Never in the history of UT athletics has a woman’s team ever won a National Championship.

That is until now. The University of Tampa volleyball team captured their first National Championship in school history on Saturday, Nov. 18 when they defeated the University of North Alabama three games to one (30-25, 27-30, 30-21, 30-17).

Tampa coach Chris Catanach earned the elusive first title in his 23 years with the Spartans. Well-respected throughout the volleyball community, Catanach had accomplished almost everything he could as a coach.

His resume included 15 Sunshine State Conference titles, 10 trips to the Elite Eight and two National Championship runner-up finishes, but Catanach finally reached the pinnacle of Division II volleyball with the win on Saturday.

“Wow, I never thought it would happen to me,” Catanach said after the game. “We came into the season feeling like we had some unfinished business from last year after we lost in the Final Four. We ended every practice with UB.”

There was certainly no unfinished business for Tampa this season. The team overcame many injuries throughout the year on their way to the