NATIONAL CHAMPION! Penn State Women’s Volleyball Beats Louisville for Eighth Title

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Penn State made history Sunday with its 3-1 (25-23, 32-34, 25-20, 25-17) win over Louisville in the NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball Championship match at the KFC Yum! Center. It was the eighth National Title in program history and, under the leadership of Katie Schumacher-Cawley, was the first ever Division I title in the sport won by a team with a woman head coach.

The Nittany Lions close the season at 35-2 and take home the title of both national champions and Big Ten champions. Their run to the national title included wins over Delaware State, North Carolina, Marquette, Creighton, and Nebraska, before finally culminating with the victory over Louisville in front of an NCAA Women’s Volleyball Championship record crowd of 21,860 fans.

Jess Mruzik left little doubt as to who the Most Outstanding Player would be as she hit .315 with 29 kills, 14 digs, five blocks, and one ace. That came just three days after she hit .300 with 26 kills in a reverse-sweep win over Nebraska in a match Penn State trailed 2-0 overall and later 22-16 in the fourth set.

Mruzik was joined on the All-Championship Team by a pair of teammates. Camryn Hannah tallied 19 kills, three digs, and two blocks in the win, while Gillian Grimes tallied a team-high 16 digs. Grimes led all players with 25 digs in the National Semifinal victory.

Caroline Jurevicius finished with 10 kills, three digs, and two blocks. Jurevicius played a huge role in the Nittany Lions getting to the championship match with her career-high 20 kills in the National Semifinal win over the Huskers.

Taylor Trammell and Maggie Mendelson gave Penn State a strong presence in the middle. Trammell totaled eight kills on .467 hitting and added three blocks. Mendelson finished with six kills and six blocks. The Penn State defense was strong in the back row, as well, as Ava Falduto and Jocelyn Nathan contributed 14 and 10 digs, respectively. Quinn Menger chipped in with four digs.

Izzy Starck, who became the first Penn State freshman setter to start in a National Championship match, played at a level well beyond a freshman. She guided the Nittany Lions to .277 hitting with her 55 assists and added 13 digs for her 18th double-double of the season.

Louisville received a strong effort from a pair of players as Charitie Luper hit .254 with 21 kills and Sofia Maldonado Diaz hit .400 with 20 kills. Regardless of the outcome, the National Championship was going to be won by a woman head coach as the Cardinals are led by Dani Busboom Kelly.

Penn State improved to 8-3 in National Championship matches and rank just one title behind Stanford for the most of any program in the nation. The Nittany Lions lost their first three appearances in the final but have since won eight straight, adding the 2024 trophy to the ones they won in 1999, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2013, and 2014. Schumacher-Cawley played on the 1999 team, while current assistant coach Megan Hodge played on the 2007, 2008, and 2009 teams.