PSU coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley perseveres through cancer - ESPN

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — At 12:56 a.m. Friday, minutes after Penn State pulled off a miraculous reverse sweep over No. 2 overall seed Nebraska in the NCAA women's volleyball tournament, head coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley was nowhere to be found. Three of her star players, Jess Mruzik, Caroline Jurevicius and Gillian Grimes, made their way to the news conference podium with big grins plastered on their faces. Mruzik, a team captain, said Schumacher-Cawley was right behind them and would join them shortly.

For five minutes, everyone waited, peering at the door in the back.

Then, the 44-year-old Schumacher-Cawley sauntered into the room. She had thrown on a brand-new national championship finalist black pullover with a «PSU!» sticker slapped on the right side of her chest. She was wearing a black cloth cap that covered her head, from the nape of her neck to her forehead. It fit snugly. She touched her cap as she sat down.

She mumbled to her players that she needed to change her cap before heading to the news conference. Her players held her gaze. They've always been in sync, this group, but the unity has heightened this season.

«I'm tired,» Schumacher-Cawley declared. «I don't know about you guys.»

From 9:42 p.m. to 12:40 a.m. ET, which was way past her bedtime, Schumacher-Cawley stood by the court as her team saved two match points and pulled off one of the greatest comebacks in volleyball history.

For the next 20 minutes from the podium, Schumacher-Cawley's eyes brightened, and she sat up straighter every time somebody asked her about her players. When she was asked about herself, she deflected, and Mruzik intercepted with an, «I know Katie doesn't like talking about herself...»

Schumacher-Cawley has shared few details about