Sometimes, you have to bet on yourself. Caroline Jurevicius learned that during her redshirt year at Nebraska. While on the bench of the national runners-up as a redshirt, she knew a large majority of the hitting rotation was coming back for this season. So she entered the transfer portal. With all her chips in the middle of the table, she went all-in and turned to a familiar shade of blue and white and a school with a familiar team name. Jurevicius made the move to Happy Valley at Penn State. It’s a place that not just her but the entire family is familiar. Her dad, Joe Jurevicius, played football for the Nittany Lions from 1994-1997 finishing his career with 1,894 yards, 15 touchdowns and a Rose Bowl victory in 1995. Jurevicius remembers spending a lot of time in Happy Valley when she was younger and seeing volleyball games played at Rec Hall. “It took all of two days in the portal for me to know where to go,” Jurevicius said. “I entered the portal the day after the national championship and had my first call with Purdue the next day. There were about 10 calls through the first day. Penn State flew me out the next day to State College and I went on my visit and made my commitment the next day at the Corner Room, which is a restaurant that we have here during lunch. All that followed was filling out forms, medicals and press releases from there.” It was a return home of sorts for Jurevicius, who attended games at Rec Hall as a kid with her family. She always knew it was going to be a special feeling getting to return to the halls at State College. While she got to make the trip there with the Cornhuskers on Nov. 3, 2023, it was very different getting to be there as a player herself. Add in her sister, Ava, who she won a state title with at NDCL, is signed to play at Penn State starting next year, College Station is feeling more and more like home. “It was an extremely powerful moment for me,” Jurevicius said. “Getting to stand in Rec Hall for the first time. Like not on my visit but with my own key swipe, my Penn State jacket on and it was like, ‘Wow, this is my place right now.’ And it took on a whole new meaning that I am now doing it for the little girls watching because I was in their position and I want them to aim high and be future Penn Staters.” Her first game at Rec Hall had to wait, as Penn State opened its season with two road games. Her debut came against Tennessee where she racked up seven kills in a 3-1 victory. Jurevicius’ first double-digit kill game came against then-sixth ranked Louisville, where she had 11. She is fifth on the team with 186 kills. There were two hiccups in the Nittany Lions’ schedule to the No. 1 team in the nation in Pittsburgh and No. 7 Wisconsin. Yet with both losses, Jurevicius and the team learned and persevered. Jurevicius’ best performance of the season however came against her former team. Nebraska traveled to Happy Valley on Nov. 27. And again, Jurevicius had all her chips in the middle of the table. But this time she wasn’t alone. All of the Nittany Lions had the same goal in mind. They sat one game behind the Cornhuskers in the Big 10 standings, and a win forced a share of the conference title but a loss gave it to Nebraska outright. When the lights were the brightest, Jurevicius came through. She had 19 kills to lead the way to the 3-1 victory over her former teammates and players she’s still friends with. “It meant everything to me and my team,” Jurevicius said. “Our head coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley, she’s an incredibly strong woman. She’s battling breast cancer right now whilst being our head coach. That makes it a little bit bigger than us when you have that going on on your sideline. There’s also my teammate and roommate Maggie (Mendelson) transferred with me from Nebraska, and we both felt like we have something to prove. Not just to ourselves but to everyone. There was a lot of mental preparation going into that game and I’m proud of how we grinded it all out.” The victory helped Penn State secure the third seed in the NCAA tournament and will host the regional round of the tournament. This year’s prep for the tournament is a lot different than last year for Jurevicius. While she got to participate in media day and video shoots for the NCAA semifinals and championship, she never got to see the floor. Even though she was a part of the national runner-up team, Jurevicius knows this year’s run, whether it’s a first-round exit or a celebration with confetti and a trophy held above their head at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, she’s going to enjoy the ride a lot more. “It all goes back to how much I’ve idolized the Penn State players all my life,” Jurevicius said. “Rec Hall has been this palace to me and it’s super important to me, the team and all of the players that have come before us to defend our house. And I think that’s how we’re approaching this tournament. I think there’s a lot of naysayers that think we won’t make it that far, and we love doubters here at Penn State.” Penn State hosts the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Nittany Lions will follow Yale vs. North Carolina and begin the quest for their eighth national championship, the first since back-to-back titles in 2013-14. They open the tournament with Delaware State on Dec. 6.