Volleyball

Nebraska Volleyball Retired Jerseys

Karen Dahlgren
Middble Blocker | 1983-1986 | Bertrand, Neb.
(Retired 1989)

Karen Dahlgren played a key roll in Nebraska's 1986 national runner-up finish. A two-time All-American, Dahlgren was honored as a Honda-Broderick Award winner in 1986 after being named to the GTE/CoSIDA Academic All-America team three straight years. She is also Nebraska's only player to be named all-conference all four years. One of the best blockers in school history, Dahlgren holds school records for solo blocks in three- and four-game matches. She also holds the top two single-season solo block marks as well as NU's career solo block record. She ranks third on the all-time total blocks chart with 550. The Bertrand native is also second in school history with a career hitting percentage of .386. She is one of only two players to lead the Huskers in a statistical category all four years. She also led the team in hitting percentage for three years.

Cathy Noth
Setter | 1981-1984 | Bettendorf, Iowa
(Retired in 1988)

Cathy Noth moved from outside hitter to setter her junior season and earned AVCA All-America honors in 1983 and 1984. Noth guided NU to its first NCAA Tournament appearance in 1982 and helped Nebraska compile a four-year-record of 112-24, winning four Big Eight regular-season titles and four Big Eight Tournament crowns. She set a then-Big Eight and school record with a .398 hitting percentage in 1984. Noth?s career hitting percentage of .366 still ranks third in school history. Noth was also Nebraska?s first three-time All-Big Eight selection and the only volleyball player in the history of the conference to earn three Big Eight Tournament MVP awards. Noth served as an assistant coach under Terry Pettit from 1988 to 1998.

Lori Endicott
Setter | 1985-1988 | Springfield, Mo.
(Retired in 1992)

Lori Endicott is the most decorated setter in Nebraska's long line of All-America setters. Endicott earned first-team honors as a senior and was a second-team selection as a junior after playing right side her first two seasons. Endicott continued her playing career as a member of the U.S. National Team from 1988 to 1996. She was America's starting setter at the 1992 and 1996 Olympic Games and was named the best setter at the Barcelona Games after leading the United States to a bronze medal. A two-time Big Eight Player of the Year, Endicott led Nebraska to four Big Eight regular-season titles during her career. She was also named a 1988 GTE/CoSIDA Academic All-American. Several of Endicott's marks may stand untouched for years, including her school-record 109 assists vs. Texas, which still stands as the NCAA single-match record.

Allison Weston
Outside Hitter | 1992-1995 | Papillion, Neb.
(Retired in 1997)


Allison Weston, a native of Papillion, Neb., is arguably one of the best collegiate players in NCAA history. Nebraska's first three-time, first-team AVCA All-American, Weston capped an impressive career by winning the 1995 national title and sharing AVCA Player-of-the-Year honors with Cary Wendell of Stanford. The former captain of the U.S. National Team, Weston still holds school records for kills in a four-game match (37) and held NU's record for career kills (1,778) until 2007. She also ranks in the career top 10 in nearly every statistical category and holds three of the top-10 single-match kill performances. A two-time GTE/CoSIDA Academic All-American, Weston was also a two-time Big Eight Player of the Year.

Janet Kruse
Outside Hitter | 1988- 91 | Fort Calhoun, Neb.
(Retired in 2004)

Janet Kruse is one of the finest student-athletes to ever play for the Huskers. A native of Fort Calhoun, Neb., Kruse was Nebraska's first three-time All-American, earning first-team honors in 1989 and 1990 and second-team honors in 1991. She was also named the NCAA Woman of the Year and garnered an NCAA Today Top Eight award in 1992 after twice earning GTE Academic All-American-of-the-Year honors in 1990 and 1991. She also earned third-team academic All-America honors in 1989. During her career, the Huskers made two NCAA semifinal appearances, including a title appearance in 1989. Her 33 kills in a five-game win over Kentucky is tied for seventh on the all-time single-match charts. Kruse also ranks seventh on Nebraska's career kill charts with 1,269 kills.
 

Stephanie Thater 
Middle Blocker | 1989-1992 | Union, Mo.
(Retired in 2008)

Stephanie Thater was the second three-time All-American in Husker volleyball history and is still regarded as one of the best middle blockers to ever come through the NU program. She led her team to the NCAA semifinals as a sophomore and compiled an 81-14 record in her three years as a starter. Her teams went 48-0 in regular-season conference play, winning four Big Eight titles and three conference tournament championships. Thater was a two-time Big Eight Player of the Year and a three-time all-conference selection. She holds school records for block assists in a five-game match with 14. Her season records for block assists (165), total blocks (197) and blocks per game (1.92) stood for seven years before Amber Holmquist topped them in 2000, and her career records for block assists (502) and total blocks (591) stood until 2002. She was selected to the Nebraska Volleyball 25th anniversary team in 1999.

Nancy Metcalf
Right Side | 1997-2001 | Hull, Iowa
(Retired in 2012)

Nancy Metcalf (Meendering) will be remembered as one of the best players in Nebraska volleyball history. Metcalf was just the second three-time AVCA First-Team All-American at Nebraska and played for the United States in the 2004 Olympics. She was also honored as an NCAA Top Eight Award winner, a two-time Big 12 Player of the Year, a three-time CoSIDA Academic All-American, the 2001 CoSIDA Academic All-American of the Year, a two-time NCAA Regional MVP and a three-time first-team All-Big 12 honoree. Metcalf finished her career with 1,603 kills and 412 blocks. Metcalf was the only Husker to record six 30-kill matches in a career, and owned or shared 13 school records, including kills in a single match with 39 against Kansas State in 1999. She has been on the U.S. National team on a full-time basis since 2002.

Jordan Larson
Outside Hitter | 2005-2008 | Hooper, Neb.
(Retired 2017)

Jordan Larson was a three-time AVCA All-American from 2006 to 2008 and led the Huskers to the 2006 NCAA title and three NCAA semifinals appearances in her career. Larson is one of only five Huskers to record more than 1,000 kills and digs in a career and finished her career with 1,600 kills, 1,410 digs and a school-record 186 service aces. A native of Hooper, Nebraska, Larson was named Big 12 Player and Defensive Player of the Year as a senior in 2008, averaging 3.92 kills and 3.19 digs per set to help NU to the NCAA semifinals. Larson became the first player in Big 12 history to earn both awards in the same season. She was part of four Big 12 champion teams and received AVCA All-America first-team accolades two times, as well as first-team All-Big 12 honors three times. In 2006, Nebraska won the NCAA Championship in Omaha with Larson posting 19 kills and 15 digs while hitting .378 to earn NCAA Championship all-tournament honors. Following her collegiate career, Larson joined the U.S. National Team on a full-time basis and competed in the 2012 London Olympics and 2016 Rio Olympics, earning a silver and bronze medal, respectively. Larson helped Team USA win the gold medal at the 2014 FIVB World Championships, the first-ever major tournament gold medal for the U.S. Women’s National Team.

Sarah Pavan
Outside Hitter | 2004-2007 | Kitchener, Ontario
(Retired 2018)

Husker legend Sarah Pavan had her jersey retired on Sept. 9, 2018. Pavan was also inducted into the Nebraska Athletic Hall of Fame two days earlier on Sept. 7, 2018. The Kitchener, Ontario native is NU’s all-time leader in kills (2,008) and kills per set (4.56). Pavan is one of five players in NCAA history to be named a four-time first-team AVCA All-American. The others are Megan Hodge (Penn State), Bev Oden (Stanford), Logan Tom (Stanford) and Kerri Walsh (Stanford). Pavan helped lead the Huskers to the 2006 NCAA Championship with 22 kills in both the semifinal and final matches. She was the ninth volleyball player in school history to have her jersey retired.