Jess Mruzik had 26 kills, Caroline Jurevicius had 20 and Penn State rallied from a 2-0 semifinal hole to a five-set win over Nebraska early Friday and reach the NCAA championship.

Penn State faces host Louisville, which eliminated No. 1 seed Pitt 3-1 in the first semifinal, setting up a historic NCAA final between two coaches. Katie Schumacher-Cawley leads the Nittany Lions while Dani Busboom-Kelly leads the Cardinals.

The Nittany Lions (34-2) had to get off the mat for their 11th straight victory after losing the first two sets 23-25 ​​and 25-18 in their first Final Four since 2017. They rebounded to win the next two 25-23 and 28-26 – fighting off multiple match points in the fourth set – and forced a fifth set against their Big Ten rivals before posting a 15-13 win before a 21,726 spectators mostly dressed in red, a semi-final attendance record.

“I thought we made one mistake too many and didn’t seem particularly confident,” Schumacher-Cawley said. “After that we came out and focused on our serve, our serve-pass game got better and we found ways to score defensively. … We just fought for every point we could get.”

Camryn Hannah’s kill, assisted by Izzy Starck, sealed the deal and sparked a night’s celebration after a marathon match.

Harper Murray had 20 kills and Andi Jackson 19 for Nebraska (33-3), which was seeking a return to the championship after finishing second at Texas last year. The Cornhuskers had won five straight since their 3-1 loss to Penn State three weeks ago in their only regular season meeting. Three wins highlighted the winning streak, including a 3-0 win against Wisconsin in the regional final. The Huskers were seeking their first title since winning in 2017.

“I thought we held them off in the fourth and they found a way to win that game and carry a lot of momentum into the fifth,” Nebraska coach John Cook said. “A great performance from Jess. She threw some shots that we didn’t have an answer for.”

Mruzik, who ranked 23rd nationally with 579 points, scored 27.5 points on 70 attacks. Starck had 56 assists while Gillian Grimes recorded 25 digs for Penn State.

There were ten ties and six lead changes in the first set, with Nebraska scoring four unanswered points to overcome a 23-21 deficit. Andi Jackson scored three kills after a service ace from Merritt Beason, including the final two points of a thrilling opening game.

The Huskers erased a 3-0 deficit with four consecutive points in the second set before a late 5-0 spurt led to a 16-8 lead en route to a comfortable victory before Penn State made the decision.