Penn State beat Louisville to win NCAA women’s volleyball championship

The tension leading into Sunday’s NCAA Women’s National Championship was palpable as the city of Louisville collectively held their breath looking for their hometown team to win their first title. In a season that has defied all expectations and culminated in a berth in the final four, for Louisville the loss of Anna DeBeer didn’t diminish the overwhelming support for the Cardinals in the sellout and record crowds at Yum! Center with 21,860 in attendance. However, Penn State led by Katie Schumacher-Cawley entered into this final with determination coming out of the momentum of having defeated Nebraska and as a number 1 seed.

For Schumacher-Cawley, this season has also taken on greater meaning as she has battled breast cancer throughout the entire season after having been diagnosed in September. For both teams the opportunity for the women’s game has been fully realized as the winner regardless of the outcome will be the first woman coach to win a national title in the history of the NCAA tournament.

Penn State dominated the championship from the outset with their 3-1 (25-23, 32-34, 25-20, 25-17) win over Louisville. Louisville made an incredible stand in the second set looking to swing the match in a 34-32 set win that saw Penn give up 10 set points as Louisville continued to make clutch play after clutch play. The second set was the highest combined points in a set ever in NCAA tournament history. However, for Penn State the psychological blow didn’t last long as they pushed through the third set and decisively won the 4th to cement the national championship.

For Katie Schumacher-Cawley the emotion was evident as she was crowned the first woman coach to have won the NCAA Women’s Volleyball National Championship, with a victory that has been filled with gritty determination that the team has embodied on and off the court. Katie’s determination battling through breast cancer and not giving up on her team even though she was facing such incredible personal adversity truly set an example for not just the Nittany Lions but all of those watching that you can accomplish anything you set your mind to. Schumacher-Cawley bet on her team’s future and pushed herself to that reality against all odds. This story is a testament to her character as a woman, and the power of sports stories beyond the game.