LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- The confetti rained down, and Jess Mruzik looked right at home.
She had saved her best for the biggest moments of the NCAA women's volleyball national championship match -- after Penn State lost the second set in epic, potentially deflating style, for instance. She killed 10 balls in the third set alone as the Nittany Lions turned away host Louisville in four to win the program's eighth national title and first in a decade. She was named the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament, taking 143 swings in two matches at the Final Four and racking up 55 kills.
"This is like a dream come true," Mruzik said. "But when you come to Penn State, you're a Penn Stater for life. And the ultimate goal is winning a national championship."
Two years ago, it was a dream for her and nothing more.
Mruzik played the first three seasons of her college career at Michigan. The Wolverines advanced once to the NCAA Tournament, losing in the first round. Mruzik, a former Gatorade National Player of the Year out of Livonia, Mich., wanted more.
She earned a bachelor's degree in Ann Arbor and chose to move on. Her competitive nature demanded it.
"Don't ever play cards with me," she said.
Don't ever play volleyball, either, unless you're prepared to lose.
The 6-foot-1 outside hitter slammed 29 kills against Louisville on her sport's biggest stage, after carrying Penn State with 26 kills in a reverse sweep against Nebraska on Thursday in the national semifinals. The Huskers closed in on winning the match in the fourth set, but after they got to 24 points, Mruzik pounded three kills. Penn State battled to a 28-26 victory and won the fifth set 15-13.
On Sunday, Louisville won that emotional second set 34-32 to even the match, but the Nittany Lions did not fret. In fact, they said they "giggled" in the locker room during the break after the set about the frantic nature of the late back-and-forth. Penn State ran out of substitutions, forcing it to use multiple players out of position.
"It lightened the mood," Mruzik said.
Mruzik and the senior class, according to coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley, enable such a mindset.
"They were the reason why this team was so special," the coach said. "They did what it took on and off the court to help this team and to show the younger ones how to work and to be a great teammate."
Alongside Mruzik's transfer in from Michigan, senior middle blocker Taylor Trammell came from Purdue and senior outside hitter Camryn Hannah came from Clemson to play for Schumacher-Cawley. Reserve defensive specialist Quinn Menger and backup outside hitter Anjelina Starck, career-long Nittany Lions, complete a class that walked out on top.
They credit Schumacher-Cawley, who became the first woman in 44 years of NCAA volleyball to coach a team to the national championship, doing so while fighting breast cancer.
"She's been an inspiration to us, and she's helped us believe that we can accomplish what we just accomplished," Mruzik said. "She teaches us so much every single day. But the biggest thing I'm taking away from this season is you can do anything. You can do anything you set your mind to. If you believe it, it'll happen."
Until she got to Penn State two years ago, Mruzik didn't see a path to Sunday. She didn't know what was possible. She was a second-team All-American in 2023, her first year with the Nittany Lions, and earned first-team honors this season.
"I loved the girls," she said. "I loved the program. I loved the culture. And I obviously love Katie and the staff. So when I committed to Penn State is when I knew we could do this."
Her smart play fueled Penn State. Mruzik directs shots across the net and to the floor in out-of-system points. She uses the block to score. She's a master of angles and packs eye-opening power into her swings.
"Not only is she physically extremely gifted, she's got a great volleyball IQ," Louisville coach Dani Busboom Kelly said. "You can be in a great spot, but she knows how to score.
"She showed all of that today."
Busboom Kelly said she felt like the Cardinals "could never catch up" to Penn State, which beat Louisville twice in this run to the national championship. Outside of the Penn State program, few expected this outcome four days ago when the Final Four began.
Penn State lost a year ago in the round of 16, but it beat Nebraska twice in 2024. It won 35 of 37 matches. It did proud by the legacy of Schumacher-Cawley's former coach, the legendary Russ Rose, who won the school's first seven national championships.
The expectation set by Rose drew Mruzik from her home state to State College. She earned an MBA at Penn State and has worked this year toward a graduate certificate in business analytics.
"The standard at Penn State is winning national championships," Mruzik said. "That's what it's always been. That's what coach Rose instilled. And that's what we try to uphold every single day."