University of the Pacific

The first NCAA National Champion in any sport at Pacific, the 1985 Pacific women's volleyball team traveled to Kalamazoo, Michigan, in December to claim a piece of history.

Head coach John Dunning began his coaching tenure at Pacific in 1985 and signed what was considered to be one of the best recruiting classes in the nation to supplement a group of seven returnees who visited the Final Four the year before. Most experts considered the season to be one of rebuilding, however, as only the three seniors—Therese Boyle, Julie Maginot and Andrea Markel— had more than 40 collegiate matches of experience. The Tigers finished the regular season 32-3, with two losses to Cal Poly and one to Stanford. Pacific knocked off Cal Poly in three sets in the regional final to advance to the Final Four. The team rallied to defeat tournament favorite UCLA in the semifinals and faced Stanford in the final. Pacific lost the set game of the championship match, 17-15, but rallied to take the next two sets. The Tigers then fell behind, 11-2, in the fourth game, before Dunning sent in three substitutes who sparked Pacific with nine kills to tie the score at 11. The starters returned and polished off Stanford for Pacific's first national title.

Pacific received numerous honors in that magical 1985 season. Seniors Julie Maginot and Therese Boyle and freshman Elaina Oden received All-America recognition, while Maginot was also honored as an Academic All-American. Oden was also named the Pacific Coast Athletic Association Most Valuable Player with her then-school record of 547 kills. Oden and sophomore Teri McGrath would later qualify to play with the U.S. National Team. Brooke Herrington, Liz Hert and McGrath would all play with the 1987 United States team in the World University Games. Dunning was named National Coach of the Year and assistants Mike Jones, Steve Lowe and Perri Hankins each received head coaching positions within five years.