The Penn State women’s volleyball program held its third weekly media availability of the 2023 season Tuesday afternoon before practice at Rec Hall.

Head coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley answered questions in her office ahead of the Nittany Lions’ road trips to Temple and Louisville this weekend. No. 12 Penn State (3-2) will play the Owls (6-1) Friday at 7 p.m. at the Liacouras Center in Philadelphia on ESPN+, then will face the No. 2 Cardinals (6-0) Sunday at 1 p.m. at L&N Federal Credit Union Arena on ESPN2.

Senior outside hitter Jess Mruzik led the Nittany Lions to a 3-0 weekend at the Penn State Invitational, earning AVCA Division I National and Big Ten Player of the Week recognition after combining for 53 kills (.345), 14 digs, eight total blocks, four assists, and three aces in wins over then-No. 22 Western Kentucky (3-1), Colgate (3-0), and James Madison (3-1).

Mruzik currently leads Penn State’s offense by a significant margin with 84 kills through the first five matches of the season, 52 more than senior middle blocker Taylor Trammell’s 32. Finding consistent scoring threats behind Mruzik will be important the rest of the season, especially during a highly anticipated match against Louisville, which lost to Texas in last year’s NCAA national championship.

Schumacher-Cawley discussed a host of different topics Tuesday, including this weekend’s opponents, how her team is coming along so far, the story behind why she wore No. 10 during her playing career, and her relationship with Penn State women’s soccer head coach Erica Dambach, among others.

The transcript of questions and answers can be found below. You can also read our previous Tuesday press conference transcripts from August 22, featuring Trammell and setter Mac Podraza, and August 29, featuring Mruzik and libero Maddy Bilinovic.

Editor’s note: The team had an activity prior to practice Tuesday, so we were unable to speak with any players in person today, but we’re tentatively scheduled to talk with graduate seniors Camryn Hannah and Lina Perugini on the phone Wednesday, and will post the transcripts from those interviews afterward.

Katie Schumacher-Cawley

What did you think of Jess Mruzik’s performance last weekend? What does she bring to the team in multiple areas?

“I think Jess is a great player. I think she plays the full game. I was happy to see her performance all weekend.”

What are your general thoughts on the team’s play last weekend?

“It’s nice to win. Winning is hard. I thought we competed and did some good things. We definitely have to have a couple good days of practice here before Temple and Louisville, but I think we found ways to score points. I thought our serving game got better as the weekend went on. It’s nice to win at home.”

What are you most looking forward to about heading to Philadelphia to a big venue like the Liacouras Center?

“I’m excited for the team. I think it will be a great environment. I think Temple is playing really well. It will be a great challenge for us. I think that these are the matches that we need in order to be prepared for the rest of the season.”

What do you think the fan turnout will be like on Friday?

“I think it will be great. I don’t really get into if it’s sold out or whatever is going on, but I know that they wanted to make it a pretty special deal in their bigger facility. I’m excited to see it. I’ve never been there. I just think volleyball in Pennsylvania will be great that day.”

What are some of your early thoughts on Temple?

“I think they play hard. I think Linda [Hampton-Keith] does a great job. I think she’s a really good coach. I know she’ll have them prepared. We’re going to practice hard, take care of some things, and we’ll be ready.”

What stands out to you about Louisville?

“They’re No. 2 in the country. I think Dani [Busboom Kelly] and her staff do a phenomenal job with the players they have. They’ve won a lot, and I think that helps. I know they’ll be prepared, and we will be, too. I think it will be a great match.”

What are your thoughts on Dani?

“I think she’s a great coach. I know she was a great player [at Nebraska] and I think she’s a great coach. Obviously, the last couple seasons, they’ve done a really good job. I think they get players and train well. They’re really competitive.”

How would you assess the recruiting importance of an area like Louisville or the Midwest in general these days?

“I think they’ve done a great job recruiting. We have a few former transfers [from Kentucky and the Midwest] who have been really helpful. They do a great job training. I think that they have a lot of really great things going on there.”

Without getting into specifics of certain prospects, what are some of the benefits of having a venue like Beaver Stadium for recruiting visits?

“It’s great. There’s nothing like a football game [at Beaver Stadium]. I thought the atmosphere was electric. I thought, from the football team to the band to the fans, it was such a great environment to be involved in.”

How important is the football program’s success to Penn State’s 30 other varsity teams?

“I like when all of our teams are winning. Football being on the stage that they’re on, I think that when they’re winning, everyone’s winning.”

What are your thoughts on Penn State women’s soccer head coach Erica Dambach?

“I think she’s great. I think she’s an awesome coach. She does a remarkable job every year with the group that she has. I really enjoy running into her here at Rec. Her and Coach [Jeff] Cook, I think they’re both great coaches and fun to be around. Between men’s volleyball, men’s soccer, women’s soccer, and wrestling, I think it’s pretty cool to have all of those coaches around here.”

What do you think of Char Morett Curtiss’ new “Teammates for Life” initiative within Penn State’s athletic department?

“It’s great. I’m grateful for Char and for what she’s trying to do, and for bringing all the women together to help each other past their playing days. I think that that’s important. Obviously, there’s life after this game. I think Char is way ahead of the times in trying to help everyone. I’m so appreciative of her.”

You were a multi-sport athlete here at Penn State as well. What was that experience like schedule-wise and what are some of your fond memories of playing both sports?

“It was pretty wild and fun. I missed spring season for volleyball because I was [playing] basketball. Different coaches, but definitely were hard in their own ways. I think I learned a lot from both Rene [Portland] and Coach Rose. I thought that they were both excellent. They were tough and they were fair. I enjoyed it.”

Is there any story behind you choosing to wear No. 10 at Penn State?

“I have a cousin in Chicago who had No. 10, so it was kind of a family number. We all went to the same high school, two of my cousins and I. The one went on to play at Northwestern and she wore No. 10. She was five years older than me, so I was young enough watching her in college. My cousin, Molly.”

What are your thoughts on the success of your high school alma mater, Mother McAuley, which won an Illinois state championship in volleyball last season and is ranked among the top teams in the country this year?

“Mother McAuley is a special place. I’m excited to see how good they are again and that the tradition has carried on. I think there are a lot of great people surrounding that school who support it. I’m happy for them.”

If you could change one rule in recruiting or the game of volleyball itself, what would it be? Coach Rose said before he disliked the fact that a serve can hit the net and drop over for an ace.

“Oh, he always said that. That’s the worst, for sure. It’s the best when you’re on that side of it. I would have to agree with that one. I don’t know. I think recruiting is crazy in itself, but I don’t think that’s ever going to change.”

Is there anything calendar-wise you would fix?

“There have been talks of that. I mean, they always talk about the days. One rule I would like to have is access to the girls training in the summer. I think that that’s one thing we should change. I think we had 12 days of preseason, so I think it would be nice to be like football and basketball and have a couple hours in the summer to work with them before getting right into preseason.”

What can you tell us about the Catapult technology that the team uses?

“You should ask [assistant director of athletic performance] Matt Dorn. It’s new for us. I think we’re kind of just figuring out what exactly it all means. It’s great technology for [recording] jumps, output, and Matt’s really good with that. We just started it, so we don’t really know where we’re at with certain players on it, but I think Matt does an amazing job with the group. It’s just another tool we can use to help us.”

How valuable is it to have that access to cutting-edge recovery tools at Penn State?

“I think it’s great. It’s definitely different than what it used to be in terms of recovery. I think both Coach Dorn and Scott [Campbell], our athletic trainer, do an amazing job with making sure that we’re doing those right things, so that the players are ready to go. I think every match for us is going to be tough, and we have to physically and mentally feel better.”

How important is it to find some scoring options behind Jess?

“Yeah, we need to do that. Our middles need to continue to compete and score points for us. We have to get some other movement going on the pins and find some points, whether it’s blocking or attacking. I don’t think our blocking was super great. [It was] at some parts of the weekend. I know we can be better in those areas.”

How valuable of a resource is it to have someone like Coach Rose to talk to and bounce ideas off of? I ran into him outside and heard you two talked earlier today.

“It’s great. I love it. I’m lucky. I’m really lucky — I can definitely say that — to be able to have him and get his thoughts after matches, and to be able to get his perspective on it. It’s awesome. I’m very grateful for that.”

What are your thoughts on the team’s serve-pass game and how that’s evolved from the beginning of the season until now?

“It’s something we do every day in practice. We serve and pass every day. It’s one of those things that, I think, to play at a high level, you have to serve aggressively. It’s something that we’re working on a lot with the whole team. I think that will be the difference in being able to win some big matches and put [ourselves] in a better position.”

How would you assess Maddy Bilinovic, Gill Grimes, Cassie Kuerschen, and all the defensive specialists’ performance lately?

“I think all of them have done some really good things. I thought Gill last weekend served and played defense really, really well for us. I think Cassie’s doing a really nice job digging balls and being aware of what’s going on. Maddy brought a different energy in when we flipped the positions [with her and Gill]. I think that’s going to be a position that’s competing all season. We have to find the right fit. I want to put the best lineup out there.”

Lina Perugini and Macy Van Den Elzen made their season debuts last weekend. What stands out about them as players and people?

“I think Lina’s a major asset to this group. I think she’s getting better and better, and I know she’ll help us at some point here in the season. I think she’s really vocal. She has a lot of experience from where she came from (Coastal Carolina) that I think can only help us. Macy works her butt off in practice and I know she’s ready to go. I think Macy we can put in and she knows exactly what’s going on. She’s always paying attention, and I think she’s a total team player.”

They’re both from Pennsylvania. [Bethlehem and Macungie, respectively.] How important is that to have some Pennsylvania players on the team?

“I think it’s great. I think they both are super proud. They’re proud to represent Penn State and they’re proud to kind of be those hometown kids with [State College’s] Kate Lally as well. It’s special representing this school.”

How would you assess the club and high school volleyball play in Pennsylvania and how it’s grown?

“I definitely think it’s gotten better. I think there are more and more girls playing. I know, just from watching my kids in club volleyball, it’s gotten so much better. It’s competitive. It’s fun to see the sport growing.”

Do you anticipate Karis Willow making an impact at some point this season?

“Yeah. I think Karis has been doing some really good things in practice. I’m excited. We’ll get her there, where she needs to be, to be able to contribute. She goes hard. I think she’s going to be a very good player.”

What’s it like for her and the younger hitters to be able to learn from the veterans on the team?

“I think the gym is super competitive. I think that the older players have done a nice job of helping and showing them some things in practice. It’s only a great tool to have veteran players like that.”

Cam Hannah had a nice match with 12 kills against Colgate. What stands out about her?

“I think Cam’s been working really hard in practice. Cam is flexible, where she can play on both pins. I told her that right away. She finds ways to score. She’s pretty confident in her skills. I’m excited to see her grow throughout the season.”

What advice do you have for your team heading into an important stretch here?

“We have to get better every day in practice. We need to compete. We need to be better. We need to hold each other accountable and take every day as an opportunity to get better as a group.”