The Louisville Cardinals failed to win the NCAA National Volleyball Championship on Sunday night. However, they put up quite a fight, surviving four straight set points in the second set to extend the game, and they were without one of their key players. Cards fans had reason to be nervous when they learned Anna DeBeer wouldn’t start. She left Thursday’s national semifinal match early in the fourth set with an ankle injury. After the Cardinals narrowly lost the first set 25-23 and the Nittany Lions received four aces, they were down 11-7 in the second set. It looked bleak as if the Nittany Lions would be up 2 at 24-19 :0 would take a set lead, but the Cardinals went on a huge 5-0 run to tie the game. Since volleyball requires a team to win the first four sets by two points once they reach 25, the set went to 32-32 before the Cards ultimately won 34-32. Charitie Luper had 16 of the Cards’ 33 kills through the first two sets. Penn State took another early lead in the third set at 7-3. They then won the set 25-20, hitting .475 from the floor. The Nittany Lions upped the ante in the fourth set, taking a 10-3 lead and never looking back. They scored 24-16 for their first championship point, to which the Cardinals responded by making them wait another serve to secure the title. Penn State won their championship set 25-17 to claim their eighth national title. The heartbreaking loss ended the Cards’ historic 29-5 season just short of the title. However, they gave fans plenty to cheer about as they played their tournament games in Louisville, defeated favored Pittsburgh in the semifinals, and continued to mount a memorable comeback in the second set to extend the championship game.