‘Our goal is always to win’: Penn State women’s volleyball gearing up for 2025

Last season was full of challenges — personal and professional — for Penn State women’s volleyball head coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley. The head coach led herself through a battle with breast cancer and led her team to a national title in the same season, all without missing a single practice. 

This year, she’s in remission and is a reigning national champion. But what else is different for the head coach? Not too much, she said Monday in Chicago at Big Ten Volleyball Media Days.

“I have a new hairdo this year,” Schumacher-Cawley joked. “I mean, sure, there's perspective with everything, and I don't think I've changed a lot in the gym with these guys. I think it's more of just always being present and enjoying the little things. And they know they need to put in the work and the time to be great, and they hold each other accountable. But no, I think the standard is still the same, and we're looking forward to it.”

The Nittany Lions are now 8-3 on the national championship stage, but haven’t lost a title match since 1998 against Long Beach State. Schumacher-Cawley is entering her fourth year leading the program, and along with last year’s national championship, also led Penn State to the program’s first Big Ten Conference championship since 2017. 

The pressure is on for any returning national champion team, but these Nittany Lions are setting high expectations for themselves this fall.

“I think our goal is to always win, and these guys have really high expectations. But you can do everything right and still fall short, so I think it's just coming to work every day and being prepared and being the best teammates they can be,” Schumacher-Cawley said. “We do want to win again, and is there pressure? I think it's fun for these guys. I think they've handled themselves very well on and off the court, and that matters.”

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Sophomore setter Izzy Starck was a key component to the Nittany Lions’ national title run last year. Starting as a true freshman running a 5-1 rotation, meaning Starck was the primary setter, she won nearly every award possible and started in all 37 games. Starck was named AVCA National Freshman of the Year, AVCA East Coast Region Freshman of the Year and the Big Ten Freshman of the Year, plus she won conference setter of the week five times and conference freshman of the week six times.

“I think there's always been pressure for us, so I think coming into this season it's just the same mindset we always have of how we work hard with each other, how we push each other,” Starck said. “I definitely think winning the National Championship last year does help us because we know what it takes and we know how to help the new players in the program of how we can be the best functioning team together.”