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

The field is made up of all 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 semifinal round, are vying for the title.

Already having played the three other teams remaining in the tournament earlier this season, Penn State is relying on its experience heading into the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville.

While Penn State was swept by the overall No. 1 seed Pitt on the road, it took down Louisville 3-0 in its home opener and beat Nebraska 3-1 in its regular-season finale, and head coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley sees a benefit in those past encounters.

“I think it’s good for us since we feel like we have a good feel for those teams, and obviously we need to make sure we’re prepared again to play Nebraska, who is an excellent team,” she said. “I think seeing these teams, and obviously we watch them play a lot, it’ll be a really exciting Final Four.”

With a trip to the national championship on the line, Penn State will meet the Cornhuskers on Thursday for the second time in less than three weeks, with first serve scheduled for 30 minutes after the conclusion of the Pitt-Louisville match, scheduled to start at 6:30 p.m.

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

Nebraska is the only remaining team that hasn’t played in a five-set match during the NCAA Tournament, only dropping one set in four matches, leading Schumacher-Cawley to say the Huskers have been playing their best volleyball of the season during their tournament run.

“I think [Nebraska is] running on everyone right now. I think they’re well balanced, their pins and middles are doing a good job scoring, their backcourt defense, they pick up a ton of balls. I just think they’re a great team all around,” Schumacher-Cawley said.

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

“I think just having the players believe that they can do it if they play well together. I said that from day one here, ‘If everyone does their job, we can be pretty successful.’ Everyone’s been putting in the time on their skills and how it is that they help the group,” Schumacher-Cawley said.

The win to close out the regular season was played in front of a sold-out Rec Hall and, according to the team, Penn State’s fans provided a crucial advantage.

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

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

Along with a big crowd, playing in the national semifinals can bring about many distractions, such as events being held for the four teams, playing in a new environment, and national attention, but there seems to be a sense of focus within the Penn State program ahead of traveling to Louisville.

There were many goals set by the team prior to the season starting, including going undefeated at home, which it did with a 20-0 record, making it to the semifinal round, which it did by narrowly defeating Creighton, and winning a national championship, which would be completed with two more wins.

Schumacher-Cawley said while she hopes her players take in the opportunity to play on this stage, she expects them to be focused on their objective.

“They know what we’re headed there to do, and I think that they are focused. I know that we’ll be ready to go. My hope is that they soak it in, and obviously remember the goals that they set at the beginning of the season,” she said.