The much anticipated and historic 2024 NCAA Championship final is over, and Penn State has won its first-eighth national title. However, what’s even more historic is Katie Schumacher-Cawley‘s achievement. “The first female coach ever to lead her team to a National Championship in DI Women’s Volleyball!” wrote the NCAA. And it’s this monumental achievement that’s got Ally Batenhorst emotional.

Batenhorst, who made it to the second round of this year’s championship, may have joined the Omaha Supernovas but couldn’t miss such a historic final. So after the match ended, Batenhorst took to TikTok to post an emotional tribute to coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley. The 22-year-old was on the verge of tears as she watched the triumphant coach’s post-match interview on TV.

“So amazing seeing a female head coach win the natty for the first time ever,” Ally Batenhorst captioned her TikTok post. She also added the phrase “Women in sports” to the post’s caption. After all, Katie Schumacher-Cawley just created history while simultaneously battling stage 2 breast cancer throughout this season. Batenhorst’s respect for the coach was palpable in the post.

After all, it’s impossible not to feel inspired by Katie Schumacher-Cawley’s journey, especially when for players like Batenhorst who’ve played against her team this season. Before USC’s second came to an end in the NCAA Championship’s second round against the Texas Longhorns, USC faced Penn State during the regular season.

Schumacher-Cawley’s team handed USC a 3-1 loss on October 26. And while Batenhorst didn’t get a chance to face Penn State again, the former USC senior has followed the team’s journey all the way to the finish line. And Ally Batenhorst is just one of the many women who hope that the Penn State coach’s achievement has changed women’s volleyball forever.

Will Katie Schumacher-Cawley’s historic season usher in a new era?

The 2024 NCAA finals weren’t just a historic night for volleyball. In fact, the entire women’s sports world had their eyes on the Penn State vs. Louisville final. Iconic WNBA coach Dawn Staley wrote in anticipation of the final. “Let’s give these women representing @NCAAVolleyball in an all-female coached national championship… Historical moment we are part, of a bow!” Staley wrote in her post on X.

Katie Schumacher-Cawley’s counterpart also spoke about the event in a pre-final press conference. “This will be a historic final with you and Katie. What does this mean to you as a coach?” asked the report, to which Louisville coach Dani Busboom Kelly responded with optimism. “It’s hard to really just have to put that in words… It’s more like just being really proud that we could be the role models and hopefully blaze a new trail,” said Kelly.

“It’s going to be awesome for the sport. I think, to get this monkey off its back and move on from this, and where it’s not historic that a woman wins, is just a regular thing,” explained the Cardinals coach. While she couldn’t be the one to lift the national title, Katie Schumacher-Cawley’s story of overcoming cancer wing both the conference and national titles has potentially opened a new frontier for women in volleyball, and as Ally Batenhorst put it, “Women in sports.”