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LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Caroline Jurevicius is the player they thought she’d be — a hard-hitter and fierce competitor.

She showed both playing for Penn State in a national semifinal instead of for Nebraska, where she started her career.

Penn State outside hitter Jess Mruzik is each of those things, too.

Mruzik had a match-high 26 kills, including five in the fifth set. Jurevicius, who redshirted at Nebraska last year, had 20.

One hour after the match nearly ended in a Nebraska sweep, Penn State celebrated a five-set win to reach the national championship. The scores were 23-25, 18-25, 25-23, 28-26, 15-13.

It was a great match, Nebraska coach John Cook said, and Penn State deserves a lot of credit.

“I thought we put them away in (set) four,� Cook said.

A career-best match by Nebraska sophomore middle blocker Andi Jackson with 19 kills and a .630 hitting percentage wasn’t enough. Harper Murray had 20 kills and 15 digs with six blocks and three aces.

Taylor Landfair had 10 kills, and Rebekah Allick and Merritt Beason each had eight. Allick also led the team with 10 blocks.

Nebraska’s season ends at 33-3 and just short of a repeat championship match appearance. Penn State gave Nebraska two of its three losses.

The championship match is at 2 p.m. Sunday against the hometown Louisville Cardinals and Dani Busboom Kelly, who played for Nebraska and also served on Cook's coaching staff.

Nebraska let a team with a great setter and several good hitters hang around, and the Nittany Lions seized the opportunity late in the fourth set and in the fifth set. Penn State finished with 71 kills and Nebraska had 65.

Penn State's .242 hitting percentage was the second-highest for a Nebraska opponent this season.

The highs and lows of the sport are part of what makes it great — and also makes it hurt. In the fourth set Nebraska was one point away from winning the match.

“We served really great at times. They served great when they needed to,� Cook said. “I think our passing was really sporadic today. They’re a very good serving team. They did this to us at Penn State, too.�

Nebraska All-American libero Lexi Rodriguez had 15 digs, and in the third set she became Nebraska’s all-time leader for digs. During a timeout, her accomplishment was announced. Many fans gave her a standing ovation, and that’s when you knew for sure that there were thousands of Nebraska fans among a crowd of 21,726 at the KFC Yum! Center, the largest crowd to ever attend an indoor college volleyball match.

The fourth set was an emotional roller coaster. After winning the third set, Penn State rode the momentum of staying alive and led 14-11 in the fourth set. It was a great, and at times fiery, duel between Jurevicius and her old teammates.

Then Murray went to work, picking the Nittany Lions apart with her tough serves. Everything was back to Nebraska, with the Huskers when nine of 10 rallies.

The Huskers led 22-16, and you could feel that the countdown was on for Nebraska fans.

Not so fast. Penn State’s hitters answered as Mruzik had four big kills down the stretch. Penn State won the set 28-26 to tie the match 2-2.

“We had that lead in (set four), and we hit a couple balls to libero, and they transitioned,� Cook said. “They got a couple aces, and we just didn't make a couple plays. Just a couple plays from finishing that thing off.�

In the fifth set, the Nittany Lions’ serving helped them take a 5-2 lead. Penn State won three straight points and led 12-8.

Good serves from Beason and Kennedi Orr kept Nebraska alive until Camryn Hannah hit a shot off the Nebraska blocker for the match-point kill and 15-13 set win.

Penn State found a way to turn the match around in a big way.

“They're a great defensive team, and they showed that tonight,� Jackson said. “They adjusted really well on their block, and they picked up a lot of our swings.�

Jordan Hopp, the Penn State middle blocker from Alliance, had four blocks in the match.

For Nebraska, Jackson nearly helped Nebraska win in a sweep, and she had 29 kills combined in two matches against Penn State.

“She had a great match when we played them there, too,� Cook said. “She doesn’t hit at the libero, so that’s why she gets kills.�

Other players did hit at Penn State libero Gillan Grimes too often, and she had 25 digs.

Jurevicius had two of the best matches of the year against the Huskers.

“She had 42 sets and 20 kills that’s almost 50% kill percentage,� Cook said. “I don’t know. Maybe we should have got Taylor matched up on her. But then we wanted Merritt on (Mruzik). But the way Jess played it didn’t matter who was on her.�

Even when it didn’t look good, Jurevicius was determined to keep Penn State in the fight.

“I think in those moments it's a reminder to myself and a reminder to my teammates that we dog it out at Penn State,� Jurevicius said. “Whether it be our gym in preseason is 90 degrees or we're walking through the snow and getting back at 3:00 a.m., we dog it out.

“I looked at every single one of my teammates and gave them a little shove and said, ‘We are doing this. We're dogging it out.’�

To start the match Nebraska had a strong start with a 12-7 lead. The Huskers were getting kills at every spot. Olivia Mauch dropped in an ace, and her jaw dropped seeing what she had done.

In the second set, Nebraska’s serving, and defense helped the Huskers go to another level.

Block. Block. Block.

In one stretch, Nebraska had four blocks in a stretch of five rallies and led 16-8. With a 25-18 set win, Nebraska led the match 2-0.

You have to win three sets, though, and Nebraska couldn’t get the last one. Nebraska lost when leading 2-0 for the first time in 103 consecutive NCAA Tournament matches.

“It was a great match by both teams,� Cook said. “It's a bummer somebody had to lose it.�