NCAA volleyball: Texas hires Jordan Larson; additions at LBSU, USC; men’s results

Olympic gold-medalist Jordan Larson is now a Texas assistant coach, Long Beach State and USC got some key additions, and there were a handful of NCAA men’s volleyball matches the past couple of days.

COVID-cancelations willing, there are more men’s matches on tap for Wednesday, including Ohio State home for Saint Francis, Harvard at UC Irvine, and Princeton at USC.

TEXAS HIRES LARSON — Jordan Larson, the captain of the USA team that won the women’s volleyball gold medal in Tokyo last summer, has joined the Texas staff. She replaces longtime assistant Tonya Johnson, who left to become the head coach at LSU.

Larson, who was an All-American at Nebraska and has had a long pro career, recently finished her season in China. She married Pepperdine men’s coach David Hunt after the Olympics.

“This is a home run hire,” Texas coach Jerritt Elliott said. “To have the most accomplished outside hitter in the history of USA Volleyball come be part of our program is so exciting. For our athletes that aspire to be part of the national team to have someone that eats, drinks and sleeps volleyball will be an incredible opportunity. Jordan loves the game, wants to give back and will be a great mentor to all of the ladies that come into our program.”

LONG BEACH ADDITIONS — New coach Tyler Hildebrand added Cursty Le Roux to his staff and added one of his former Nebraska players, Callie Schwarzenbach, to roster. 

Le Roux, who played at UNLV, played played professionally for eight seasons and in her career was a teammate with Kristen Hildebrand, the wife of new Long Beach State coach Tyler Hildebrand.

Schwarzenbach, a 6-foot-5 senior from Kearney, Nebraska, was a key player for Nebraska for three seasons but played sparingly this past fall. In 2018 and 2019 she led the Huskers in blocks.

“I am excited to announce my commitment to Long Beach State University for my remaining year of eligibility!,” Schwarzenbach said on Instagram.

RENNIE TO USC — Savannah Rennie, the former Cal and Marquette standout, who during her playing career overcame having a liver transplant, beating cancer, and knee reconstruction, has joined the USC staff as a volunteer coach. 

We wrote about Rennie after her liver transplant and kept up with her throughout her career, including this story about her move to Marquette, and then last month when she wrapped up her college playing career.

COACHING CAROUSEL — Bradley’s new coach is Alicia Williams, who coached Iowa Western Community College to back-to-back National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division I national championships. Williams, who also played at Iowa Western before transferring to Creighton, replaces Carol Price-Torok, who left to coach at UTSA … 

Former Washington standout Krista Vansant, who spent the past four seasons as an assistant at Indiana, has joined the staff at Illinois … 

Among the unfilled Division I head-coaching jobs are App State, Idaho, and Tulane. 

NCAA MEN — There were two matches Monday as Concordia Irvine beat St. Xaxier and Belmont Abbey swept LIU. It was the first match in LIU history.

Then Tuesday, Belmont Abbey of Conference Carolinas swept LIU to improve 2-0. Matteo Miselli led BA with 15 kills, three assists, five aces, and five digs. LIU’s Caden Satterfield, who had 14 kills in the opener, had 14 kills again, hit .313, and had two blocks and four digs. 

Also Tuesday, Lewis opened its season with a sweep of Maryville. 

UC Santa Barbara swept St. Xavier as the Gauchos hit .484 … North Greenville beat Tusculum in four, and Lancaster Bible beat Edward Waters in five. It was the first match in program history for Edward Waters of the SIAC.

GATORADE POY — Baylor commit Avery Carlson is the Gatorade national prep player of the year. She’s a 6-foot senior at Lovejoy High School in Lucas, Texas. Click here for more about Carlson, and here to see the winners in every state.

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