In front of a record 21,726 fans at the Yum Center in Louisville, the Louisville Cardinals and Penn State Nittany Lions earned the chance to face off Sunday in the NCAA women’s volleyball championship.
Louisville won the first semifinal of the night. Playing on their home field, the Cardinals outlasted ACC rival Pittsburgh 3-1. But not to be outdone in the drama department, Penn State pulled off a reverse sweep of Nebraska, winning three straight sets after losing the first two.
The Louisville-Penn State match means two female head coaches will face off for the first time in the title match, ensuring a woman will lead her team to the NCAA title for the first time in women’s volleyball history. the NCAA.
How Louisville beat Pittsburgh to advance
Defense, defense, defense. Louisville outscored Pittsburgh 12-4 and used that blocking ability to kill the Panthers’ rallies before they could even begin.
This defense was particularly important in the third set. Pitt had four different set point opportunities, but he couldn’t convert and win the set. Louisville stayed calm and continued to play its game to win.
“Honestly, every time we play Pitt, we know we’re going to have to block them to win,” Louisville coach Dani Busboom-Kelly said. “I didn’t realize we were outblocked the first two times. That’s probably why we didn’t win. It’s like we had to block some balls. Cara (Cresse) came in from the start of game 4 and she said, “I promise I’m going to get two blocks in this set, and she did. I thought that kind of blew up that fourth set.”
Cardinals depth shines after serious injury
Louisville had to show its depth early in the fourth set. Anna DeBeer seriously rolled her ankle while walking down a block. As DeBeer laid down on the field, the crowd at the Yum Center fell silent.
DeBeer is the heart of the team. Her ability to kill and find her opponents’ weak spots has propelled Louisville to the upper echelons of volleyball. A Louisville native, she returned for her fifth year largely because she could play for a title in her hometown. The sight of her lying on her stomach with her head down on her hands was frightening to every player on the team and every Cardinals fan in the stands.
She had help off the field and her teammates knew what they had to do.
“It was so shocking that we couldn’t really say anything anymore, but our eyes were talking,” Charitie Luper said after the game. “We looked at each other and said I got you, I got you, I got you, we’re doing this for DeBeer. Without saying things verbally, I knew what everyone wanted That’s how close we are, and how much we play for each other. Like Payton (Petersen) said earlier, we know DeBeer wouldn’t want to go out like that. ‘she wants one one more match. So we made this thing for you.
Freshman Payton Petersen was called upon to replace DeBeer, and she had two kills and four digs in the few minutes she played.
It was this depth that made the difference for Louisville in the victory against Pitt. As the Panthers declined, Louisville fought back four set points to win the third set. Without DeBeer, the Cardinals each stepped up to help the team win.
DeBeer returned to the court and did squats and jumps on the sidelines, showing she was ready if her team needed her. Busboom-Kelly said she still needs to learn more about DeBeer’s injury to know his status for Sunday.
“We’ll see if it’s serious or not, but if there’s any inkling that she can play, she’s the type of kid who’s going to go out and play,” she said. “We won’t know more until tomorrow.”
How Penn State beat Nebraska
Nebraska lost to Texas in the national championship last year, and that loss motivated the Cornhuskers throughout the tournament. Going into the semi-final, they seemed destined to make another attempt at the title. Everything was working for Nebraska, which shared the Big Ten title with Penn State.
But Penn State just didn’t want to go away. Jess Mruzik, a graduate student who has weathered Penn State’s ups and downs over the years, remained calm as she led her team. In the third set, the Nittany Lions showed more combativeness. Ace Camryn Hannah lit the fire under her team, and they held on to avoid the Nebraska sweep.
Penn State had to play to 28 points to secure the victory in the fourth set. Mruzik and Hannah scored the final two kills to push the match into the fifth set. At that point, the momentum was clearly on the Nittany Lions side.
“I think in those moments, it’s a reminder to myself and my teammates that we fight at Penn State, whether it’s our gym in preseason when it’s 90 degrees or we’re walking in snow and come back at 3 o’clock, we’ll get through it,” Caroline Jurevicius said with a smile during the post-match press conference. “I looked at each of my teammates and kind of pushed them and said, ‘We’re doing this.’ We got by. Whether they were sick of me or not, I thought it was working.
Led by Mruzik with 26 and Jurevicius with 20, Penn State had six more kills than Nebraska. Nebraska had the better defensive play, with more blocks and digs than Penn State, but the Nittany Lions still found a way to win. This is Penn State’s first return to the national title game since 2014.
In September, Penn State coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley was diagnosed with breast cancer. She continued to coach while receiving chemotherapy and has been open with her team about how she feels throughout her treatment.
His players and assistant coaches began wearing pink accessories – headbands, scrunchies, shoes or hair ribbons – during their tournament. They talked about what their coach means to them before Thursday’s game.
“I think sometimes we can get caught up in the moment,” Mruzik said. “We’ve been playing this sport for most of our lives, so sometimes it can seem like the most important thing in your life. But the way the coach is able to step in and be the same every day, no matter what happens, puts a lot of things into perspective for us because it’s really just a sport. We obviously want to win, and that’s what we’re here for. But at the end of the day, it’s not. It’s just a game, and we don’t need to take this too seriously because sometimes life outside of sports can be more difficult than life in volleyball.
How to watch the NCAA Volleyball National Championship
Sunday’s game will air on ABC starting at 3 p.m. ET from the Yum Center, and ESPN+ subscribers will be able to watch the game through the app.
