Penn State knows how to stir the waters of greatness, whether it’s clinching spots in the NCAA finals set for December 22 or crafting legends who leave their mark on the global stage. Among its brightest stars is none other than Haleigh Washington, a 2017 graduate whose journey from the Nittany Lions to the international volleyball arena has been nothing short of iconic. Since joining the U.S. Women’s National Team in 2018, she’s been collecting accolades like postcards, including an Olympic gold at Tokyo and a silver at Paris.

Crowned the Best Middle Blocker at the Tokyo Olympics, she’s a force on the court and a symbol of Penn State’s legacy of excellence. Now, as Penn State aims for that elusive national championship title, Washington couldn’t hold back her admiration for her alma mater and head coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley.

In a recent NCAA Women’s Volleyball video on X, Haleigh Washington reflected on her Penn State days and shared her admiration for the current squad’s remarkable journey to the national semifinals. Introduced as a “former Penn State standout, All-American national champion, and gold medalist in the Olympics,” Haleigh was asked what it’s like to see her alma mater back on top of college volleyball. Her answer was a heartfelt tribute to both the program and its new leader, Katie Schumacher-Cawley.

“First of all, I just think Katie’s done an outstanding job with this program,” Haleigh said “Obviously, Russ had such a long legacy there, so it was no easy job to take over after him, but I think she’s just done an outstanding job building a really impressive new program and an impressive new group of girls.” She was in awe of the team’s spirit, praising their relentless work ethic and camaraderie. “I’m just so amazed by this group’s grit,” she said.

“They grind really hard, they work really hard, and they uplift one another, which I think is what makes great teams.” Reflecting on her experiences across all levels of play, Haleigh emphasized how teams thrive when players genuinely celebrate each other’s successes. She continued, “Like, one player might have a great night, and then another player has a great night, and they’re always excited for each other, which is just exactly what you want to see.” For Haleigh, Penn State’s legacy of excellence is shining brighter than ever.

Today, Penn State Volleyball is barreling into the NCAA finals, and leading the charge is Schumacher-Cawley, who took over the program after serving four years as an assistant to Russ Rose. And what a legacy it is–Russ Rose’s coaching record of 1,330–229 makes him the winningest coach in NCAA Division I history with an unparalleled winning percentage in the history of Penn State Athletics.

Talk about leaving behind shoes that are almost too big to fill! But Katie’s got the grit and heart to make her mark. Now, with her leadership, Penn State is all set to storm the court against Louisville in the finals.

Penn State is into the NCAA Finals!

NCAA Final Four showdowns were exhilarating volleyball. Penn State upset the mighty Nebraska with an amazing 5-setter 23-25, 18-25, 25-23, 28-26, 15-13 to book a place in the final. While this was going on, Louisville showed their home city pride with a 3-1 victory against Pitt at the KFC Yum! Center. Now, the stage is set for the ultimate showdown this Sunday, December 22, at 3:at 00 PM ET, in the national championship game, the Nittany Lions and the Cardinals will go head to head.

This rivalry started in 1982 and since then Penn State has been more dominant in the series than Penn State having won 8 of the 10 games played between the two teams. However, the Louisville team under the guidance of their coach Dani Busboom Kelly, has rewrote at least a part of that script. In 2023 the Cards snapped a six-match losing skid to the Lions winning 3-0, but the Lions came back in 2024 and swept the Cards 3-0. But while Louisville has all the final home advantage, they also have all the pressure.

As Coach Kelly put it, “I do think there’s some added pressure, especially for our hometown players, where you know they’ve been hearing for six months, like hometown heroes and how amazing would it be to finish this season and at home.”  That dream, however, has taken a hit with Anna DeBeer’s untimely injury. The star outside hitter’s timely attacks were the key to Louisville defeating Pitt, but her unavailability would be a major concern for the team’s title defense. Can the Cardinals succeed without her, or are the Lions going to pounce again? This final is going to be as unpredictable as it is exciting!