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(CBS Local)– Jordan Larson is one of the best women’s volleyball players ever and the 2x Olympian will be playing in the brand new venture Athletes Unlimited Volleyball. The league will run from February 27-March 29 and the five week competition in Dallas, Texas is the only professional indoor women’s volleyball league in the United States.
After a successful run with Athletes Unlimited Softball in the summer of 2020, the same concepts of players picking up individual points, switching teams each week and coaching themselves has been applied to indoor volleyball. The scoring system allows players to earn and lose points individually based on how they do and how their teams perform. The top four point leaders each week will be captains and select their teammates. Larson is hyped about this opportunity for a number of different reasons.
“It’s been a dream of mine to play in the states ever since college,” said Larson, in an interview with CBS Local’s DJ Sixsmith. “Being able to play pro here is amazing. I’m really looking forward to it and I know a lot of the girls are excited to get it kicked off. This has led to a lot of great conversations and getting to know people.”
Larson will be playing on Team Sybeldon, which is led by captain Lianna Sybeldon. During her time at Nebraska, Larson led the Huskers to a national championship, was named the Big 12 Player of the Year and became an All-American. The creation of the league has been a year in the making and the outside hitter can’t believe the moment is finally here.
“It was always so far in the future. We were talking about these small, minute details and then at the end of December I was like ‘oh my gosh, it’s two months away,’” said Larson. “I can’t believe how fast it went. There is so much prep that has gone into it. I come from the University of Nebraska where volleyball is very well-known. I’m excited for that to not stop out of college and for it to continue on. Those college fans now have the ability to watch players on TV and that is going to be awesome. I think it’s a great opportunity for athletes coming out of college to be exposed.”
While every professional athlete has a different motivating factor, one of the biggest things that drives Larson is raising awareness about breast cancer. The silver and bronze medalist lost her mother to breast cancer over a decade ago and she was always one of the biggest reasons for Larson’s success on the court. Each player in Athletes Unlimited Volleyball will have a cause they will be playing for this season.
“I chose the Pink Fund because my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer and I was pretty young in high school,” said Larson. “At the time when she got re-diagnosed, my family had to move and they lost a job. Times were tough a little bit financially. The Pink Fund allows money to be raised to help women in need. I’m really excited to be able to represent that. My mom passed away and it will be 11 years this year. This is in honor of her and I want to dedicate that to her.”
Watch Athletes Unlimited Volleyball this month and next month on CBS Sports Network.
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