History looms in NCAA volleyball championship with female coaches poised as first to win a title

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Players and coaches who will make history at the NCAA volleyball championship still find it hard to believe that a female coach hasn’t already won a title.

After all, a female coach has influenced almost every stage of their volleyball lives. It was assumed that a woman had already reached the summit of college’s top achievement as a coach.

That hasn’t happened yet – but it will on Sunday when either Penn State’s Katie Schumacher-Cawley or Louisville’s Dani Busboom-Kelly become the first female coach to hoist the trophy in the 42-year history of the NCAA volleyball championship.

They both won college titles as players. And they hope it will eventually become commonplace.

“It’s hard to really to put that into words,” said Busboom-Kelly, who will lead the top-seeded Cardinals (30-5) in their second NCAA final in three seasons. “I think it’s more of a feeling and it’s more like just being really proud that we can be role models and hopefully blazing a trail and show athletic directors what women can do.

“It’s going to be awesome for the sport, I think, to get this monkey off its back and move on from this to where it’s not historic that a woman wins, that’s it’s a regular thing. And that’ll be great when in every Final Four, there’s a chance for a woman to win it.”

Both coaches have championship pedigrees as players. Busboom-Kelly helped Nebraska win the 2006 NCAA crown among two finals appearances as a player before later serving as a Cornhuskers assistant to John Cook during her coaching journey.

Schumacher-Cawley was a member of Penn State’s first national team in 1999 under legendary coach Russ Rose and served as an assistant coach from 2018-21. She took over in 2022 and has the Nittany Lions (34-2) seeking their eighth national title and first since 2014.

Their remarkable quest has come while Shumacher-Cawley recovers from stage 2 breast cancer diagnosed in September. Chemotherapy treatments continue at UPenn hospital in Philadelphia, across the street from a children’s hospital that she said offers inspiration and perspective.

Volleyball practices give her enjoyment and energy. Schumacher-Cawley’s recovery has drawn widespread support and helped fuel Penn State’s title chase. The journey that has left little time to reflect on the looming milestone.

“I guess it hasn’t really sunk in yet,” said Schumacher-Cawley, who thanked media on Friday for raising the profile of the sport. “Maybe Sunday, when we walk out there.”

She added, “I just think the sport has opened a lot of doors for a lot of people and a lot of young women, whether it’s in coaching or having the opportunity to play is really special. … It’s a really, really neat time to be a part of it. I’m happy to be in it.”

The Final Four featured the four No. 1 seeds and plenty of resolve. Penn State showed that in rallying from two sets down to pull off a five-set reverse sweep over Nebraska in a marathon semifinal that started Thursday night and ended after midnight. Louisville overcame dropping the first set to oust overall No. 1 seed Pitt 3-1 after losing four previous times to the Panthers.

Both thrillers unfolded before a NCAA-record crowd of 21,726 at the KFC Yum! Center, the 22,000-seat arena where Louisville plays some of its home matches. The championship on Sunday -– sold out since the summer — will have a national audience on ABC and a tough act to follow. Last year’s title game drew a record 1.7 million television viewers, a 115% increase over the previous year.

“It’s really exciting for the sport of volleyball, how much it’s growing over the years and how there can be 22,000 people in an arena plus thousands of people around the country supporting us constantly, win or loss,” Penn State freshman setter Izzy Starck said. “It’s really cool how much support there is all around.”

An increase wouldn’t be shocking, considering volleyball’s continued rising popularity as a participation sport. A record 479,125 girls played high school volleyball in 2023-24, according to the National Federation of State High School Associations, nearly a percentage point higher than the previous year.

Busboom-Kelly and Schumacher-Cawley attribute the sport’s popularity to the growth of club programs and leagues that have developed bigger, stronger players. Volleyball’s availability on multiple broadcast networks and platforms have helped tremendously, along with the quality of competition symbolized in the semifinals.

The number of women coaching Division I programs has steadily increased as well. According to the NCAA Demographics Database, women lead 167 of 337 programs (49.6%), up from 46% the previous year. Women comprise 54% of assistant coaches, a percentage point higher than last year.

Schumacher-Cawley and Busboom-Kelly can take it to another level by entering an elite club previously occupied by men.

Busboom-Kelly and her players aim to finish the job after the Cardinals were swept by Texas two years ago. They hope All-American hitter Anna DeBeer can play after injuring her ankle in the semifinal on Thursday night.

Schumacher-Cawley is in her first Final Four with Penn State, which swept Louisville earlier this season.

Cook’s silver lining in the loss to Penn State was seeing his former star Busboom-Kelly get a second chance to win the title. He also praised what Schumacher-Cawley has done in leading her alma mater back to a familiar place, all while battling cancer.

Which is to say, he’s not surprised that either one will break through.

“They both were great players,” Cook said. “They both won National Championships. This isn’t like a fluke. These guys are winners, they’re tough, they’re great competitors and their teams play like it.

“It should be a great match on Sunday.”