Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1531683
F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 5 4 9 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M Most Outstanding Player and was joined on the all-championship team by Han- nah and junior libero Gillian Grimes. "I love the girls. I love the program. I love the culture. I obviously love Katie and the staff. When I committed to Penn State, that's when I knew we could do this." Support System The championship was Penn State's eighth, the second-most by any Divi- sion I school. It was the team's first title under Schumacher-Cawley, the former Nittany Lion All-American who suc- ceeded Russ Rose in 2022. Schumacher- Cawley had returned to her alma mater with big shoes to fill — Rose won seven NCAA crowns and retired as the win- ningest coach in the sport's history. She was undaunted by the challenge of suc- ceeding a legendary figure, though, and she made some history of her own with the victory over Louisville, becoming the first female coach ever to lead her team to the NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament title. Schumacher-Cawley did all that while facing difficulties that went far beyond what any opponent could serve up on a volleyball court. In October, the 44-year-old coach announced that she had been diagnosed with Stage 2 breast cancer. She began undergoing chemo- therapy at a Philadelphia hospital but never considered stepping away from her coaching duties. For Schumacher- Cawley, the work she was putting in with her team was its own form of therapy. "Being around this team and the staff is when I feel most normal," she said. "For me, being at practice and in the gym with them makes it a whole lot easier. "People talk about inspiration and things like that. I'm going to UPenn, and every day that I walk into the hospi- tal there, the children's hospital is right across the street. Babies and younger kids who are really sick are there. They are my inspiration. I'm going to be healthy. I will get through this. It's just part of my journey and my life." Schumacher-Cawley said she was grateful for the strong support she re- ceived from assistants Megan Hodge Easy, Brian Toron and Michael Henchy, along with the rest of her staff. Hodge, like Schumacher-Cawley, is a former Penn State All-American. Be- tween them, the two Rose protégés won four national championships as players, and they knew what it would take to get Penn State back to that level. "I'm so fortunate to be surrounded by so many great people, from this team to the staff I have," Schumacher-Cawley said. "I'm just really lucky to have great people around me that go above and be- yond. … I think that's why we're suc- cessful." Whatever It Takes Penn State's season could easily have ended in the NCAA semifinals, where the team met a familiar foe in Nebraska. The Nittany Lions had tied the Corn- huskers for the Big Ten regular-season crown at 19-1, so it was fitting that the two should face off again with a chance for another title on the line. Penn State had topped the Cornhusk- ers, 3-1, at Rec Hall in its regular-season finale, a loss that Nebraska was eager to avenge. It looked initially as though the Huskers were going to get what they wanted — and in decisive fashion. They took the first two sets, 25-23 and 25-18, and were leading early in the third be- fore Penn State rallied for a 25-23 win. In the fourth set, Nebraska again appeared ready to close out PSU. The Cornhuskers went on a 10-1 run and Graduate outside hitter Jess Mruzik led Penn State's six-match postseason run and was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. PHOTO BY MARK SELDERS/PENN STATE ATHLETICS