NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball finally gets its long awaited storyline. For the first time, a female head coach will be crowned the national champion as Katie Schumacher-Cawley’s Penn State University Nittany Lions take on Dani Busboom-Kelly’s Louisville Cardinals. Since the NCAA began awarding women’s volleyball titles, the champions have been led by male coaches. Both Schumacher-Cawley (known in brief by her initials KSC) and Busboom-Kelly will be more than worthy of being named a national champion head coach when the dust settles shortly after first serve at 3:00 pm today.
Both squads made it to the championship match in improbable fashion. Penn State was behind 22-16 and down 2 sets to 1 to an imposing Nebraska squad that had a more than capable offense, and the best defense in the country. Penn State put together a comeback for the ages, fighting off two match points, to prevail 28-26 in that fourth set, then pulled away for the victory in the deciding fifth. Penn State earned the recently coined ‘reverse sweep’ moniker having lost the first two sets, only to win the next three to advance to the final.
Louisville’s victory was just as dramatic. Fellow ACC foe Pittsburgh had defeated the Cardinals twice in the regular season. Most pundits will say that it is difficult to defeat the same team three times in the same season. Pittsburgh concurred with this statement, as Louisville took them out in the National Semifinal. The Cardinal’s semifinal win is a match worthy of a story of its own.
Leading the match two sets to one, Louisville’s top attacker Anna DeBeer crumpled to the floor with an ankle injury early in the fourth set. Heroically substituting for the injured DeBeer, Payton Petersen ably put together two key kills along with two aces and a block, to support the Cardinals en route to the four set victory. For any average substitute to come on the floor in a crucial situation like this one, you’d expect a step down of skill and court impact. However, this was no average backup.
Payton Peterson’s volleyball pedigree is in the top 1% of backups in Division 1 Volleyball. Payton was a star at perennial Iowa High School powerhouse Dike-New Hartford. Her mother is long time University of Northern Iowa Head Volleyball Coach Bobbi Petersen. Payton’s three sisters all have played or are currently playing Division 1 Volleyball. Needless to say, Payton was prepared to step in for Anna DeBeer on Thursday night. Her clutch fourth set play catapulted Louisville to the national final.
The Sunday final sets up in epic fashion, with notable players on each side needing to step up to bring home the title. Penn State’s Jess Mruzik has the best armswing of the remaining two teams’ attackers. With 26 kills in their comeback win over Nebraska, she’ll have to repeat that performance against Louisville’s stellar block. Caroline Jurevicius stood out on the right side for the Nittany Lions in the semis; her play will be critical in keeping the attention off of Mruzik and OH2 Camryn Hannah.
Louisville’s most heralded player this season does not attack the ball. 2024 All American Libero Elena Scott will have to pass nails to allow freshman setter Nayelis Cabello to spread the offense across all 30 feet of the net. Of particular importance, Charitie Luper will have to step up even more as a scorer with Anna DeBeer either sidelined or at less than 100%. Luper (like DeBeer) is an undersized Outside Hitter that can get super hot, but then go inexplicably cold for a swing or two. If not hot, Luper and company will be on thin ice in the final.
In sports, players, coaches and the media often use the term ‘going in to battle’ when talking about an upcoming game. Coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley however, is in a real battle, with breast cancer. Diagnosed in October, KSC has been battling cancer with grueling rounds of chemotherapy that leave her ill and weakened for days after treatments. Chemotherapy has also left her without her trademarked blonde hair; instead, a navy turban takes its place. In an interview prior to the national semifinal game, Emily Ehman asked how she is balancing coaching Penn State Volleyball while battling cancer. KSC said poignantly, “You can do anything, with a little help.”. If her coaching abilities alone don’t motivate you, watch that interview for enough inspiration to motivate you to run through a brick wall.
The matchup will be a well played affair, and both coaches will have their teams prepared. The teams are led by freshmen setters, and each have showed their youth for brief spurts in this tournament. Both will have to play with the steadiness of an upperclassman to give their teams a chance. Louisville’s defense on the block and in the backcourt will pose a stout test for Penn State. However, the Nittany Lions are at full strength on the offensive side of the ball. With the Cardinals at less than 100%, they don’t have quite enough to counter the PSU attack. I’m picking Penn State in four sets to win the title.
Paul MacDonald - Sports Broadcaster 