Kirsten Bernthal Booth, President of Business Operations for LOVB-Nebraska, speaks at a March 6 news conference at the Saddle Club about the team's March 7 match at the Heartland Events Center. (Carol Bryant, Central Nebraska Today)
GRAND ISLAND – “The Governor” is coming to Grand Island March 7, and it isn’t Jim Pillen.
It’s four-time Olympian and Cornhusker volleyball star Jordan Larson, whose nickname is “The Governor.”
Kirsten Bernthal Booth, LOVB-Nebraska’s President of Business Operations, spoke at a news conference March 6 at the Saddle Club.
“This is the best-selling game in the league,” Booth said.
As of March 6, 5,050 tickets have been sold to the match between LOVB-Nebraska and LOVB-Salt Lake that starts at 7 p.m. March 7, according to Kyler Tarwater, executive director of the Heartland Events Center. Only a few hundred tickets remain, so a sellout is anticipated.
“Volleyball isn’t just for Omaha,” Grand Island City Council President Ryan O’Neill said. He introduced Booth and Tarwater.
Booth said she knew, “If we go to Central Nebraska, everyone wlll show up. …We want to be Nebraska’s team.”
Booth, who was the head volleyball coach at Creighton University for 22 years, said that the LOVB (League One Volleyball) league started two years ago. She said that LOVB and the other professional volleyball league, the Supernovas, will probably eventually merge.
Booth said that all Olympic volleyball players from the United States who are still playing complete in LOVB.
She said that the team’s original name, LOVB-Omaha, was changed to LOVB-Nebraska to better reflect that the team represents the state. She said that there is a contest to select a nickname for the team. Twelve finalist names will be announced March 7, and fans will have the opportunity to select the winning nickname.
Booth said that LOVB-Nebraska has 16 players, and approximately half are foreign players. She said that LOVB has established itself as the third-leading volleyball league in the world.
There are currently six teams in the league. The other teams are located in Madison, Wisconsin; Houston, Austin, Salt Lake City, and Atlanta. Teams will be added for San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Minnesota.
Tarwater said that the Grand Island match will have significant economic impact on the community. Hotels and restaurants will be full, and the match will have a multi-million dollar effect, he said.
Jordan Larson, 39, is retiring at the end of this volleyball season. The Hooper, Nebraska, native helped the United States get its first-ever gold in women’s volleyball at the 2020 Summer Olympics.
Larson started her college volleyball career at the University of Nebraska in 2005. In 2006, she helped lead the Cornhuskers to the national title. She has played professionally for clubs in Europe and North America. She is a founding athlete for LOVB-Nebraska.
Former Nebraska star Lexi Rodriguez also plays for LOVB-Nebraska. Rodriguez, 22, played for the University of Nebraska from 2021 to 2024. Rodriguez played for Nebraska when it lost in the finals of the 2021 national championship game. The Cornhuskers also lost in the 2023 national title game.
