Jordan Quinn Larson (born October 16, 1986) is an American professional

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

player who plays as an outside hitter for the

United States women's national volleyball team The United States women's national volleyball team participates in international volleyball competitions and friendly games, and is governed by USA Volleyball. Their last head coach was three-time Olympic gold medalist and retired dominant be ...

. A four-time Olympian, Larson earned the USA its first-ever gold in women's volleyball at the

2020 Summer Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

. She also has two silver medals from the 2012 and 2024 Summer Olympics and a bronze medal from the 2016 Summer Olympics. With a career spanning more than 15 years, Larson is considered one of the best players in the history of USA volleyball.

Early life

Larson was born in

Fremont, Nebraska Fremont is a city in and the county seat of Dodge County, Nebraska, Dodge County in the eastern portion of the state of Nebraska in the Midwestern United States. The population was 27,141 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it t ...

to Kae and Kevin Larson. Her parents separated when she was three years old, and she and her mother subsequently moved to

Hooper ''Hooper'' may refer to: Place names in the United States: * Hooper, Colorado, town in Alamosa County, Colorado * Hooper, Georgia, an unincorporated community * Hooper, Nebraska, town in Dodge County, Nebraska * Hooper, Utah, place in Weber Cou ...

to move in with her stepfather, Pat Clough. She began playing volleyball in eighth grade. She was named to the Super-State first team in her last three seasons. In 2003, she had 15.08 kills per game to set a Class C1 state record and led LVHS to the state finals. In 2004, as a senior, she set a C1 record with 501 kills, and Logan View made it to the Class C1 state semifinals. She was named Nebraska Gatorade High School Player of the Year."Jordan Larson"
. teamusa.org. July 1, 2012. Retrieved August 5, 2012. Larson played for the Nebraska Juniors at the USA Junior Olympic Girls' Volleyball Championship in 2003, 2004, and 2005. She was an All-American selection all three years. When Larson was in high school, her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. She died seven years later in 2009.

College career

Larson started her college volleyball career at the

University of Nebraska A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

in 2005. That year, she was named the

American Volleyball Coaches Association The American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) is an organization of over 9,000 members, incorporated as a private non-profit educational corporation in 1981, as the Collegiate Volleyball Coaches Association. It is currently headquartered in ...

Central Region Freshman of the Year and the

Big 12 Conference The Big 12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. It consists of 16 full-member universities (3 private universities and 13 public universities) in the states of Arizona, Colorado, Florida ...

Freshman of the Year. She also helped the Huskers finish second in the

NCAA Women's Volleyball Championship The NCAA Women's Volleyball Championship refers to one of three championships in women's indoor volleyball contested by the NCAA since 1981: * NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship * NCAA Division II Women's Volleyball Championship * NCA ...

. In 2006, she led the Huskers to the national title and was named to the AVCA All-America First Team. In 2007, she made the AVCA All-America Third Team. In 2008, as a senior, she was named to the AVCA All-America First Team. She was also chosen as the Big 12 Player of the Year and the league's defensive player of the year; it was the first time that a player achieved both in the same year. Over her four-year college career, Larson had a total of 1,600 kills and 1,410 digs.

Professional career

Larson has played extensively for various clubs in Europe and North America. She began her professional career in Puerto Rico before joining Russian team Dinamo Kazan. With Dinamo Kazan, she won gold at the 2014 FIVB Volleyball Women's Club World Championship and the 2014 CEV Champions League. Larson joined Eczacibasi in Turkey and played with the team until 2019. While with Eczacibasi, she won the 2015 and 2016 World Championships and earned bronze in 2018. Larson was named MVP of both the continental and world competitions in 2015. From 2019 to 2022 she played for

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

in China. In 2021, she played in the inaugural

Athletes Unlimited Pro Volleyball Athletes Unlimited (also known by its abbreviation AU) is a women's professional sports organization based in the United States that organizes and administers competitions in the sports of basketball, softball, volleyball, and formerly lacross ...

season, where she became the first-ever champion. In 2022, she played for Vero Volley Monza. Larson is a founding athlete for League One Volleyball (LOVB)'s inaugural

Omaha Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

team, which is set to launch in November 2024.

National team career

Larson joined the United States women's national team in 2009. With the team, she has earned medals at several major international competitions, including gold medals at the

FIVB World Grand Prix The FIVB Volleyball World Grand Prix was an annual women's volleyball competition created in 1993. The men's version of the competition was called FIVB Volleyball World League, World League. This event should not be confused with the other intern ...

(2010, 2011, and 2015), the FIVB World Championship (2014), and the FIVB Volleyball Nations League (2018, 2019, 2021). She became the team's

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

in 2017. At the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

in London, Larson earned a silver medal with the United States. The team, which was ranked number one in the world going into the competition, was undefeated in pool play, but fell to Brazil in the gold medal match. Larson played with the United States at the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

in Rio de Janeiro. The team was once again undefeated in pool play, but lost to Serbia in the semi-finals. In the bronze medal match against the Netherlands, Larson led the team to victory with 13 kills. On June 7, 2021, U.S. National Team head coach

Karch Kiraly Charles Frederick "Karch" Kiraly ( ; born November 3, 1960) is an American volleyball player, coach, and broadcast announcer. He was a central part of the United States men's national volleyball team, U.S National Team that won gold medals at t ...

announced Larson would be part of the 12-player Olympic roster for the

in Tokyo, making her the fifth oldest volleyball player in U.S. history to be named to an Olympics roster."Jordan Larson preps for her last Olympics, one year later than expected"
NBC Sports. Retrieved June 9, 2021. The team went on to win America's first-ever women's Olympic volleyball gold medal, with Larson scoring the final point in a straight-sets victory over Brazil in the gold medal match. Though Larson had intended for 2020 to be her last Olympics, she came out of retirement in the spring of 2023 and was named to the roster for the

2024 Summer Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...

in Paris.

Coaching career

Larson joined her alma mater, the

, as an Assistant Coach in June 2023.

Personal life

Larson graduated from the University of Nebraska in 2008 with a degree in communication studies. She has been married twice, first from 2009 to 2015 to Luke Burbach, and then from 2021 to 2023 to Pepperdine men's volleyball coach David Hunt. Parents are Kae Clough, Kevin Larson, and Pat Clough.

Awards

Individual

* 2011–12 CEV Champions League "Best receiver" * 2013 NORCECA Championship "Best server" * 2013–14 CEV Champions League "Best blocker" * 2014–15 CEV Champions League "Most valuable player" * 2015 FIVB Club World Championship "Most valuable player" * 2017 FIVB World Grand Champions Cup "Best outside spiker" * 2020 Summer Olympics – "Most valuable player" * 2020 Summer Olympics – "Best outside hitter"

Clubs

2011–12 CEV Champions League The 2011–12 CEV Champions League was the 53rd edition of the highest level European volleyball club competition organised by the European Volleyball Confederation. Participating teams League round 24 teams were drawn to 6 pools of 4 teams eac ...

–

Bronze medal, with Dinamo Kazan *

2013–14 CEV Champions League The 2013–14 CEV Champions League was the 55th edition of the highest level European volleyball club competition organised by the European Volleyball Confederation. Participating teams League round 28 teams have been drawn to 7 pools of 4 team ...

–

Champion, with Dinamo Kazan * 2014 FIVB Club World Championship – Simple gold cup

Champion, with Dinamo Kazan *

2014–15 CEV Champions League The 2014–15 CEV Champions League was the 56th edition of the highest level European volleyball club competition organised by the European Volleyball Confederation. Participating teams League round 28 teams have been drawn to 7 pools of 4 tea ...

–

Champion, with

Eczacıbaşı VitrA Eczacıbaşı Holding is a Turkish industrial group of companies founded in 1942. As of 2023, the Group's 50 companies employ more than 13,500 people, operate 40 production plants, and generate a combined net turnover of TL 33 billion. Group E ...

* 2015 FIVB Club World Championship – Simple gold cup

Champion, with Eczacibasi VitrA * 2016 FIVB Club World Championship – Simple gold cup

Champion, with Eczacibasi VitrA *

2016–17 CEV Champions League The 2016–17 CEV Champions League was the 58th edition of the highest level European volleyball club competition organised by the European Volleyball Confederation. Qualification Pools composition League round *All times are local Poo ...

–

Bronze medal, with

College

* Two-time First Team AVCA All-American (2006, 2008) * Third Team AVCA All-American (2007) * Two-time NCAA Championship All-Tournament Team (2006, 2008) * Two-time NCAA Regional All-Tournament Team (2006, 2008) * Three-time First Team AVCA All-Central Region (2006, 2007, 2008) * 2005 AVCA Central Region Freshman of the Year * AVCA National Player of the Week (September 23, 2008) * Three-time First Team All-Big 12 (2006, 2007, 2008) * 2008 Big 12 Player of the Year * Two-time Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year (2006, 2008) * 2005 Big 12 Freshman of the Year * Two-time Big 12 Player of the Week * Three-time First Team Academic All-Big 12 (2006, 2007, 2008)

National team

* 2010

Pan-American Volleyball Cup Pan-American, Pan American, Panamerican, Pan-America, Pan America or Panamerica may refer to: * Collectively, the Americas: North America, Central America, South America and the Caribbean * Something of, from, or related to the Americas * Pan-Amer ...

* 2010

* 2011

Women's NORCECA Volleyball Continental Championship * 2011 Gold medal 2006 OG

* 2011

FIVB Women's World Cup * 2012 Gold medal 2006 OG

* 2012

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Summer Olympics or the Games of the Olympiad, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, then part of the King ...

* 2013

FIVB World Grand Champions Cup The FIVB Volleyball World Grand Champions Cup was an international volleyball competition contested by the senior men's and women's national teams of the members of ' (FIVB), the sport's global governing body. The tournament was created in 1993 a ...

* 2013

Women's NORCECA Volleyball Continental Championship * 2014 Gold medal 2006 OG

FIVB World Championship * 2015

* 2015

FIVB Women's World Cup * 2015 Gold medal 2006 OG

Women's NORCECA Volleyball Continental Championship * 2016 Gold medal 2006 OG

Women's NORCECA Olympic Qualification Tournament * 2016 Silver medal 2006 OG

* 2016

* 2017

* 2018

FIVB Volleyball Women's Nations League The FIVB Women's Volleyball Nations League is an international volleyball competition contested by the senior women's national teams of the members of the ' (FIVB), the sport's global governing body. The first tournament took place between May a ...

* 2019

FIVB Women's Volleyball Intercontinental Olympic Qualifications Tournament (IOQT) - Qualified * 2019 Silver medal 2006 OG

FIVB Women's World Cup * 2019 Silver medal 2006 OG

Women's NORCECA Volleyball Continental Championship * 2021 Gold medal 2006 OG

* 2021

* 2024

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Larson, Jordan 1986 births Living people American women's volleyball players American volleyball coaches Texas Longhorns women's volleyball coaches Nebraska Cornhuskers women's volleyball coaches Olympic gold medalists for the United States in volleyball Olympic silver medalists for the United States in volleyball Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in volleyball Volleyball players at the 2012 Summer Olympics Volleyball players at the 2016 Summer Olympics Volleyball players at the 2020 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2020 Summer Olympics Nebraska Cornhuskers women's volleyball players Eczacıbaşı Dynavit players LOVB Omaha players American expatriate volleyball players in Russia American expatriate volleyball players in Turkey People from Fremont, Nebraska Sportspeople from Nebraska People from Hooper, Nebraska Outside hitters Volleyball players at the 2024 Summer Olympics American expatriate volleyball players in China American expatriate volleyball players in Italy Medalists at the 2024 Summer Olympics 21st-century American sportswomen Athletes Unlimited volleyball players