SPOKANE, Wash. -- Some of the 10,792 fans who saw Stanford defeat Penn State for the NCAA women's volleyball championship will call it thrilling. Others will call it the best volleyball match they have ever seen. The Nittany Lions will simply call it heartbreaking.

Penn State lost the first two games Saturday, then with a newfound passion and a champion's mettle, fought and clawed their way back to tie the match at two games apiece and force a Game 5 with defending national champion Stanford.

The Nittany Lions -- spent and exhausted from a marathon of a fourth game -- couldn't come all the way back as they dropped Game 5 and lost, 3-2 (15-10, 15-6, 2-15, 15-17, 15-9), before an energetic and noisy Spokane Arena crowd.

"That was a great match," said Penn State senior Terri Zemaitis, who was named the tournament's most outstanding player. "It was exciting volleyball. The outcome just sucks."

The outcome, though, could've been worse for Penn State. Stanford dominated the first two games, and all signs pointed toward a Cardinal sweep.

"I said before the match that we needed to win one of the first two games," said Nittany Lion coach Russ Rose, whose team finished the season 34-2. "I thought it was critical that we pressed them, but not try to knock them out.

"That was the problem. We didn't do that. I think had we done that it would've been a little different. I'm not sure if the outcome would've been different, but the stress that would've been placed on Stanford would've been different."

The senior-laden Cardinal squad, which has won 28 straight matches and picked up its fourth national title since 1992, seemed to remain calm throughout Penn State's hectic comeback and composed during Game 5.

"We got in the huddle and told each other we've worked too hard for this. We can't go out this way," said Stanford senior Kristin Folkl, whose team lost its previous two meetings with Penn State this season. "We realized that's not the volleyball that Stanford plays and that we can play a lot better."

The Cardinal jumped to an 11-5 lead in the rally-scored Game 5 -- where a point is scored on every serve -- and then watched Penn State close to within 13-9 on the final kill of Zemaitis' splendid collegiate career. The Nittany Lions would get no closer, as a Folkl kill gave the Cardinal a 15-9 win and set off a wild celebration.

The school's pep band played the alma mater. The cheerleaders danced. The players and coaches hugged each other.

The Penn State bench told a different story. Few, if any, of the players' eyes were able to hold back tears. Rose sat and just stared at the court -- where just minutes earlier his team had nearly completed an improbable, seemingly impossible comeback led by the play of Zemaitis.

"I really admired the way Terri played," Rose said. "She almost kept us in the match almost single-handedly."

Facing a 2-0 deficit in the match and not having led during the entire afternoon, Penn State came out swinging in Game 3. The Nittany Lions raced to a 10-1 lead and won, 15-2, to stave off elimination and set up an unforgettable Game 4.

Penn State watched Stanford jump out to an 8-4 lead before fighting back to go ahead 11-10 on a Zemaitis kill. The Cardinal then went back in front, 14-13, and forced the Nittany Lions to fight off two match points. Finally, however, Penn State found a way to win a 17-15 thriller.

"It was just a classic," said Stanford coach Don Shaw, whose team finished the season 33-2. "I can't wait to see it."

As for the first two games, Penn State certainly can wait to see them. The Nittany Lions -- who were outhit, outdug and outblocked for the match -- were far from their best in Game 1 and Game 2.

"We dug ourselves such an early hole in the first two games that it just seemed we were uphill most of the time," Rose said. "I thought we played hard. We didn't necessarily play well."

Game 1 was anything but a masterpiece for Penn State. Zemaitis served to start the match, but her foot was on the line. Sideout Stanford.

The Cardinal proceeded to jump to leads of 5-0 and 11-4 before the Nittany Lions rallied to pull within 11-10. Penn State, which was outhit .286-.129 in the first game and committed nine hitting errors, would get no closer.

A Sarah Clark kill finally gave Game 1 to Stanford, 15-10. It was the first game Penn State lost in the NCAA tournament and the first one it dropped since Nov. 1 against Illinois. And it was a sign of things to come in Game 2.

"I think everyone tried, but things just weren't falling into place right away," said Penn State sophomore Carrie Schonveld, an all-tournament selection who contributed 20 kills and 22 digs in the title match. "It was crazy what happened -- tripping on sweat, Christy (Cochran)'s tooth (that was knocked out when Zemaitis accidentally elbowed her). I jumped on top of Lindsay (Anderson). Things just don't happen like that."

Stanford, with Paula McNamee leading the way, was taking advantage of Penn State's miscues in Game 2. The Cardinal raced to leads of 3-0 and 10-4. For Penn State, which again was outhit, this time .340-.156, it was too much of a deficit to erase. Stanford won, 15-6, and trotted into intermission with a comfortable 2-0 lead.

The Nittany Lions, meanwhile, went into their locker room to regroup. They came out a different team and came within a game of winning the school's first women's volleyball national title.

"I'm just so proud of my team," Zemaitis said. "We could've lost in three games, and we didn't."

She made sure of that.

STANFORD 3, PENN STATE 2

(15-10, 15-6, 2-15, 15-17, 15-9)

(Saturday at Spokane Arena)

Stat leaders

Kills: Stanford -- Kristin Folkl 22; PSU -- Terri Zemaitis 25.

Blocks: Stanford -- Paula McNamee 10; PSU -- Lindsay Anderson, Lauren Cacciamani 6.

Assists: Stanford -- Lisa Sharpley 69; PSU -- Bonnie Bremner 70.

Digs: Stanford -- Lisa Sharpley, Kerri Walsh 30; PSU -- Zemaitis 25.

Aces: Stanford -- Sharpley 2; PSU -- Zemaitis 1.

Records: Stanford -- 33-2; PSU -- 34-2.