After the break, Penn State came out like a team that wasn't quite ready to taste defeat for the first time in more than two years. The refocused Nittany Lions built a lead of as many as six early (11-5) and then edged that out to an 18-11 advantage. But the Longhorns - now certainly the favorites in the match - would rally to make things interesting. Texas got to within a pair, at 22-20, but kills by Megan Hodge and Blair Brown gave Penn State a few set points, at 24-20. Again UT held strong, getting a kill from Adams and then a hitting error from Hodge to prolong the set and force a PSU timeout. On the next point, Hooker and Jennifer Doris blocked Blair Brown to pull the Longhorns to within one. But Hodge answered and finally converted Penn State's fourth set point for a 25-23 victory.

Hooker again led all players with seven kills in the set; she has 23 for the match. Hodge had five kills to lead the Nittany Lions.

This is the first time during Penn State's 101-match winning streak that the Lions have dropped the first two sets. They are trying to become the third team ever to rally to win the NCAA title match after losing the first two sets. Hawai'i rallied from the deficit to beat USC in 1982, and UCLA did so against Long Beach State in 1991.