Amid cancer battle, Katie Schumacher-Cawley makes history as Penn State wins 2024 NCAA women’s volleyball championship
By Jacob Lev, CNN
(CNN) — Penn State women’s volleyball are champions for the first time in a decade and it came amid adversity and history.
The Nittany Lions defeated Louisville 3-1 (25-23, 32-34, 25-20, 25-17) to capture the program’s eighth NCAA title in front of a record crowd of 21,860 at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Kentucky on Sunday.
The win proved to be historic.
In a championship showdown between two women head coaches, Penn State coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley became the first woman coach to win the NCAA Division I volleyball title.
“There have been so many before me and that have paved the way for me,” Schumacher-Cawley told the ESPN broadcast after the match. “I’m so grateful and hopefully there will be more in the future that will want to coach and be a part of it.”
However, it wasn’t an easy path to this championship for the 44-year-old, who is in her third year at the helm at Penn State.
In October, Schumacher-Cawley announced she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
Schumacher-Cawley expressed her gratitude for the people around her while also mentioning who she is inspired by following the title win.
“I’m so fortunate to be surrounded by so many great people from this team to the staff I have,” Schumacher-Cawley told reporters. “I’m just really lucky to have great people around me that go above and beyond … I am inspired by the young kids that are sick. I’m doing treatment at UPenn and every time I walk into the hospital, I walk right past the children’s hospital. Sure, if I can be an inspiration to someone then I take that but I feel good and I’m lucky to have the people around me. I think thats why we’re successful.”
After splitting the first two sets, Penn State found another gear to take the next two to bring the title back to State College for the first time since 2014.
The Nittany Lions were led by All-American outside hitter Jess Mruzik, who racked up 29 kills, tying a season-high. She was later named the NCAA tournament Most Outstanding Player.
The Nittany Lions now have the second-most titles in NCAA history, trailing only Stanford’s nine championships.
Penn State ends the season on a 12-match win streak and a 35-2 overall record.
The-CNN-Wire
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