When John Cook admits you’re good, you know you are. After the Penn State volleyball upset No. 2 Nebraska to win a share of the Big Ten title last November, the Huskers’ veteran coach had to tilt his hat, “Congrats to Penn State. They played great tonight.” Goes without saying that such a laurel means just as much as silverware and warrants a special commemoration. But that was only one part of the Nittany Lions’ exquisite 2024 season.

Going 29-2 in the regular season, the Penn State volleyball program went on to win the 2024 NCAA D1 Championship, their eighth national title, just weeks after claiming their 18th B1G trophy. Quite the feat! Such a scintillating season needs to be made memorable. And what better way to do it than with two championship rings?

The official BigTenPlus X account shared glimpses of Penn State volleyball’s dual championship rings via a post on July 28. Captioned, “@PennStateVBALL brought some serious bling from last year’s championship to Media Days,” the social media update shared how Gillian Grimes and Izzy Starck showed off their rings to the reporters while sitting beside a smiling Katie Schumacher-Cawley.

The Big Ten championship ring looked brilliant, with its ornamental getup and the “PSU” brand blitzing mesmerisingly. But the 2024 NCAA championship ring? That just might be good enough to go toe-to-toe with the Chicago Bulls’ iconic 1993 NBA Championship Ring. The Penn State volleyball’s massive national title-winning ring opens up to boast an engraved replica of Rec Hall, the place the Nittany Lions call home. Inside the ring is also a mini replica of the national trophy, which can also double as a necklace that the athletes can wear around their necks.

But hey, the championship rings don’t seem all that extravagant, considering this was the first time that a female coach led a program to the national title. Battling cancer, head coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley didn’t let her personal troubles stand in the team’s way. Instead, she made sure to attend every single match and practice session, even during her chemotherapy treatment, to guide the Penn State volleyball athletes all the way to NCAA triumph. Her incredible grit was lauded at the ESPYs earlier this month, and the coach couldn’t be more thankful to those who stood by her side during the trying times.

In light of such resilience put on display by the coach, it was only appropriate for the team to do its best to hail her journey with the two lavish rings. The national championship ring is also dotted with pink gemstones as a nod to Katie’s battle against cancer. But while it is truly heartening to see the Penn State volleyball program using the opportunity to throw laurels at the head coach, the rings are, in essence, the perfect gift for the student-athletes who attained greatness.

A thunderous season behind, new challenges await Penn State volleyball

It has been a whole decade of waiting for Penn State’s latest national triumph and the previous one. Obviously, it was a massive moment in the program’s history, and the athletes made sure to do it in style. On November 29, the Nittany Lions trampled over No. 2 Nebraska 3-1 at Rec Hall to ensure a share of the Big Ten title. While the Huskers went on to become sharers of the title later on, the defeat to Penn State volleyball assuredly remained a stinging memory.

With the Big Ten triumph, Penn State automatically qualified for the NCAA Championship as the No. 3 seed. With the qualification, the Nittany Lions’ volleyball program secured its spot in the NCAA tournament for a record 44th season. In the Final Four of the national title campaign, Schumacher-Cowley’s girls once again crossed paths with Nebraska and whipped out yet another scintillating victory, before decimating Louisville in the final (3-1) to win the NCAA trophy at the KFC Yum! Center on December 22.

Now, a two-peat awaits. But it won’t be an easy task. Louisville’s coach, Dani Busboom Kelly, was named the new head coach of the Nebraska Huskers in January after John Cook stepped down from his position after 25 long years. DBK has a lot of firepower in her arsenal to make any of her opponents tremble, and Penn State will need to head back to the drawing board to make sure they can meet the familiar foe with full force the next time they cross paths.