LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Katie Schumacher-Cawley took in her milestone moment with a big smile, hugging confetti-covered players and supporters before hoisting the championship trophy that sets her apart from other volleyball coaches.
Other than one focus lapse, the Nittany Lions made sure she’d get it.
Jess Mruzik made 29 kills with a .315 hitting percentage, and Schumacher-Cawley became the first female coach to win a NCAA volleyball championship as Penn State defeated Louisville 3-1 in Sunday’s final.
The Nittany Lions (35-2) earned their record eighth national championship and first since 2014 under the third-year coach, who has led the team while undergoing treatment for breast cancer that was diagnosed in September. Schumacher-Cawley has nonetheless conducted practices between treatments, a determined and emotional journey that provided a rallying point for players and garnered widespread support.
Penn State completed its mission with aggressive play that kept Louisville (30-6) on the defensive to win 25-23, 32-34, 25-20 and 25-17. The Nittany Lions’ third-set rebound was especially critical after the Cardinals won an epic second set 34-32 by rallying from several deficits and fighting off 10 Nittany Lion set points.
The Cardinals appeared reborn while the Nittany Lions were left to figure out what happened, and then get over it, which they also had to do on Thursday to make the finals after trailing 0-2 to Nebraska.
“We’ve lost the second set several times, so it’s nothing new for us,” Penn State outside hitter Camryn Hannah said. “All of us talked about, like, we have to move on. The next set was a whole new game.”
Schumacher-Cawley stood close by from the sideline as players converted kills, made crucial digs and blocks at the net, particularly in the final two sets. When the outcome was sealed, players formed a pile on the court as the coaches congratulated each other under a storm of confetti resembling snowflakes, some doing angels.
And plenty of plaudits for Schumacher-Cawley.
“I’m so fortunate to be surrounded by so many great people, from this team to the staff,” she said, referring to inspiration she has got seeing a nearby children’s hospital during treatments.
“I’m just really lucky to have great people around me that go above and beyond. Sure, if I can be inspirational to someone, I can take that. But, you know, I feel good and I’m lucky to have people around me. And, I think that’s why we were successful.”
Cheering on was an NCAA indoor record crowd of 21,860, mostly dressed in Cardinals red.
Hannah added 19 kills with two blocks and Caroline Jurevicius had 10 kills for the Nittany Lions, who won their eighth straight title-game appearance. However, Mruzik set the tone by being where she was needed, finishing the job and making sure others did the same.
“I struggled a little bit to just to find my groove at the beginning,” said Mruzik, who had 55 kills this weekend and was named most outstanding player. “But I was getting a ton of good information off the bench from my teammates and a ton of good information from the other girls on the court.”
“What really clicked was all my teammates were looking at me saying, ‘I have your back, let it rip.’ And that just allowed me to play free.”
Charitie Luper had 21 kills and Sofia Maldonado Diaz 20 for Louisville, which played without All-American hitter Anna DeBeer. The Louisville native sustained a right ankle injury in Thursday’s semifinal against Pittsburgh and did not participate in pregame warmups.
Sunday’s championship was already historic with Schumacher-Cawley facing Louisville coaching counterpart Dani Busboom Kelly, ensuring a female coach would win a national title after 42 previous crowns won by male coaches. Busboom Kelly was making her second finals appearance in three seasons with the Cardinals.
“Hats off to Penn State, they played great today and we couldn’t stop them,” said Busboom Kelly, who also congratulated Schumacher-Cawley. “I felt like we could never catch up.”
Both coaches had already won titles as players. Schumacher-Cawley helped Penn State win its first title in 1999, while Busboom Kelly helped Nebraska win the 2006 championship.