Penn State Sports Magazine
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F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 5 51 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M "We rallied together in the locker room, and all of us talked about how we had to move on. We couldn't dwell in the moment. The next set would be a whole new game. Just knowing that, we were lighthearted and laughing, and we came out with a fight." Did they ever. Mruzik had 10 kills in the third set, and Penn State rolled to a 25-20 win. The fourth set was even more lop- sided. Hannah ended it with a kill to give PSU a 25-17 victory and a su- premely gratifying national champi- onship, the program's first since 2014. Mruzik finished the match with 29 kills, 14 digs, 5 blocks and an ace, while Hanna had 19 kills and Grimes totaled 16 digs. "I struggled a little bit just to find my groove at the beginning, but I was get- ting a ton of good information off the bench from my teammates and a ton of good information from the other girls on the court," Mruzik said. "I think what really clicked was when all my team- mates started looking at me, saying, 'I have your back, swing away, let it rip.' That allowed me to play free. But I defi- nitely wouldn't be able to do it without every single person around me." Mruzik took 73 swings in the match, a total that caught Schumacher-Caw- ley's eye as she skimmed the stat sheet during the postgame press conference. "That's a lot," she said. But Schumacher-Cawley knew her star player could handle the workload. Said the coach, "Jess never looks tired, although I know she is. I think she would take 200 swings if we needed them to win." 'She's Been An Inspiration' Spearheaded by a combination of transfers and elite high school recruits like setter Izzy Starck, who was named National Freshman of the Year by the American Volleyball Coaches Associa- tion, the championship validated the players' faith in Schumacher-Cawley and her team-building process. The Nittany Lions had ended their season in the regional semifinals the previous two years, but the addition of Starck and Jurevicius, among oth- ers, to a strong corps of returnees enabled Penn State to finish 35-2, its winningest season since going 36-3 in 2014. "It's been quite the journey, for sure," Schumacher-Cawley said. "The last three years, these guys have been through a lot. I'm proud that they're walking away the way they are. Not even just volleyball. I think as people and in school, they're all excellent. … Everyone that we've brought into the program has helped and has made an impact to push this team to where it needed to be." Those relationships have been mu- tually beneficial, with players extolling the impact that Schumacher-Cawley has had on their lives and athletic ca- reers. "Katie pushes us in the best way. She knows how to push each person in- dividually in the way they need to be pushed to be successful here," Tram- mell said. "I know coming here, that was the main thing that I looked at. "Katie has pushed me to be a bet- ter person, a better player and just a well-rounded human being. I think that's a characteristic that I'll take into life — how to treat others — and it's something I'm so grateful for that she taught me." Mruzik said the biggest takeaway from her time in Schumacher-Cawley's program is that with enough faith and determination, all things are possible. "You can do anything you set your mind to," she said. "With her doing ev- erything she's doing, that helped us as a group also believe that we're capable of this. "Everyone says they believe they can do this, but there aren't many people who truly, deeply know they can do this. She's been an inspiration to us, and she's helped us believe that we can accomplish what we just accom- plished." ■ Lions Rank Second In All-Time NCAA Tournament Championships After Penn State defeated Louisville to win the NCAA title, graduate outside hitter Jess Mruzik said that she and her teammates had been driven to uphold the standard that longtime coach Russ Rose established during his 43 seasons leading the program. "The standard at Penn State is winning national championships," Mruzik said. "That's how it's al- ways been. That's what Coach Rose instilled, and that's what we try to uphold every single day. "This is a dream come true. When you come to Penn State, you're a Penn Stater for life, and the ultimate goal is winning a national championship." Penn State now has eight of those big, shiny NCAA trophies — the second-highest total in the 44-year history of the Division I tournament. The Nittany Lions claimed seven national titles during Rose's tenure and now have one under his successor, Katie Schumacher-Cawley. Only Stanford, with nine NCAA women's volleyball championships, has more. — Matt Herb Most NCAA Women's Volleyball Championships Team No. Years Won Stanford 9 1992, 1994, 1996, 1997, 2001, 2004, 2016, 2018, 2019 Penn State 8 1999, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2024 Nebraska 5 1995, 2000, 2006, 2015, 2017 Texas 4 1988, 2012, 2022, 2023 UCLA 4 1984, 1990, 1991, 2011 Hawai'i 3 1982, 1983, 1987 Long Beach State 3 1989, 1993, 1998 USC 3 1981, 2002, 2003 Pacific 2 1985, 1986