Former McAuley Standout Katie Schumacher-Cawley Notches 100th Win as UIC Flames Coach

CHICAGO, IL -- The UIC Flames varsity women’s volleyball team returned to Chicago undefeated after winning the Redhawks Invitational in Cape Girardeau, MO, this weekend. The Flames defeated New Orleans in a straight set win on Saturday, 3-0 (25-17, 25-23, 26-24.

The invitational win was also a career milestone for the Flames head coach and former McAuley volleyball standout, Katie Schumacher-Cawley, who notched her 100th win as a college coach. Now in her eighth year as head coach of the UIC women's volleyball program, Schumacher-Cawley ranks third in program history to win 100 games or more.

"When I think about reaching a number like this, I think of the players who have come through this program since I have been here that make it what it is today," Schumacher-Cawley told the UIC Flames website.

The gracious coach also thanked her assistants and support staff upon reaching her career milestone, Ellen Yopchick, Josh Wielebnicki, athletic trainer Sam Marchese and the team’s strength and conditioning coach Eric Guthrie.

Katie Schumacher-Cawley, '97 McAuley graduate and UIC Flames head coach of women's volleyball. | McAuley

The 1997 Mother McAuley alumna excelled at at volleyball and basketball while attending the South Side Catholic girls high school, earning All-Girls Catholic Athletic Conference honors in both sports and leading the Mighty Macs to state and national titles in volleyball. She was named the 1996 Player of the Year by The Southtown Star Newspaper and the 1997 Chicago Sun-Times Female Athlete of the Year, among many awards and highlights, according to her bio on the McAuley website.

As a college player at Pennsylvania State, Schumacher-Cawley helped lead the Nittany Lions to the 1999 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship and earn three Big Ten Conference titles. She has been inducted into the GCAC Hall of Fame and Chicagoland Sports Hall of Fame, and is a member of the American Volleyball Coaches Association.

Schumacher-Cawley is a 2014 inductee into the Mother McAuley Liberal Arts High School Hall of Fame. Said one of her nominators:

“I have never worked with or for a more caring and selfless individual than Katie. In the world of competitive sports, it is very hard to find someone that cares about the person first and athlete second. For Katie, there is simply no other way to coach. She is a mentor first and coach second. She strives to teach our student-athletes volleyball, but ends up teaching them more important lessons that will take them far beyond the court and the classroom. Katie lives a life founded on values instilled in her during her time at McAuley.”

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