Larson's ‘good years to come'

LINCOLN — Considering all the accolades piled upon Jordan Larson as a Nebraska volleyball player, it would seem that her Husker years would be the pinnacle of her career.

Not necessarily, cautions Hugh McCutcheon. It's a big world out there, and Larson has only begun to explore it.

And who is McCutcheon?

He's Larson's coach. The coach of the U.S. women's national team.

He's in position to know, as Larson debuted with Team USA last month and then played in the Pan American Cup that concluded Saturday with the Americans losing to Puerto Rico for the bronze medal.

“She's going to get better physically, she's going to get better technically, she's going to be able to play better within the system,'' said McCutcheon, who is now leading the U.S. women after taking the U.S. men to a gold medal at the Beijing Olympics. “That happens over time. What happens to Jordan is going to be up to Jordan, but she's starting from a nice spot.''

Larson is starting over on a bigger stage, not totally unlike when she arrived at NU in 2005 from Hooper, Neb. But since then she's matured, gained more confidence, established herself.

But, no, Larson doesn't believe she's peaked. Not with the 2012 Summer Games sitting out there.

“I feel like I've got good years to come. I just don't know how many that might be,'' she said. “But I'll try for these Olympics and go from there. I'll give everything for volleyball, take a break and see if I want to continue playing. I don't know.''

Larson today can stop and relish what she's done so far as The World-Herald names her the 29th winner of the Frederick Ware Award.

The Ware Award is given annually to the four-year college athlete in Nebraska who, in the judgment of the newspaper's editors, made the most significant achievement in sports while representing the best traditions of his or her institution. The late Frederick Ware organized The World-Herald sports department and served as sports editor from 1924 to 1942, and later was managing editor and a member of the newspaper's board of directors.

Larson joins Greichaly Cepero (2001), Janet Kruse (1992), Lori Endicott (1989) and Karen Dahlgren (1987) as NU volleyball players to win the Ware Award.

Other finalists for the 2009 honor were Creighton baseball player Darin Ruf, UNO football player Zach Miller, Nebraska football player Joe Ganz and NU wrestler Jordan Burroughs.

If volleyball offered the same transition from college to pro as the major men's sports, former NU teammate Rachel Schwartz is pretty sure where Larson might be drafted.

“I think she'd be the No. 1 pick,'' Schwartz said. “She brings it all. She has the hit, she has the serve, she has the defense and she has the court smartness.

“What's scary about Jordan is I think she can only get better from here, even though she's amazing and one of the best players in the world right now.''

Larson offered a sampling of it during the Pan-American Cup in Miami.

The 6-foot-2 outsider hitter led the United States in “points'' (kills, blocks, aces) in three of the four matches she was used in pool play. She effectively started navigating the college-to-international jump that McCutcheon said can be difficult because of speed of the game and demands in terms of technical proficiency.

“I think she has a lot of potential,'' McCutcheon said. “And has she maxed out? No way. There's a lot of stuff she can do to get better.

“The thing I like about Jordan is she has a very good feel for the game and a nice volleyball IQ. I think her character is well-suited to success at this level.''

McCutcheon saw it before with Larson in the NCAA final four last December and watching her play professionally in the Puerto Rico Super League last winter. Coach John Cook witnessed it for four years at Nebraska, where Larson finished her career as a two-time All-American and as the 2008 Big 12 player of the year and defensive player of the year.

Asked where Larson ranks among his best NU volleyball players, Cook adjusts the answer by firmly saying she was the “most complete all-around player that we've ever had.'' And you get rewarded for it at the international level, where the substitution rules are more limited than in college.

Cook is of the opinion that female volleyball players generally peak around 25 or 26. At 22, Larson still has to go through the process of performing after trips to Brazil or China — instead of a bus ride to Kansas State — and staying focused and motivated in environments that often include small crowds and lesser facilities.

However it ends, the Larson story already is special for the way it started, how it can give hope to all those small-town Nebraska girls who grow up following Husker volleyball.

The population in Hooper (788) wouldn't be enough to fill one side of the NU Coliseum. She didn't have the benefits of playing high school volleyball in a more populous area.

She tried to remember that every time she was working a camp or signing autographs or just coming upon a kid who wanted to talk.

“I always feel like I've been very humble,'' Larson said.

Since that last ball hit the Qwest Center Omaha floor last December — and Penn State turned back the Huskers in the national semifinals — a lot more has happened to Larson.

She graduated just before Christmas with a degree in communications, rising from a freshman whom Cook said struggled with school to being a second-team academic All-American. She spent four months in Puerto Rico, where she was named league MVP. She married Luke Burbach of Lincoln in May. She joined Team USA at the start of June in Anaheim, Calif.

She's now leaping into a whole new stratosphere.

“With Hugh, we were relearning everything we were doing,'' Larson said. “Every skill we're changing. It's kind of a cool thing, just how much I've gotten better the last four weeks and how much I've learned.''

Contact the writer:

444-1042, rich.kaipust@owh.com



WARE AWARD FINALISTS

Zach Miller
The University of Nebraska at Omaha quarterback was a three-year starter who played four seasons for the Mavericks after transferring from Nebraska, helping the team to the Division II playoffs all four seasons. He was selected in the sixth round of the NFL draft by Jacksonville, which will make the 6-foot-4, 240-pounder a tight end. A two-time 1,000-yard rusher and two-time 1,000-yard passer, he topped 1,000 yards in each category last season. His 18 touchdowns were one short of the single-season school record he set in 2006, and his 43-yard touchdown run in the last minute at Central Missouri was the playoff-bid saving highlight of the season. Miller is the Mavs' all-time leader in touchdowns (51), ranks second in career total offense (7,218 yards), second in rushing yards (3,122) and seventh in passing yards (4,096).
— Rob White

Jordan Burroughs
The Husker wrestler capped a remarkable junior season by winning the first national title of his career last March. The 157-pounder from Sicklerville, N.J., went 35-0, while breaking his NU single-season record for takedowns by recording 117 in 19 duals. Burroughs also won his second straight Big 12 title and helped Nebraska earn its first conference crown since 1995.
— Jon Nyatawa

Joe Ganz
The Nebraska quarterback directed a potent offense with precision and efficiency during his only full season as a starter. The senior set school season records for passing yards, total yards, completions and passing accuracy. Ganz, who earned the Tom Novak Trophy and the Bobby Reynolds Award, also was voted by his teammates as the squad's MVP.
— Jon Nyatawa

Darin Ruf
The first baseman stepped into the Creighton baseball lineup during the first game of his freshman season and never came out. He played 227 games and finished among the program's all-time leaders in sacrifice flies (first, 22), putouts (first, 2,251), RBIs (second, 201), hits (third, 275), walks (sixth, 135), doubles (seventh, 57) and home runs (10th, 27). His total putouts rank third in NCAA Division I history. He twice earned Gold Gloves for fielding excellence in addition to being named the Missouri Valley Conference's player of the year as a sophomore in 2007. He earned first-team All-Valley honors in 2007 and 2008 and was a second-team pick in 2009. He is playing minor league baseball after being picked by Philadelphia in the 20th round of last month's amateur draft.
— Steven Pivovar

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