A season like no other for Katie Schumacher-Cawley ended in the best way possible.
Schumacher-Cawley, a 1997 Mother McAuley graduate and the Penn State women’s volleyball coach, was diagnosed with cancer in September. For months, she juggled treatments with leading an elite Nittany Lions team.
On Dec. 22 in Louisville, Penn State defeated the host Cardinals 3-1 in the NCAA national championship match, giving Schumacher-Cawley a title as a coach to match the one she won as a Penn State player in 1999.
She is the first female coach to win an NCAA women’s volleyball title.
“I think it’s pretty crazy that I’m back with Penn State and to win it as a coach is really special,” Schumacher-Cawley said during the press conference following the title match. “Someone asked if it’s better as a player or as a coach.
“I just like to win and I like to compete and I like to help our players be the best they can. This is pretty cool, though, as a coach. This is pretty neat.”
Having the ardent support of her Penn State volleyball family has been vital through the treatment process for Schumacher, who was a two-time All-American during her playing days.
“I’m so fortunate to be surrounded by so many great people on this team and this staff I have,” Schumacher-Cawley said. “I’m really lucky to have great people around me who go above and beyond.
“I’m inspired by the young kids who are sick. I’m doing treatment at UPenn (the University of Pennsylvania) and every time I walk into the hospital, I walk right past the children’s hospital. If I can be an inspiration to someone, I’ll take that. I feel good and I’m lucky to have the people around me (that I do) and I think that’s why we’re successful.”
Schumacher-Cawley has been the head coach at Penn State since 2022. Before that, she was an assistant at her alma mater from 2018-21 and the head coach at Penn in 2017. Schumacher-Cawley also spent 2003-08 in her hometown as an assistant coach at UIC as well as the Flames’ head coach from 2009-16.
“Katie pushes us in the best way,” Penn State senior middle blocker Taylor Trammell said after the championship match. “She knows how to push each person individually in the way they need to be successful here.
“I know that coming here, that was the main thing I was looking at. Where I was last year to where I am now, Katie has pushed me to be a better person, a better player and a well-rounded human being. That’s a characteristic I will take into life as to how to treat others. It’s something I’m so grateful (for) in the time I spent here, that she taught me.”
In her three seasons as Penn State’s head coach, Schumacher-Cawley is 84-19 (.816 winning percentage). In the Big Ten, the Nittany Lions are 47-13 (.783).
And now, Penn State is also a national champion for the eighth time in school history with Schumacher-Cawley’s guidance an integral reason why. Only Stanford (nine) has won more national championships in women’s volleyball than Penn State, which won its first title since 2014.
“She teaches so much every single day,” graduate outside hitter Jess Mruzik said after the final. “The biggest thing I’m taking away from this season is that you can do anything if you set your mind to it. If you believe it, it will happen.
“With her doing everything she’s doing, that helps us as a group also believe that we were capable of doing this. Everyone says they believe they can do this, but there aren’t very many people that truly, deeply know they can do this. She’s been an inspiration to us and she’s helped us believe that we can accomplish what we just accomplished.”