Alix Klineman had 33 kills to lead Stanford to its fourth consecutive Pac-10 title

It took a pair of five-set matches in regular-season finales to decide it, but the champion of the nation's toughest conference, once again - for the fourth consecutive season - is No. 6 Stanford. The Cardinal dropped the opening two sets at home against archrival and 11th-ranked California on Friday night, but rallied for a 23-25, 18-25, 25-23, 25-20, 15-4 triumph in front of 5,125 fans. Junior outside hitter Alix Klineman pounded a career-high 33 kills on .329 hitting to go with 11 digs to lead the Cardinal - which ended the regular season with six consecutive victories, including four against ranked opponents. The win gave Stanford a 14-4 final record in Pac-10 Conference action.

Fourth-ranked Washington could have matched that mark and earned a share of the league title (as well as the conference's automatic bid, by virtue of a tiebreaker) with a home win against No. 18 Oregon. The Huskies took the first two sets, but then suffered three consecutive tight set defeats that saw Oregon save three match poings. In the end, it was the Ducks who prevailed, 15-25, 21-25, 25-23, 31-29, 15-13, snapping a 17-match losing streak against UW in front of a crowd of 4,036. Senior outside hitter Sonja Newcombe was brilliant for Oregon, finishing with a career-high 36 kills on .382 hitting to go with 21 digs. Junior outside hitter Heather Meyers added 20 kills and 17 digs for UO, while junior outside hitter Kindra Carlson led the Huskies with 24 kills on .350 hitting and 20 digs. Senior libero Tamari Miyashiro had 31 digs for Washington, and junior setter Jenna Hagglund set UW to a .301 attack percentage.

There was one other matchup of ranked teams on Friday, and No. 9 UCLA pounded 19th-ranked Arizona 25-13, 25-13, 25-17. Freshman Lauren Cook set the Bruins to a .369 hitting mark, and UCLA held the Wildcats to a .103 attack percentage. Junior outside hitter Tiffany Owens had 16 kills and 16 digs for Arizona.

Also on Friday, top-ranked Penn State swept Michigan State (25-17, 25-20, 25-21) to move within one match of a second consecutive unbeaten regular season. The Nittany Lions will play host to 12th-ranked Michigan on Saturday evening. The Wolverines suffered an upset on Friday, losing 25-20, 25-22, 25-22 to Ohio State. Junior outside hitter Katie Dull led the Buckeyes with 13 kills on .423 hitting, while senior Ashley Hughes set her offense to a .385 attack percentage. Junior setter Lexi Zimmerman helped U-M post a .343 hitting mark in the losing effort.

There was one other major upset on Friday, as Conference USA champion Rice knocked off SEC champion and 17th-ranked LSU in three sets (32-30, 25-20, 25-20). Junior Meredith Schamun set the Owls to a .338 hitting mark, and senior middle blocker Natalie Bogan had a match-high 14 kills on .367 hitting for Rice - which beat a ranked team for the first time since 2006 and will carry a nine-match winning streak into the NCAA tournament.

The final two automatic bids to the NCAA Championship will be determined on Saturday. No. 20 Northern Iowa will face third-seeded Wichita State in the final of the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Championship at 3:07 p.m. CT, while top-seeded Portland State and third-seeded Northern Colorado will face off for the Big Sky title at 7 p.m. PT. Neither outcome figures to affect the hopes of bubble teams too dramatically. We'll also be treated to four matchups of ranked teams on the final day of the regular season. In addition to PSU-Michigan, No. 5 Illinois will be at 13th-ranked Minnesota, 16th-ranked USC plays host to No. 19 Arizona and the top non-conference match of the weekend will see 25th-ranked Notre Dame play at No. 15 Florida.

TODAY'S SCOREBOARD WATCH
All Times Eastern
New Mexico State at No. 23 Colorado State, 2 p.m. - Live Stats
Middle Tennessee at No. 22 Saint Louis, 4 p.m. - Live Stats
No. 20 Northern Iowa vs. Wichita State (MVC final), 4:07 p.m. - TV: FSN, Fox College Sports, CSN, Metro Sports, DirecTV Channel 671, Dish Channel 418 | Live Stats
No. 19 Arizona at No. 16 USC, 5 p.m. - Live Stats
Arizona State at No. 9 UCLA, 6 p.m. - Free Video | Live Stats
BYU at No. 21 Saint Mary's, 6 p.m. - Live Stats
No. 12 Michigan at No. 1 Penn State, 7 p.m. - TV: Big Ten Network (airs Sunday, 6 p.m. ET) | Live Stats
Kansas at No. 2 Texas, 7:30 p.m. - Free Video | Live Stats
Oklahoma at No. 7 Iowa State, 7:30 p.m. - Live Stats
No. 25 Notre Dame at No. 15 Florida, 7:30 p.m. - Live Stats
No. 5 Illinois at No. 13 Minnesota, 8 p.m. - Live Stats
Colorado at No. 8 Nebraska, 8 p.m. - Live Stats
Portland State vs. Northern Colorado (Big Sky final), 10 p.m. - Free Video | Live Stats