Nebraska Volleyball Signs Two In-State Prep Standouts for 2005 Season

Lincoln -- Nebraska volleyball coach John Cook announced Wednesday that the Husker volleyball program has received National Letters-of-Intent from two of the state’s top high school seniors in Jordan Larson, a 6-foot-2 outside hitter from Hooper, Neb., and Amanda Gates, a 6-foot-2 middle blocker from Columbus, Neb. Both players will begin their collegiate careers for the Husker volleyball program in the fall of 2005.

Cook said it is a testament to the quality of high school volleyball in the state that Nebraska’s recruiting class can rank among the nation’s best without having to leave the state, as the 2004 senior class is one of the deepest in recent memory.

"We always start our recruiting in Nebraska, and that makes it special that we didn’t have to leave the state to get one of the top five recruiting classes in the country," Cook said. "This is the deepest and most talented group of high school seniors since I have been at Nebraska. It is a great reflection on the quality of the high school volleyball in the state and the great job the coaches are doing to produce so many college-level players."

While both Larson and Gates bring exceptional credentials into the Husker program, Cook said the one feature about both players that impressed him the most was the way they carried themselves both on an off the volleyball court.

"The thing we saw about both Amanda and Jordan is that they are both very humble and grounded," Cook said. "To see that two girls who are as talented and successful as they have been already understand about the importance of giving back to the community, that is what makes them so special and such a great fit in our program."

Amanda Gates
(Lincoln Journal Star)

Amanda Gates, 6-2, MB, Columbus, Neb.
Gates, who committed to the Husker program in the fall of 2003, is considered one of the region’s top players. A first-team all-state honoree as a junior, she plays for Columbus High School, which is 36-2 on the season and seeded second in Class A heading into this week’s state tournament in Lincoln. She has 436 kills, 28 aces and 92 blocks this fall despite missing matches with an ankle injury. In the district title match against North Platte, she had 23 kills, five blocks and two aces, helping Columbus High School extend its winning streak to 23 matches.

In 2003, she was a first-team Class A selection and earned second-team Super State honors by the Lincoln Journal Star after leading the Discoverers with 433 kills on .316 hitting, 109 blocks and 188 aces. She had 55 aces in 35 matches in 2003 and served at an 88 percent clip as Columbus finished with a 23-12 record.

She played for the Challengers Volleyball Club for coaches Kyle Kvasnicka and Ben Boldt, earning All-America club honors in both 2003 and 2004. Last summer, she led the Challengers to a runner-up finish at the 17-and-under division of the USA Junior Olympics in Houston, Texas.

Gates has earned a total of nine letters entering her senior year, earning three each in volleyball, track and basketball, and is an exceptional student, ranking fourth in a class of 250. She is an academic all-state honoree in volleyball and basketball, serves as president of her school’s National Honor Society, is the sports editor for her school newspaper and is in the marching band at Columbus High School. The daughter of Judy and Jerome Gates, Amanda intends to major in communications/sports management at Nebraska.

"Amanda is a more of a typical in-state recruit, as she plays several sports, is involved in many activities and is a straight A student," Cook said. "We’re excited that once she trains full-time in volleyball, she will have a chance to develop into a great middle blocker in our program. She is an exceptional quick hitter and is similar to both Melissa (Elmer) and Tracy (Stalls) in that she is also a very good back row player."

Jordan Larson
(Lincoln Journal Star)

Jordan Larson, 6-2, OH, Hooper, Neb. (Logan View)
Larson, who committed to Nebraska in the spring of 2003, is considered to be one of the nation’s top high school seniors. A member of the United States Junior National Volleyball Team for the past two years, Larson was named the Most Valuable Player and Best Receiver at the 2004 NORCECA Championships, leading Team USA to the gold medal. She joined current Husker freshman Sarah Pavan on the 2004 NORCECA All-Tournament Team. Larson also competed at the Youth World Tournament in Poland in August of 2003, earning a spot on the all-tournament team while leading the U.S. team to a fourth-place finish. In that tournament, she topped the U.S. team with 70 kills and finishing the tournament seventh overall in total points (kills, blocks and ace serves). Larson also spent two years with the Youth National A2 Team. A two-time 18-and-under All-America at the USA Volleyball Junior National tournament, Larson has competed for the Nebraska Juniors and Coach Gwen Egbert, where she played with future Husker teammates Dani Mancuso, Christina Houghtelling. Dani Busboom and Meghan Smith.

At the high school level, Larson has been one of the state’s elite performers, earning first-team all-state honors at Logan View High School during her sophomore and junior seasons. Larson and Logan View enter this weekend’s state tournament with a 24-1 record for Coach Pete Vavak. Larson has already established an all-class single-season state record with 168 aces, upping her career total to 550, which shattered the all-class career record of 388 by Dani Busboom. She also enters the state tournament with 453 kills and 45 blocks. Larson propelled Logan View to the state tournament drilling 28 kills and adding nine aces in a win over Conestoga in the C-1 district final. She earned first-team all-state honors from both the Omaha World-Herald and Lincoln Journal Star in 2003, leading LVHS to 25-3 record and a berth in the state finals. She finished with 357 kills on .424 hitting while serving a then-state record 158 aces. As a sophomore, she set a C-1 state record with 15.08 kills per match, totaling 377 kills on .386 hitting along with 137 aces.

In addition to her volleyball experience, Larson earned second-team all-state honors in basketball from the Lincoln Journal Star by averaging 14.8 points, nine rebounds, three assists, three steals and three blocks per game from her point guard position in helping Logan View to a 21-2 record and a state tournament berth. A three-sport athlete at Logan View who also competes in track, Larson was chosen as the Lincoln Journal Star High School Female Athlete of the Year in 2003-04. The daughter of Kevin Larson and Pat and Kay Clough, Jordan became the earliest commitment to the Husker volleyball program, making her announcement following her sophomore season. Larson is also a member of the honor roll at Logan View High School.

"Jordan has more national and international-level experience than many of the Nebraska players we have recruited," Cook said. "She has already proved that she can play at the highest levels, not only in the Untied States, but internationally as well, and that experience should prepare her to play right away.

Jordan has always had a gift on how she attacks the ball, but she had worked extremely hard over the last two years to become an exceptional passer, defender and blocker," Cook said. "It is easy when you are a great hitter to rely on being a great hitter, but she has become an exceptional defensive player and passer and that work ethic has impressed our staff over the last two years."

2005 Nebraska Recruiting Class

Name

Ht.

Pos.

Hometown

High School

Club Team

Jordan Larson

6-2

OH

Hooper, Neb.

Logan View

Nebraska Juniors

Amanda Gates

6-2

MB

Columbus, Neb.

Columbus

Challengers

Nebraska Head Coach John Cook
This day might be a little more special as a National Letter of Intent Day because of the players we signed. From our perspective, here are two young ladies who have grown up watching Nebraska volleyball and dreaming about being a part of Nebraska volleyball someday, and today is the day it becomes a reality. It should be a very gratifying day for the Husker Nation and also for the high school programs and the club coaches and the sport of volleyball in the state.

In addition to the two that we are signing, I think it is the deepest recruiting class that I have seen since I have been at Nebraska for the number of players who are going to play college volleyball around the state. Our high school coaches deserve a lot of the credit for the jobs they are doing.

On Amanda Gates
Two years ago, we had her in camp. She was in the camp with all of the other girls who are signing around the state and going to Division I programs. It was one of the deepest camps we have had, and Amanda was MVP of the camp. She showed us at that point that she could become a big-time player for us. We love how she competed, and she is going to be a great first-tempo attacker. The other thing that sets her apart is that she is a straight A student. She is involved in everything - from multi-sports to the band to student government to working in the community in Columbus. She is a kid that we will love to have representing Nebraska throughout the state.

On Jordan Larson
Everybody knows she is a special player, so there is not much for me to say. One of my jobs is to make sure that she comes in as a normal freshman, and we don't put a lot of expectations on her, but we know that she is a great player. We challenged her to become a great passer and defensive back row player. I think she is as good, if not the best, back row player in the country in her class. I admire that she has taken that challenge. We're really proud of her for working on that and becoming that type of player

When did you first see her (Larson) play?
I saw her as a 15-year-old in a club tournament at Southeast High School. It is kind of like a baseball pitcher because you know they have a great arm, and we only needed her to swing one time to know there is something special. She has a lightening quick arm swing that makes her such a high-level, international-type attacker. That is something you are born with and is something that you can't really teach. You can improve arm swings, but you can't teach what she has.

Where will she (Larson) make the most improvements at Nebraska?
Technically, Gwen Egbert has a done a great job with her, along with her experience playing for Team USA. They have done a very good job of technically training her. I think the two areas that we'll make the biggest impact is the strength and condition aspect of it, getting her stronger to last longer and play at a higher level. The second is the mental part of it and how to compete at this level. She's done a great job with her Logan View teams and her club teams, but now to compete at this level and be a great player and a leader in our program, those are the things we are going to challenge her with next.

On what role Jordan Larson will play next year:
Any playing time that she gets, she will have to earn. We have a strong team returning with some great outside hitters. She's going to have to prove it and earn it. We'll have some great competition.

How good is her serve?
With her arm swing, her jump serve is such a weapon. Nobody else is serving like that at either high school or in her club program or even in college that has the pace, speed and movement of the ball she serves. Her serve is like a baseball pitcher who throws a 90 mile-per-hour fastball that moves all over the place. You don't see many people who can do that. The other thing is that she gets it in at a high level. She won the best server award at an international competition at the junior national championships and has one of the best jump serves in the world (at this level).