Led by Christal Morrison's power at the net, Candace Lee's outstanding back-line play, Darla Myhre's blocks and offense and Courtney Thompson's pinpoint passing, the Washington volleyball team won its first NCAA championship with an improbable but decisive 3-0 sweep over top-ranked Nebraska.

The victory, achieved with wins of 30-26, 30-25, 30-26, gives Washington, the third-seeded team in the NCAA tournament, an unblemished record for the postseason — 18 games played, 18 games won.

Washington finished 32-1. Nebraska ended its season 33-2.

The result is a triumph for coach Jim McLaughlin, who in five years turned Washington from a last-place team to a national champion. McLaughlin, who won a men's title while coaching at USC in 1990, becomes the first coach to win both a men's and women's NCAA title.

Since he came to Washington in 2001, McLaughlin has engineered an impressive turnaround for a program that had fallen into disrepair.

Washington posted fewer than 10 victories for three straight seasons (1998 to 2000), finishing in a tie for last place in the Pac-10 in 2000 and an overall record of 8-19.

McLaughlin, who took the Kansas State women's team to four straight postseason appearances (1997 to 2000), produced fast results.

He guided the Huskies to 11 wins in 2001, 20 in 2002, 23 in 2003 (when UW reached the NCAA Elite Eight for the first time) and 28 last year, advancing to the school's first Final Four.

Washington opened the 2005 season with 23 straight wins, exceeding a record his 2004 team had set, and was ranked No. 2 all season until falling at UCLA on Nov. 12 in a tight, five-game match.

Washington's national ranking dropped to No. 3 for the rest of the season. Penn State, the team that moved ahead of Washington in the poll despite having two losses, was eliminated in the third round of the tournament, losing to Tennessee on its home floor. The Huskies blew past the Lady Vols in Thursday's semifinal, 30-25, 30-19, 30-21.

The 2005 squad produced four All-Americans: senior outside hitter Sanja Tomasevic (first team), junior setter Thompson (first team), senior libero Lee (second team) and sophomore outside hitter Christal Morrison (third team). Tomasevic, Lee and three other key 2005 contributors (outside hitter Brie Hagerty, senior middle blocker Myhre and defensive specialist Danka Danicic) will graduate, meaning the 2006 UW lineup will look noticeably different.

"I'm bummed to see them go," McLaughlin said. "Sanja has made an incredible commitment to this program and has provided amazing leadership. And Candace is just the real deal. As a coach, you're not supposed to have favorites, but she is one of the greatest kids I've ever coached — men, women or U.S. teams."

The 2006 team will get a head-start on its season during a 12-day tour to China in June. Washington has built a travel package for fans to accompany the team as it visits and plays in Beijing and Shanghai.

Beijing is the host city of the 2008 Summer Olympic Games. China is the defending Olympic champion in women's volleyball — the only team sport in which China won a gold medal during the 2004 Olympics.

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