OKLAHOMA CITY -- While the players in the NCAA Division I women's volleyball national semifinals may have had jitters on the court, perhaps no one felt the pressure of the moment more than the families in the stands.
Tola Ajanaku
"It's nerve-wracking," said Tola Ajanaku, mother of Stanford junior Inky Ajanaku.
The Ajanaku family hails from Tulsa, just an hour and a half from Chesapeake Energy Center in Oklahoma City, and a contingent of nearly 200 friends made the trip on Interstate 44 to cheer on the Cardinal.
"It's been a great experience," Tola said. "A lot of the Tulsa community has come to support Inky."
Kelly Hancock
Top-seeded Stanford (33-2) took on defending champions Penn State (35-3), which also had an Oklahoma native on its roster.
Senior setter Micha Hancock grew up in Edmond, just 15 miles north of Oklahoma City. Last season, she was named the NCAA tournament's most outstanding player, but that didn't stop her mother, Kelly, from hanging on every point this year.
"I'm full of anxiety," Kelly said.
The match ended up going Penn State's way as the Nittany Lions won 3-1 (25-16, 23-25, 25-22, 25-2), behind 23 kills by junior Megan Courtney and 55 assists from Hancock.
The local support wasn't lost on Hancock.
"Knowing I can look up in the crowd and see my family, it's just really cool," Hancock said following the game. "I feel like it helps me."
She'll have one more chance to play in front of a home crowd when Penn State takes on BYU in Saturday's NCAA championship game.
Sharon Cawood
If you didn't know the storyline for BYU's run in the NCAA tournament, all you needed to do was ask Sharon Cawood.
"[They've been] the underdog the whole way," she said while wearing a blue BYU shirt Thursday night in the Cougars' cheering section.
Cawood has been following BYU's run in the postseason closely because of a special rooting interest -- her granddaughter Ciara Parker is a defensive specialist for the Cougars.
Cawood traveled from Kirtland, New Mexico to watch her play on a national stage.
"Some people drove all night to get here," she said. "You don't get a chance to do this very often."
The Cougars (30-4) came into the NCAA tournament unseeded and hadn't touched a Final Four floor since 1993. That all changed Thursday night against second-seeded Texas (27-3).
It was a matchup of contrasts. BYU leads the nation in blocks, while Texas has two of the best hitters in the country in senior All-Americans Khat Bell and Haley Eckerman.
But only BYU had Jennifer Hamson. The 6-foot-7 senior is a two-sport All-American in volleyball and basketball.
She turned out to be the deciding factor in the match with 22 kills, including the game-winner in the fourth and final set. BYU becomes the first unseeded team to reach a national championship game.
Parker served the final point of the match as her grandmother looked on nervously, a feeling shared by her granddaughter.
"That was a little nerve-wracking, but I've been preparing for that," Parker said after the game. "I've always kind of been ready for that moment."
After BYU reserved its spot in the national championship game, Cawood knew exactly what she would tell her granddaughter: "That I love her, and I'm proud of her."