Katie Schumacher-Cawley makes NCAA history and breaks barrier with national championship win

It only took Katie Schumacher-Cawley three seasons to lead Penn State women’s volleyball back to the mountaintop. On Sunday the Nittany Lions knocked off Louisville at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville to win the program’s eighth national championship and the first since 2014. 

For Schumacher-Cawley it is national title No. 2. The former Penn State All-American led the Nittany Lions to the 1999 championship and while the pinnacle of the sport is familiar territory, Schumacher-Cawley is a trailblazer. With the win, Schumacher-Cawley becomes the first woman in NCAA Division I history to lead a women’s volleyball program to the national title, and she did so amidst a battle with breast cancer, which she was diagnosed with back in September. 

In an on-court postgame interview with ESPN’s Madison Fitzpatrick, Schumacher-Cawley said of the historic moment in the sport, “There have been so many that have been before me and that have paved the way for me. I’m so grateful and hopefully, there will be more in the future that want to coach and be a part of it.” 

With this historic championship, Penn State women’s volleyball, with eight, is now just one shy of Stanford for the most titles all-time in women’s volleyball. Stanford last won the national championship in 2019. This is Penn State’s first national championship without legendary head coach Russ Rose, who led the program from 1979-2021, winning the previous seven championships. Schumacher-Cawley took over the program from her former coach after four seasons as an assistant in Happy Valley. 

The Nittany Lions were carried to the title by a dominant performance from fifth-year senior Jess Mruzik, who finished with a match-high 29 kills on 73 swings, hitting .315. Mruzik also added 14 digs and five blocks on her way to being named the NCAA Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player.