Nebraska volleyball fell in dramatic fashion to Penn State in the NCAA Final Four in Louisville, Kentucky.
The No. 3 ranked Cornhuskers lost to No. 2 ranked Penn State, 3-2, on Thursday night in the NCAA Final Four.
In a momentous time for the sport of women’s volleyball, Nebraska and Penn State fought tooth and nail for a spot in the national championship.
PSU pulled off an improbable reverse sweep by scores of 23-25, 18-25, 25-23, 28-26 and 15-13 — all but one set decided by two points.
Nebraska heads home after a 33-3 season. Penn State advances to the title game with a 34-2 record.
The match re-wrote the Husker history books. Senior libero Lexi Rodriguez broke the school record for digs in a career. Her career total hit 1,897 with 15 in the semifinal loss against Penn State.
It was previously held by the U.S. Olympian Justine Wong-Orantes at 1,890. The record-snapping dig happened in the middle of set three.
Nebraska head coach John Cook said the seniors on the 2024 team had made three final fours and two national title games in their careers at Nebraska.
“They pretty much have inspired a generation of young players, volleyball players, a generation of fans that have really come to love volleyball and follow this team,” Cook said.
Seniors also competed in Volleyball Day in Nebraska, which broke the world record for attendance at a women’s sporting event.
In the postgame press conference, Rodriguez said she’ll remember Nebraska volleyball, and its people.
“I’m just so grateful for everyone, and I’ll say it for my entire life that this program was the best thing that ever happened to me,” Rodriguez said.
On the court, the Huskers just couldn’t put the Nittany Lions away. Penn State’s late game push and dominant performance of star Jess Mruzik made all the difference.
After dropping a match to the Nittany Lions in November, the Big Red played with an edge early in Thursday night’s match.
In the first set, Nebraska started with a 12-7 lead. Sophomore middle blocker Andi Jackson had three of those points. The Nittany Lions scored three in-a-row to draw within one, prompting a John Cook timeout.
Out of the timeout, Penn State kept the pressure on. The two historic programs traded blows like Ali and Frazier.
Nebraska trailed 23-21, but an Andi Jackson spike and a Merritt Beason ace knotted things up, forcing a PSU timeout. The Big Red went right back to Jackson. The first-team All-American did not disappoint. She nailed three kills — giving Nebraska set one.
The Big Ten rivals traded runs at the beginning of the second set.
The iconic programs, which have a combined 12 NCAA Championships, played high-level volleyball throughout the competitive set.
However, the Nebraska block and attack were relentless. A swift back-row swing from Harper Murray brought the Cornhusker loyalists to their feet.
Then the blocks came.
Seven of them landed for the Big Red in game two alone.
Penn State tried to make a late push for the second game. A Harper Murray kill and a couple of Nittany Lion errors sealed the 2-0 lead for Nebraska.
Set three looked more like the first, with the schools trading shots early. Following a Penn State run to go up 15-11, the Nittany Lions held a steady lead into the latter stages of set three.
The Huskers cut the margin to a single point several times, until Penn State narrowly took the set, 25-23.
Set four was an anxious one for both fan bases. Like the previous two sets, the Nittany Lions grabbed the first couple of points.
An array of Huskers chipped in to help tie the match at 11. But Harper Murray clearly didn’t want a fifth set. She dropped in three aces and drove down a spike to buoy an extended Huskers’ run.
Nebraska led 22-16 and looked in control.
Penn State charged back quickly, fending off two match points. That tied the set at 24 and brought almost the entire building to its feet.
PSU claimed set four, 28-26, after a kill by Camryn Hannah.
Momentum stayed in the blue corner to start set five, with the Nittany Lions controlling most of the match’s decisive set.
As the match did all night long, it kept giving dramatic moment after dramatic moment. Penn State won the last set 15-13 on another Hannah spike.
Murray and Jackson paced the offense for Nebraska with 20 and 19 kills, respectively.
Jess Mruzik dominated on the offensive end for Penn State. She took over the match and finished with 26 kills.
After the loss, Cook is 93-21 in the NCAA Tournament at Nebraska.
Lousiville head coach Dani Busboom Kelly or Penn State head coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley will become the first woman to coach a national title volleyball team. Busboom Kelly played and coached at Nebraska. Cook said the two coaches are making history for a reason.
“Women are tough, and those two are really, really I mean — look at them as players,” Cook said. “They both were great players. They both won national championships. So this isn’t like a fluke. I mean, these guys are winners, and they’re tough and they’re great competitors, and their teams play like it. And I think Penn State is, you know, playing very inspired for her, and should be a great match on Sunday.”
Schumacher-Cawley was diagnosed with stage two breast cancer in September. She has continued to coach even while dealing with chemotherapy treatment. It’s clear that her team’s fight during the semifinal match Thursday was reflective of her own toughness.
Penn State will play Louisville on Sunday at 2 p.m. CT. The Cardinals defeated Pitt, 3-1, in the match prior to NU-Penn State. ABC will broadcast the championship match.
