Before an NCAA record 21,726 fans at the Yum Center in Louisville on Sunday, the Louisville Cardinals and Penn State Nittany Lions won the chance to compete in the NCAA Women’s Volleyball Championship.

Louisville won the first semifinal of the night. Playing on their home court, the Cardinals defeated Pittsburgh, their ACC rival, 3-1. But not to be outdone in the drama, Penn State pulled off a reverse win against Nebraska, winning three straight sets after losing the first two.

The matchup between Louisville and Penn State means that for the first time two female head coaches will face each other in the title game, guaranteeing that a woman will lead her team to the NCAA title for the first time in NCAA women’s volleyball history.

How Louisville beat Pittsburgh and advanced

Defense, defense, defense. Louisville outscored Pittsburgh 12-4 and used that blocking ability to end the Panthers’ rallies before they could even begin.

This defense was particularly important in the third set. Pitt had four different opportunities to take the set point, but was unable to convert it and win the set. Louisville stayed calm and just kept playing to win.

“Honestly, when we play Pitt, we know we have to block them to win,” Louisville coach Dani Busboom-Kelly said. “I didn’t realize we were blocked the first two times.” That’s probably why we didn’t win. It’s like we have to block some balls. Cara (Cresse) started Game 4 saying, “I promise I’m going to get two blocks in this set,” and she did. I thought that kind of ruined the fourth set.”

The Cardinals’ depth shines after a serious injury

Louisville had to prove its strength at the start of the fourth set. Anna DeBeer badly twisted her ankle while coming off a block. The moment DeBeer laid down on the court, the crowd at the Yum Center fell silent.

DeBeer is the heart of the team. Her ability to get kills and find her opponents’ weak spots has put Louisville at the top of the sport of volleyball. A Louisville native, she came back for her fifth year primarily because she got to play for a title in her hometown. The sight of her lying on her stomach with her head down in her hands was frightening for every player on the team and every Cardinals fan in the stands.

She was helped off the field and her teammates knew what to do.

“It was just so shocking that we couldn’t really say anything, but our eyes did all the talking,” Charitie Luper said after the game. “We looked at each other and kind of said ‘I.'” I got you, I got you, I got you, we’re doing this for DeBeer. Without saying anything verbally, I knew what everyone meant. That’s how close we are and how closely we play for each other. As Payton (Petersen) said, we know DeBeer doesn’t want to go out like that. We know she wants another game. So we did that for you.”

Freshman Payton Petersen was called upon to follow in DeBeer’s footsteps, and she recorded two kills and four digs in the few minutes she played.

It was that depth that helped Louisville beat Pitt. As the Panthers trailed off, Louisville fended off four set points and took the third set. Without DeBeer, every Cardinal stepped up to help the team win.

DeBeer returned to the court and did squats and jumps on the sideline, showing she was ready when her team needed her. Busboom-Kelly said she still needs to find out more about DeBeer’s injury to know her status for Sunday.

“We’ll see if it’s serious or not, but if there’s an inkling that she can play, she’s the kind of kid that will go out and play,” she said. “We won’t know more until tomorrow.”

How Penn State beat Nebraska

Nebraska lost to Texas in the national championship last year, and that loss motivated the Cornhuskers throughout the tournament. At the start of the semi-final it looked as if they had another chance at the title. Everything was going well for Nebraska, which shared the Big Ten title with Penn State.

But Penn State just wouldn’t go away. Jess Mruzik, a graduate student who has endured Penn State’s ups and downs over the years, remained calm as she led her team. The Nittany Lions showed more fight in the third set. Camryn Hannah’s ace lit fire under her team and they held on to hold off Nebraska’s win.

Penn State had to play to 28 points to secure the win in the fourth set. Mruzik and Hannah got the last two kills to take the match into the fifth set. At this point, the momentum was clearly on the Nittany Lions’ side.

“I think in these moments it’s a reminder to myself and a reminder to my teammates that at Penn State we give it our all, whether it’s in our gym in the preseason when it’s 90 degrees or we’re running through the snow and come back at 3:00 a.m., we carry on,” Caroline Jurevicius said with a smile in the post-game press conference. “I looked at every single one of my teammates, gave them a little nudge and said, ‘This is who we are.’ do this. We are persistent.’ Whether they were sick of me or not, I thought it worked.”

Led by Mruzik with 26 and Jurevicius with 20, Penn State had six more kills than Nebraska. Nebraska had the better defensive play, with more blocks and digs than Penn State, but the Nittany Lions still found a way to win. This is Penn State’s first return to the national title game since 2014.

In September, Penn State coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley was diagnosed with breast cancer. She continued to coach her through chemotherapy and was open with her team about how she was feeling during treatment.

Her players and assistant coaches have made a habit of wearing pink accessories — headbands, scrunchies, shoes or hairbands — during their tournament run. Before Thursday’s game, they talked about what their coach means to them.

“I think sometimes we can get caught up in the moment,” Mruzik said. “We play this sport most of our lives, so sometimes it can seem like the most important thing in life.” But the way Coach is able to get involved and be the same every day, no matter what is going on , puts so much into perspective for us, because it’s really just a sport. Of course we want to win and that’s why we’re here. But at the end of the day, it’s just a game and we don’t have to take it too seriously because sometimes life outside of sports can be more demanding than what you face in volleyball.

How to watch the NCAA Volleyball National Championship

Sunday’s game will air on ABC starting at 3 p.m. ET from the Yum Center, and ESPN+ subscribers can watch the game via the app.