The 2005 NCAA Division I women's volleyball tournament began on December 1, 2005 with 64 teams and concluded on December 17, 2005, when Washington defeated Nebraska 3 games to 0 in San Antonio, Texas for the program's first NCAA title.

In the second round, defending national champion and fifth seeded Stanford was stunned by unseeded Santa Clara on their home floor.

However, in the next round, Arizona was the victim of an upset, as Santa Clara defeated them, 3-2, to advance to their first final four in school history.

No upsets were seen up until the regional semifinals, when Wisconsin defeated 6th seeded Notre Dame in a 5-game match.

Santa Clara's dream run came to an end, as top seeded Nebraska overpowered them, 30-24, 30-19, 30-21.

Oddly similar to the first semifinal, Tennessee's dream run came to end in another sweep with nearly identical scores to the Nebraska/Santa Clara match, by defeating them 30-25, 30-19, 30-21.

Despite Nebraska taking an early 7-2 lead in the third game, Washington closed the gap and at 18, it was tied up.

Ironically, that loss was UCLA head coach Andy Banachowski’s 1,000th career win.