Mruzik, Penn State overpower Louisville to win NCAA volleyball title

LOUISVILLE, Kentucky — Katie Schumacher-Cawley, the reluctant inspiration and one hell of a coach, is now the only member of the most exclusive club in NCAA Division I women’s volleyball.

She has won national championships as a player and a coach.

The first came in 1999 when Penn State defeated Stanford for the school’s first title.

The second came Sunday afternoon when the Nittany Lions (35-2) put an exclamation point on the most unpredictable season in NCAA history with a 25-23, 32-34, 25-20, 25-17 victory over Louisville (30-6). 

“I think it’s pretty crazy that I came back and I’m with Penn State, and to win it as a coach is really special,” said Schumacher-Cawley, who joined her old coach Russ Rose as an assistant and then got the job when he retired three years ago. “Someone asked is it better as a player or as a coach? Like I said, I just like to win, and I like to compete, and I like to help our players be the best they can.

“This is pretty cool, though, as a coach. It’s pretty neat. Yeah, I would say probably as a coach right now.”

It was Penn State’s eighth crown, one fewer than Stanford, and put an end to a 2024 season in which Schumacher coached a blend of young players and veteran transfers all the while battling breast cancer. And she became the first woman to coach a team to the title.

“A historic day for volleyball,” said Louisville coach Dani Busboom Kelly, who took Louisville to the season’s last match for the second time in three years. “We’re very happy for Katie. It’s a big deal for this sport. I’m very thankful that that monkey is off its back and we can move on and that more women will be in this position in the future.”

There is no doubt that will happen as volleyball continues to explode on all fronts.

The 21,860 on hand in the KFC Yum! Center broke the NCAA Championship attendance record set Thursday of 21,726 on hand for the semifinals. It marked another season with better TV ratings and more parity than ever.

But in the end, these national semifinals brought together the four No. 1 seeds, and in the semifinals Louisville ousted Pittsburgh and Penn State pulled off a reverse sweep against Nebraska.

Jess Mruzik, the transfer from Michigan who capped her career with back-to-back career highs here,…