Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1531683
5 0 F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 5 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M were leading 22-16, seemingly on their way to a spot in the final. They had two chances to clinch that berth, but PSU fought off both match points and went on to win, 28-26. Then Mruzik took over. She had 6 kills on 8 swings in the decisive fifth set, in- cluding the 2,000th o f h e r c a re e r, a p o i n t t h a t ga ve Penn State a 12-8 lead. The Huskers rallied, but Penn S t a t e p r e v a i l e d when the ball sailed out of bounds after Nebraska attempted to block a big swing by Hannah. "We're never out of it," said Mruzik, who finished with 26 kills and 12 digs. "We're not playing not to lose; we're playing to win. We're not talking about losing ever. We're never counting our- selves out, no matter how big of a deficit we're fighting." Redshirt freshman outside hitter Caroline Jurevicius, a Nebraska transfer and the daughter of former PSU wide receiver Joe Jurevicius, had 20 kills and helped spark the Nittany Lions' come- back. "In those moments, it's a reminder to myself and my teammates that we dog it out at Penn State." Jurevicius said. "Whether it's being in our gym in pre- season when it's 90 degrees, or we're walking through the snow and getting back at 3 a.m., we dog it out. "I looked at every single one of my teammates and gave them a little shove and said, 'We're doing this. We're dog- ging it out.' Whether they got sick of me or not, I thought it worked." The win set up another rematch. In September, the Nittany Lions had swept then-No. 4 Louisville at Rec Hall, a vic- tory that re-established them as legiti- mate title contenders coming off a 23-9 finish in 2023. Penn State won the first set, 25-23, and appeared to be headed for a victory in the second. But the Cardinals, who were without star outside hitter Anna DeBeer due to an ankle injury, fought off 10 set points and escaped with a 34- 32 win to even the match at 1-1. With a tourna- ment-record crowd of 21,860 cheering on the hometown Cardinals, Penn State looked to have squandered its momentum. But dur- ing the break between the second and third sets, the mood in PSU's locker room was hardly somber. The Lions had been through worse and had persevered. They would just have to do so again. "We had been in this situation be- fore," Hannah said. "We lost the second set several times this season, so it was nothing new for us. We knew how to come back. "We're never out of it. We're not playing not to lose; we're playing to win. We're not talking about losing ever. We're never counting ourselves out, no matter how big of a deficit we're fighting." G R A D U A T E O U T S I D E H I T T E R J E S S M R U Z I K Katie Schumacher-Cawley became the first female coach to win an NCAA Division I women's volleyball championship. PHOTO BY MARK SELDERS/PENN STATE ATHLETICS