Penn State beats Louisville for NCAA women's volleyball title - ESPN

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 the sport.

That historic first was guaranteed for this final, since Louisville is also coached by a woman, Dani Busboom Kelly. Both won NCAA titles as players, Schumacher-Cawley in 1999 with Penn State and Busboom Kelly with Nebraska in 2006.

«I'm very happy for Katie, and it's a big deal for this sport,» Busboom Kelly said. «I'm thankful… that we can move on and that more women will be in this position in the future.»

All four No. 1 seeds made this final four, the fourth time since seeding began in 1993 that the tournament's top four seeds got that far. Pitt and Nebraska were thought by many to be the favorites to advance to the championship match. Instead, Louisville beat ACC rival Pitt