OMAHA, Nebraska – April 4, 2026 – The sport of volleyball bid farewell to one of the most amazing athletes to grace the sport Saturday night as Jordan Larson and her LOVB Nebraska team fell to LOVB Austin in five sets (22-25, 26-24, 25-19, 22-25, 15-10) on Saturday night at Baxter Arena.
Out in Utah, LOVB Salt Lake defeated LOVB Madison in four sets, clinching the fourth and final spot in the LOVB Playoffs due the league’s three-way tiebreaker.
The Governor went out the only way she knows how, leaving absolutely nothing on the court. Larson finished the night with an immaculate 19-kill, 20-dig double-double while hitting .417.
“If I’m operating at a standard at like 100% in practice, then the game is gonna feel the same,” said Larson. “I think that I’ve learned that if I practice at a very high standard, that the fear and everything in match is gonna go away.”
Her encapsulating presence that always demands excellence constantly invigorated a record-high Baxter Arena crowd to will their LOVB Nebraska team past deficits in the first and fourth sets to even be able to take the match the full-length. She found herself in every position on the court in the fifth set, trying anything and everything she could to keep Nebraska alive. But ultimately, it was not enough.
While Jordan is globally known for the immense amount of accolades she has achieved as an athlete, those that have stood on either side of the net understand just how much she means to the sport of volleyball.
“The mentorship and the leadership and the friendship, I think I’ll carry with me forever,” said Nebraska libero Lexi Rodriguez.
“[Coaching her], she always tells me the truth. To me, that’s the greatest form of loyalty, is when you’re willing to tell somebody the truth,” said Nebraska head coach Suzie Fritz.
“I feel like she’s so much more than this volleyball machine, you know? She’s a super warm person, super selfless, and she likes to make the personal connections on her team,” said Nebraska setter Laura Dijkema.
“I’ve literally watched her and looked up to her my whole life. I wore 10 at Nebraska because of Jordan,” said Austin outside hitter Madi Banks.
“She’s a Kobe, she’s a Michael Jordan. She just is the epitome of what a coach wants their professional athletes to be,” said Austin head coach Erik Sullivan.
While this is certainly not the final time we will see the GOAT on the volleyball court in some capacity, it is a farewell for now. At nearly 40 years old, she finished her final regular season leading all outside hitters across the league in kills and finished Top 5 out of all outsides in points, aces, blocks and digs.
Away from the court in her two years with LOVB, The Governor has been the pinnacle example of what a LOVB Founding Athlete is, along with investing back into the league as a minority owner in LOVB Nebraska.
As we wait to see what comes next from Jordan, the league will turn its attention to the LOVB Playoffs taking place next week. Austin’s Madisen Skinner was the shining star of the night, spearheading her team’s victory to clinch the No, 3 seed. She led all athletes with a league-record 34 points on the night, collecting 28 kills, four blocks and two aces.
LOVB Nebraska finishes the club’s second year of LOVB Pro with a 10-10 record, a well-deserved step in the right direction after their 5-11 inaugural season. The team will begin its offseason and look ahead towards season three.
