Saturday, April 17, 2021

AU Volleyball: Jordan Larson

The inaugural season of Athletes Unlimited volleyball ended with Jordan Larson being crowned the first champion. You can get more info on the season from older posts here and on GlobalWomensSportsRadio.com.

One of the fun parts for me was learning about players like Larson. Prior to the AU Volleyball season, my knowledge of volleyball and the playrs was pretty limited. Because of the broadcasts and the post-match press sessions, I got to know a lot more about all things volleyball.

Born in Nebraska, Larson is a member of the United States women's national volleyball team and Turkey club Eczacıbaşı VitrA. She was a silver medalist of the 2012 Olympic Games, a bronze medalist of the 2016 Olympic Games and a gold medalist of the 2014 World Championship. She was a two-time AVCA First Team All-American while playing college volleyball at Nebraska. At Nebraska, she became the first player ever to be named the Big 12 Player of the Year and the league's defensive player of the year in the same year.

In the AU Volleyball season, Larson was a captain for four of the five weeks, meaning she was in the top four in points for four weeks. For the season, she finished with 4,569 points, 879 points ahead of second. To put that in perspective, 865 points seperated second place from tenth place. That means Larson was dominant

Larson was a delight in press sessions. She analyzed the games, her play and the season in general. She also talked about the sport and other off-topic bits about her life. She was humble, while still being grateful in victory. In other words, she was everything you would want in a player and a champ!

I don't know if Larson will return for a second season. She'll only be 35. She certainly has game left in her, if she wants to play. My guess is she will return to defend her title.

AU announced there will be a second season, although time and place details were not announced. Next up though for AU is the lacrosse league and I will be "On the Beat" for that. Check AUProSports.com for more info on all AU leagues and check her for my recurring coverage.
Jordan Larson and me-March 2021.

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