USC Women's Volleyball National Championships
1976 AIAW WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
In the program’s first year as a scholarship sport on campus, head coach Chuck Erbe led the Women of Troy to a 34-1 overall record to capture the AIAW crown. Despite being in its infancy, the Trojan program received the No. 1 preseason ranking and produced four All-Americans: Debbie Landreth, Debbie Green, Terry Place, and Paula Dittmer-Goodwin. USC’s only regular-season loss came against crosstown rival UCLA, but the Trojans went on to defeat the Bruins three more times including in the national championship match in Austin, Texas.
1977 AIAW WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
Ranked No. 1 to open the 1977 season, the Women of Troy successfully defended their inaugural national title in commanding fashion with a 38-0 record under head coach Chuck Erbe. USC dropped just eight sets en route to going undefeated and wrapped up its second national crown with a 3-1 win over Hawai’i in Provo, Utah. The Trojans were clearly a stacked team with six All-Americans honored at season’s end including Debbie Landreth, Debbie Green, Terry Place, Star Clark, Sue Woodstra, and Lynne Luedke.
1980 AIAW WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
USC captured its third AIAW championship without a senior on the squad. The 1980 Women of Troy went 46-4 under head coach Chuck Erbe and had three All-Americans: Paula Dittmer-Goodwin, Cathy Stukel, and Paula Weishoff. Stukel was named the conference MVP but was sidelined to start the AIAW tournament. USC’s young squad carried the load to cap a 13-match winning streak with a 3-0 win over Pacific in the AIAW championship match in Santa Barbara, Calif. The victory marked the end of the AIAW women’s volleyball era.
1981 NCAA WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
In the first year of women’s volleyball as an NCAA-sanctioned sport, the Trojans claimed the first-ever NCAA title to give head coach Chuck Erbe his fourth championship with the program. USC went 27-10 overall but caught fire to claim five straight wins in the NCAA tournament where it defeated UCLA, 3-2, in the championship match in Los Angeles. Dana Smith and Cathy Stukel were named All-Americans and Stukel received the first-ever NCAA tournament MVP award. The Women of Troy also became the first-ever women’s team to win four national titles.
2002 NCAA WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
After more than 20 years without a national title, now under the direction of second-year head coach Mick Haley, the Trojans went 31-1 overall to claim USC’s fifth national championship. Led by All-Americans Emily Adams and April Ross, the Women of Troy went 17-1 to win the outright Pac-10 crown. The Trojans’ only loss during the season came in five sets to Stanford, but USC regained its footing to win 12 straight matches to end the season on a 3-1 win over the Cardinal in the NCAA championship match in New Orleans, La.
2003 NCAA WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
With a team considered by many to be one of the greatest of all-time, the Trojans went undefeated (35-0) to claim the program’s sixth national championship. USC set a then-NCAA record with 47 consecutive victories under head coach Mick Haley, who was also chosen as the AVCA’s Division I National Coach of the Year. With four All-Americans on the squad--Emily Adams, April Ross, Bibiana Candelas, and Keao Burdine--USC repeated as NCAA champions with a 3-1 win over Florida in the title match in Dallas.
