For Olympic gold medalist volleyball star Jordan Larson, the Nebraska Huskers are almost like her second home. Since her first year with the Huskers two decades ago, the outside hitter has seen her alma mater come a long way. Even after graduating from Lincoln, the 38-year-old had remained on campus in various roles despite her own professional responsibilities. But all good things come to an end.

In a recent announcement, the Huskers volleyball head coach John Cook revealed that his former student Jordan has decided to relinquish her position as a coaching staff. Huskers Illustrated’s Lincoln Arneal shared details of the announcement via a post on X on January 27. “Jordan Larson is stepping down from the Nebraska coaching staff,” reads the caption of the post which is accompanied by an excerpt of Cook’s statement.

“While I am disappointed we won’t have her on staff anymore, I am thankful to Jordan for all that she has done for our program over these past two seasons,” the veteran HC noted in his statement. Since joining the Nebraska volleyball staff in June 2023, Larson has worked primarily with the team’s outside hitters. In her two years as the assistant coach. Larson has helped the Huskers reach the NCAA D1 Championships finals in 2023 and the semis in 2024. And she did all of that while also preparing for the 2024 Paris Olympics! Astonishing dedication, right? Naturally, Coach Cook couldn’t be more grateful!

“It wasn’t easy for her while balancing the Olympics and a professional playing career at the same time, but she gave everything she had to our players and to the Nebraska volleyball program and she will be missed,” John Cook stated further. The 2x AVCA First-Team All-American volleyball celebrity Jordan Larson also won the NCAA trophy with the Huskers in 2006, cementing her status as a decorated athlete of the program. Jordan was inducted into the Nebraska Athletics Hall of Fame in 2020. The folks over at Nebraska thanked her for all her contributions to the team with a post on Instagram saying, “Thank you Coach…We will miss her so much and wish her the best!”

She returned to Lincoln from the City of Love with another Olympic silver and was ready to use her experience to further benefit the program. But the Huskers will now have to look elsewhere to maintain their dominance in the collegiate circuit. However, just because she will be parting ways with the Huskers, doesn’t mean that Larson will be quitting volleyball altogether. Instead, remaining true to the pursuit of her love for the sport, she will continue to work to make volleyball a more popular sport in the USA and beyond.

Jordan Larson’s tryst with volleyball isn’t finished just yet

The Nebraska native, along with her national teammate and fellow NU alum Justine Wong-Ornates, was one of the founding athletes of the League One Volleyball (LOVB), which began its maiden campaign in 2024. But she didn’t wash off her hands just by setting up the foundation stones of the pro volleyball league. Instead, both Jordan and Wong-Ornates were also drafted by LOVB Omaha. So far, Larson has been a crucial driving force behind Omaha’s success and has been pivotal in defeating some heavyweight opponents including Madisen Skinner‘s LOVB Austin and Jess Mruzik‘s LOVB Houston.

Jordan recently noted her ecstatic feelings about being able to return to Nebraska and continue her pro career. With that, she also highlighted how this also helps her to take the sport to new heights. “It’s so much bigger than all of us. And we just are so grateful that everyone’s buying into something and that buying into women’s sports and really just elevating, an example, you know, I think about who I grew up looking at and admiring, you know, now we have a lot of powerful women that are just standing in front of these young athletes that are growing up. And so, it’s just really fun to be a part of that,” she was heard saying in a recent video shared by LOVB Omaha on social media.

What next do you foresee for the volleyball sensation? Do you think she will be roped in by any other programs in the near future or will she restrict her wisdom for her beloved Huskers exclusively? Tell us in a comment below!