

PHOTO: Caroline Found and Hannah Infelt.

“She definitely had the personality,” said Infelt. “She was a prankster, a goofball. Once she had an in-school suspension, and she ordered a pizza and had it delivered.”

In a high school with so many diverse consonants, Caroline was a vowel, the element that linked different groups and created harmony.

“She was very outgoing, and went out of her way to include people,” Infelt said. “She had so many different groups of friends. Everyone felt like they were her best friend.”

Caroline loved life, even if she did dislike her given name. She insisted on be called “Liner” or “Line.”

Dark Days

After Ellyn Found was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2011, Caroline designed purple T-shirts that read “Team Ellyn.” She distributed them to her friends. That summer before senior year was supposed to be a fun and carefree stretch for Caroline. But her mother’s illness made it difficult.

Infelt recalls a team camp the volleyball girls attended on the day Ellyn Found underwent surgery.

“Things weren’t going well,” Infelt said. “Coach Bresnahan told her ‘Let me take you home.’ ‘Line stayed up all night on the phone with her dad. We were encouraging her to go be with her family. She just said ‘I’m not leaving.’ She had that dedication to our volleyball team.”

Ellyn was like everyone’s mom, and the Found residence was a gathering spot to many teenagers. “Ellyn was a genuine, caring person,” Infelt said. “That’s where ‘Line got it from.” ‘Line always placed people before herself. You wouldn’t know on the outside she was having hard times during her mom’s illness. It was only a few days before that she realized that she was going to lose her.”

On a Thursday night just before the start of her senior volleyball season, Caroline borrowed a friend’s moped to visit her mother in the hospital. On the drive home, without a helmet, she lost control, hit a tree and suffered a fatal head injury. Just like that, the 17-year-old Caroline was gone.

A bed-ridden Ellyn Found collected the strength to walk in and out of the church for her daughter’s funeral. Twelve days later, Ellyn passed away.

The pain and grief continued. In that same span, West High freshman Raymone Bryant perished in a fire.

How to Move Forward?

Burdened with shock and sadness, the West High Women of Troy had to figure out how to play a volleyball season and live their senior year.

“The accident was on a Thursday night,” Infelt recalled. “On Friday we all found out. We had a big meeting in the gym, a lot of parents and students came together. The seniors had sleepovers every night at first. None of us could be alone.

“Two days after the accident, even before the funeral and visitation, our coach called a practice. That was hard going back into the gym. That was the last place we’d seen her. This was her spot. This is where she’s supposed to be setting. The idea of going in seemed impossible. The gym almost seemed haunted.”

West volleyball, the state runner-up in 2009 and winner of the school’s first state championship in 2010, had a more immediate goal in 2011: getting through each day.

Caroline’s visitation and funeral brought an outpouring of community support, plus prayer and encouragement from volleyball teams across the state. “People stood in line for hours just to get into the gym,” Infelt said. “People who knew Caroline from club volleyball showed up. That was definitely a rough day. There are only so many times you can answer the question, ‘How are you doing with this?’ “

Infelt recalls the words of a teammate, who said, “I just don’t want to cry on the court. She wouldn’t have wanted that.” Players were told that if emotions ever got the best of them, they could leave the floor, breathe, and collect themselves. West practiced the first couple of weeks in a smaller gym in the back of the building as the initial memories were overwhelming.

The coach picked a new setter. The team carried on. The adults advised against making the 2011 season a mission to play for Caroline. They suggested to “play for each other.” But the stubborn West players understood their calling. “Let’s be real,” Infelt said. “We were playing for her.”

And play they did. With Line’s volleyball shoes parked under a chair on the bench and her spirit everywhere, West channeled its emotions into a positive force. The team surpassed even their coach’s expectations and advanced to the state tournament.

Infelt said that some of Caroline’s best memories were her trips to state volleyball as a varsity member in 2009 and 2010. “That’s was she lived for,” Infelt said. “A hundred days before state tournament she was counting down. It was weird being there without her. It was definitely a source of motivation.”

Along the way, the West student body joined in. Blue was Line’s favorite color, and blue T-shirts popped up in her memory that read “Live Like ‘Line.” At every match and even at football games, the Trojan faithful sang Neal Diamond’s song from 40 years earlier: Sweet Caroline.

West made it all the way to the state finals where it faced crosstown rival City High. After West fell behind 2-0 in the best-of-five set title match, it appeared the storybook finish wasn’t to be.

The Comeback 

“Losing didn’t seem like an option,” Infelt recalled. “We were down 2-0. Our coach told us later, ‘I was nervous, I just didn’t want you guys to get swept in three.’ The seniors got together and said, ‘We’re going to do this.’ We stepped it up.”

West clawed back into the match and tied it 2-2. “The (deciding) fifth game was close,” Infelt said. “City missed so many serves, you just sensed that ‘Line was present, having some kind of influence. It was like she was there. Her dad had a picture of Ellyn and ‘Line and brought it down to the bench.”

City was one point from victory at 14-13 but couldn’t close out the match. This moment, this season belonged to Caroline’s team. West finished an incredible comeback to win the state title. There were tears, and that old Neal Diamond song. Good times never seemed so good, especially after something so sad.

“Winning was very bittersweet,” Infelt said. “Obviously, to win state, back-to-back was special. But if we could take back what happened to her that summer, we would in a heartbeat.”

Of West’s two state championships, Infelt reflected: “Junior year, we played because we loved volleyball,” she said. “Senior year, we played because we loved ‘Line.” 

Life Lessons 

Deford’s HBO report on the team and the tragedies aired nationally last October on the monthly, 60-minute show, and included a couple of short responses by Hannah and her friends. It was yet another part of the process of celebrating and grieving Caroline’s life and death.

St. Thomas junior soccer player Kit Weaver is best friends with Hannah’s brother Jared. Kit has looked out for Hannah this year, and he invited her to his apartment to watch the HBO story so she wouldn’t see it alone.

“I thought the story was done extremely well, and I’m glad the story can be shared,” Infelt explained. “At times it was hard to watch, and it was weird to see yourself on TV. To watch Ernie and to see those video clips brought back a lot of memories.”

Infelt shared the lessons of the sudden loss of a teammate and friend.

“I think we learned that you need to take advantage of the time you have,” Infelt said. “If you care about people, you need to let them know. There’s not time to be fake or superficial. Be yourself, and be grateful for what you have. In my senior year, that was drilled into us.

“This was definitely a life-changing event for so many. Things get better over time, but they are never the same. Looking back, I liked my senior year. It brought my class so much closer together. Those experiences give us a bond others can’t relate to. Ernie, and Caroline’s siblings Gregg and Catharine, are amazing. I still keep in touch. They are role models for us. Whenever we see Ernie he gives us a big hug. I hug him back just as tight.”

They’ll never forget Caroline Found. On the volleyball court, her West High number has been retired. Off the court, she’s inspired others to “Live like ‘Line.” A park bench in downtown Iowa City was painted with that motto by family and friends.

“Her No. 9 number been retired at our high school,” Infelt said. “I don’t think anyone would pick it, anyway. I don’t think anyone could live up to it.”

Click here to access notes column:

http://www.omaha.com/article/20121120/SPORTS09/711209862/1604

Students, alumni, parents and fans are invited. Cake will be served after a brief ceremony. 

Click here for complete story and season notes:

http://www.stthomas.edu/news/2012/11/26/celebrate-tommie-volleyballs-ncaa-championship-nov-29/

http://miac-online.org/news/2012/11/23/WVBALL_1123124537.aspx

--Overcome a 2-1 set deficit to win Oct. 5 at nationally-ranked Wartburg (15-13 deciding set) and hand the Knights their only home defeat in 2012;

--Overcome a 10-4 deficit in the deciding fifth set to win 15-12 and take the Nov. 1 MIAC playoff semifinal match against Carleton;

--Overcome a 2-1 set deficit to win the Nov. 3 MIAC playoff final match against nationally-ranked St. Ben’s;

--Overcome a 2-1 set deficit to win the Nov. 8 NCAA regional playoff quarterfinal elimination match against Cornell;

--Overcome a 1-0 set deficit to win the Nov. 10 NCAA regional playoff final elimination match against nationally-ranked St. Ben’s;

--Overcome a 2-0 set deficit in the Nov. 17 national championship match against No. 1-ranked Calvin

--Become the first conference team to complete a 14-0 run against MIAC opponents; sweep the MIAC regular-season and playoff and NCAA region and national championships; reach 40 wins; and close with a 35-match winning streak.

Let’s count those raised hands who believed that all of those above feats would happen: Voting in the affirmative are a Wachter, Atkinson, Wahlin, Piechowksi, Hawkins, Potts, Maher, Greenfield, Foley, Brimeyer, Reagan, Carlson, Glynn, Dahly, M. Johnson, K. Johnson, Westfield, Christensen, Kosbab, Heeren, Walton, Infelt, Biermann, Keogh; coaches Abrahamson, McNamara, Nowak, Tietz, Orren and Pham; all of their moms; some of their dads; and Tommie the Mascot.

The Comeback

Last Saturday night in Holland, Mich., it was a matchup of Noise vs. Poise. Coach Thanh Pham’s No. 8-ranked Tommies were blessed to be the first conference team ever to play in a national championship volleyball match, and cursed to face a Division III-record crowd of 3,517 that was 95% cheering for Calvin.

Facing a program that won nationals in 2010, St. Thomas, already trailing Calvin 3100-99 in fans, quickly fell behind 2-0 in sets with 25-13, 25-17 losses.

In 93 previous NCAA Division I, II and III volleyball nationals, just four teams trailed 2-0 in sets in the championship match and came back to capture the crown. Yikes, that’s a 4.7% chance of getting a 3-0 comeback. (By comparison, expectant mothers only have a 3% chance of having twins, and people only have a 2% chance of living to age 100… although on the bright side, the 4.7% comeback hopes are still 10 million times more likely that being killed by a falling coconut.)

In volleyball, the attack percentage, or hitting average, takes into account hitting attempts, hitting errors and kills. It can be compared to a batter’s average in baseball or softball. St. Thomas came into Saturday 87-1 over the last three years when it hits .200 or better as a team.

In the first two set losses, the Toms hit .131, while Calvin hit .463.

Don't Stop Believing

Bleak? The guy who wrote the Rocky boxing movies even stopped watching.

John Blutarsky, known for the inspirational speech to the Deltas in Animal House, was heard to say: “Over? Did you say over?... yeah, sorry Thanh, this one’s pretty much history.”

The coach went to his bench, and junior McKenna Reagan, who started the year as a defensive player, jump started the team with five kills in that third stanza. UST hit .245 to Calvin’ .091 and the Toms won 25-18. St. Thomas kept the crowd quiet in set four as it hit .267 to the Knights’ .047 and won 25-16.

The crowd and the odds still favored Calvin, but momentum and confidence wore Purple. In the deciding fifth set, Calvin hit .053 and the Toms, with just one error, hit .389. Calvin led only once, at 1-0. The Knights pulled within 11-9, but in their biggest match of their lives, the Tommies scored the final four points to cap an epic comeback and claim a 3-2 victory.

It's St. Thomas' 15th national team championship and fifth in the last 10 seasons but first for volleyball. This is the eighth different sport in which St. Thomas has won a national team title, joining men's and women's basketball; men's and women's cross country; baseball; softball and men's indoor track.

Thanh Pham, a man of many victories (287 in 10 seasons), was a many of few words immediately after that triumph. His first comment: “Wow.”

Jill Greenfield, named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player, said in the same post-match press conference that while she was in “complete shock, but not disbelief,” at the dramatic turn.

“That’s what got us here, that belief in our team, in our passion and heart,” said Greenfield. “That’s what Tommie volleyball is all about.”

Senior Kia Johnson, the team scientist/philosopher/defensive ace who has a 3.961 grade-point average, was equally profound. “We did it for so many people,” she explained. “There were so many players ahead of us that worked their tails off to help us realize that we can really do this, that we can win a national championship. It’s so amazing to look at all the hard work we put in in the off season and in season, and how much trust we have in each other. We always were able to find a way, and today, we found a way.”

One Memorable Season

The Toms had a better fall than Nate Silver. How’s this for depth: They had two All-America honorees in Kelly Foley and Paige Brimeyer, yet three different teammates (Greenfield, Kaiti Wachter and Sara Atkinson) were the ones named to the nationals’ All-Tournament Team. Wachter started all 149 career matches and finished in the top 12 in Division III history with nearly 2,950 digs.

St. Thomas’ lone season loss came on the road in Georgia way back on Sept. 7, a 16-14 loss in set five to No. 4-ranked Emory. But, hey, even the World Champion 1991 Minnesota Twins couldn’t win in Atlanta.

A gracious Calvin supporter sent this email on Monday to salute Thanh and the Tommies:

“Congratulations to your volleyball team for their championship play. While I walked out of the field house Saturday night stunned and sad for our girls, I reflected on the amazing resilience shown by your team. I had to believe it took them two sets to just get past the overwhelming home crowd and to start playing their game.

“I heard the coach gently telling them to keep their composure and they would be alright. They were.”

Yes, the Tommies were alright. You could be one of those two percenters that lives to be age 100 and never see a season quite like Tommie volleyball in 2012.

Sara Atkinson, Mackenzie Piechowksi (Mark Brown photos

Katie Maher (Mark Brown photo)

Sara Atkinson (Mark Brown photo)

Tommies teams have won NCAA gold in men’s and women’s cross country; men’s and women’s basketball; men’s indoor track and field; baseball; softball; and now volleyball.

Only one other Division III institution -- Williams (Mass.), with nine -- has won NCAA team titles in more sports that UST’s eight. Middlebury (Vt.)  and St. Thomas have each won championships in eight different sports.

In the last nine years alone, Tommie teams have 10 top-three NCAA team placings in eight different sports: championships in softball, baseball, men’s basketball and volleyball; seconds in men’s hockey and softball; and thirds in football, women's basketball, baseball and men's outdoor track.

The Tommies have won nine of the 13 women’s team national championships captured by MIAC institutions.

Coach Thanh Pham’s team posted a 40-1 record (.976 win percentage), an all-time conference best for victories and winning percentage in volleyball. It’s also the sixth best winning percentage for one season in Division III volleyball history.

The Tommies became just the second team in the 32-year history of D-III nationals to rally from a 2-0 set deficit and win the last three sets of the championship match, joining the 1997 UC-San Diego squad. Just five NCAA champions at all three NCAA levels have ever won the last three sets in the title match out of 94 total title matches to date (others were Hawaii, 1981; UCLA, 1991; Penn State, 2009).

St. Thomas is the seventh different institution in the last eight years to win a Division III volleyball championship.

St. Thomas All-Time National Team Titles (15)

(all NCAA unless noted)

1981: Women’s Cross Country (AIAW), Coach Joe Sweeney

1982: Women’s Cross Country, Coach Joe Sweeney

1984: Women’s Cross Country, Coach Joe Sweeney

1984: Men’s Cross Country, Coach Larry Russ

1985: Men’s Indoor Track & Field, Coach Mark Dienhart

1986: Women’s Cross Country, Coach Joe Sweeney

1986: Men’s Cross Country, Coach Larry Russ

1987: Women’s Cross Country, Coach Joe Sweeney

1991: Women’s Basketball, Coach Ted Riverso (29-2 record)

2001: Baseball, Coach Dennis Denning (39-10 record)

2004: Softball, Coach John Tschida (46-4 record)

2005: Softball, Coach John Tschida (43-6 record)

2009: Baseball, Coach Dennis Denning (41-13 record)

2011: Men’s Basketball, Coach Steve Fritz (30-3 record)

2012: Volleyball, Coach Thanh Pham (40-1 record)

Saturday Post-Match Press Conference:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ExlCDMgXNw

NCAA.com:

http://www.ncaa.com/news/volleyball-women/article/2012-11-17/st-thomas-minn-pushes-past-calvin-3-2-claim-ncaa-title

Kia Johnson feature, NCAA.com:

http://www.ncaa.com/news/volleyball-women/article/2012-11-17/st-thomas-minn-pushes-past-calvin-3-2-claim-ncaa-title

Kaiti Wachter feature, NCAA.com:

http://www.ncaa.com/news/volleyball-women/article/2012-11-17/st-thomas-minn-pushes-past-calvin-3-2-claim-ncaa-title

TommieMedia:

http://www.tommiemedia.com/featured-news/tommie-volleyball-wins-first-national-championship/ 

NCAA.com video highlights:

http://www.ncaa.com/video#!playlists/sports/volleyball-women