Katie Schumacher-Cawley is no stranger to the bright stage. She was an integral member of Penn State’s 1999 national championship team and, as a coach, led the Nittany Lions to the national semifinals in each of the previous two years. It was only a matter of time before Schumacher-Cawley had another shot at a national title.
When the opportunity came, Schumacher-Cawley and her Penn State women’s volleyball program were ready. She wasn’t going to let a stage 2 breast cancer diagnosis stop her. On Sunday, Schumacher-Cawley again hoisted the NCAA Championship trophy and soaked in the confetti-showered atmosphere after the Nittany Lions’ 3-1 win over Louisville in the national title.
With the win, Penn State claimed its eighth national championship and first since 2014. It also cemented Schumacher-Cawley’s legacy as the first woman to win an NCAA Division I volleyball championship as a head coach.
“I mean there have been so many that have been before me and that have paved the way for me, and I’m so grateful and hopefully there’ll be more in the future that want to coach and be a part of it,” Schumacher-Cawley told ABC after the win. “But I’m just so happy.”
Jess Mruzik led the Nittany Lions with 29 kills and added 14 digs, Camryn Hannah contributed 19 kills and Caroline Jurevicius tallied 10 kills
“We knew that coming to this match, we wanted to make a lot of people proud, including ourselves. But this is more than just for us,” Mruzik said. “I mean, we work every single day in the gym, obviously for ourselves, but for (Schumacher-Cawley) too, and for our families and for the alums. We’re just so happy for Penn State right now.”
It took a miraculous comeback to even earn the opportunity to play on Sunday. The Nittany Lions lost their first two sets to Nebraska in the semifinals on Thursday, but completed a reverse sweep to clinch their first championship game appearance in a decade. It was a storybook two-game finish for Penn State to conclude the 2024 season with a dominant 35-2 record.
Anna DeBeer, an All-American who led the Cardinals with 473 total points this season, was ruled inactive with an ankle injury. But that didn’t stop Louisville from putting up a fight. The Cardinals held off 10 Nittany Lion set points, going on a 5-0 run to the and ultimately win the second set.
With DeBeer out, Charitie Luper led Louisville with 19 kills while Sofi Maldonado Diaz tallied 16 kills and four blocks.
Ultimately, DeBeer’s absence and a relentless pursuit by Penn State proved too much for Louisville to overcome. The Nittany Lions held the advantage in attack attempts, kills, hit percentage, set assists, service aces and digs.
“These seniors, they wanted to make a change, and they did,” Schumacher-Cawley said. “And it started last year after we lost and I’m just proud of the work they put in and how they led this younger group.”
