For the first time in seven years, Penn State women’s volleyball made it to the national semifinals.

The field consists entirely of No. 1 seeds, which hasn’t been the case since 2008, as the Nittany Lions, Pitt, Louisville and Nebraska, which Penn State will face in the semifinals, are vying for the title.

Penn State has already played the three other teams remaining in the tournament earlier this season and is relying on participation in the KFC Yum! on his experience. Center in Louisville.

While Penn State was overwhelmed by overall No. 1 seed Pitt on the street, it defeated Louisville 3-0 in his home opener and defeated Nebraska 3-1 in the regular season finale, and head coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley sees an advantage in these past encounters.

“I think it’s good for us because we feel like we have a good feel for these teams and obviously we have to make sure we’re ready to play against Nebraska again, which is an outstanding team,” said she. “I think it’s going to be a really exciting Final Four when we see these teams, and obviously we watch them play a lot.”

With a trip to the national championship on the line, Penn State will face the Cornhuskers for the second time in less than three weeks on Thursday. First serve is scheduled for 30 minutes after the end of the Pitt-Louisville game, which is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m

Despite Penn State’s win over Nebraska on Nov. 29 that clinched a share of the Big Ten title for the blue and white, the Nittany Lions are still preparing the same way they would for any other game.

Nebraska is the only remaining team that has not played a five-set game during the NCAA Tournament, losing just one set in four games. Schumacher-Cawley said the Huskers played their best volleyball of the season during their tournament.

“I think (Nebraska) is running at everyone right now. I think they’re well balanced, their pins and middle shots get good results, their backcourt defense, they catch a lot of balls. I just think they’re a great team all around,” Schumacher-Cawley said.

Before Penn State’s win in late November, Nebraska had won 14 of the last 15 games in the series, including the last seven, so this season’s win brought a level of confidence Penn State hadn’t seen in years.

“I just think the players believe that if they play well together they can do it. “I said from day one, ‘If everyone does their job, we can be pretty successful.’ Everyone took the time to improve their skills and help the group,” Schumacher-Cawley said.

The win to close out the regular season was played in front of a sold-out rec hall crowd, and the team said Penn State’s fans provided a decisive advantage.

However, the Nittany Lions have a 4-2 record in neutral-site games in Penn State-Nebraska history, and Schumacher-Cawley isn’t shying away from a rematch outside of Happy Valley.

“Rec Hall, it’s really loud. It was full. It totally helped and the girls loved it and it built momentum, but I think that at the Final Four at a neutral site with fans from all over the country wanting to see us play, they’ll be just as excited and ready to go ” she said.

Along with a large crowd, attending the national semifinals can bring many distractions, such as: Such as hosting events for the four teams, playing in a new environment and receiving national attention, but there appears to be a sense of focus within Penn State’s program ahead of the trip to Louisville.

The team had set itself many goals before the start of the season, including remaining undefeated at home, which they achieved with one goal 20-0 recordand made it to the semi-finals, which he did Narrowly defeat Creightonand winning a national championship, which would be capped off with two more wins.

Schumacher-Cawley said while she hopes her players take advantage of the opportunity to play on that stage, she also expects them to stay focused on their goal.

“They know what we want to do there and I think they are focused. I know we’ll be ready to go. I hope they take it in and of course remember the goals they set for themselves at the start of the season,” she said.