LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The Louisville Cardinals had the hometown advantage and won the most emotional set of Sunday’s NCAA women’s volleyball final. But Penn State won the other three sets and got the program’s eighth national championship at the KFC Yum Center in downtown Louisville.
Penn State’s Katie Schumacher-Cawley, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in September but has stayed with her team all season, became the first woman head coach to win the national championship since the NCAA tournament began in 1981.
“I’m inspired by the young kids that are sick,” Schumacher-Cawley said of children she sees who are dealing with cancer. “If I can be an inspiration, then I take that. But I feel good. I’m fortunate to be surrounded by so many great people.”
Schumacher-Cawley played for and was an assistant to Russ Rose, the legendary coach who guided the Nittany Lions to their seven other NCAA titles before retiring after the 2021 season. Schumacher-Cawley has somewhat downplayed being the first woman coach to win, but it was a milestone for…
