Get local news delivered to your inbox!

Nebraska's Kaitlyn Hord hits the ball during the team's first practice of the season on Aug. 9 at the Devaney Sports Center.

Kaitlyn Hord could be getting ready to leave for a lucrative professional volleyball career in one of the overseas professional leagues — think China, Italy or Russia.

Instead, Hord is taking one more crack at college volleyball to cap an already impressive career — she earned All-Big Ten honors each of her first four seasons at Penn State and is a three-time All-American.

That she’s doing so at Nebraska is another one of the reasons why the No. 1-ranked Huskers are a strong contender to reach the NCAA Final Four again this season.

Hord put her name in the NCAA transfer portal following last season, signaling that the 6-foot-4 middle blocker from Lexington, Kentucky, would like to play her super-senior season elsewhere. She committed in late January, and then joined the Huskers this summer after graduating from Penn State.

And last Saturday she got her first big welcome to the Husker fans when she was introduced in front of about 8,000 fans at the Devaney Sports Center before Nebraska’s scrimmage. It was one of the loudest cheers of the night, and Hord was absolutely beaming during that moment. Later she said it was “very welcoming.”

Hord wants to be a professional volleyball player, and she would have had lots of good opportunities to do so starting soon after last season ended. But her last two seasons at Penn State had some challenging moments, just like it was with many athletes while playing during a pandemic.

She wanted a volleyball reboot.

“I kind of fell out of love with the sport a little bit,” Hord said. “So instead of going to a foreign county and being the only one speaking my language and it being a total new experience I wanted to find the love for the game again, so I could at least have that to fall back on.”

During the delayed 2020 season, and even the next season, college sports weren't the same.

“I think COVID kind of impacted people’s mindsets in a negative way, and I don’t think they ever got out of those mindsets,” Hord said.

While the season is just beginning, Hord sees a path to regaining her love for the sport during her short time with the Huskers.

“It’s already looking up, so that’s a good sign,” she said. “Just being around people who have the best intentions for you. I keep using the word genuine because that’s something that kind of drew me to this program. I didn’t feel like anyone was trying to sell me anything. Everything felt very real and very genuine.”

Nebraska coach John Cook knew Hord was a great player from watching her play for Penn State for four seasons. Since then he’s also found out that Hord is a special person who he enjoys having conversations with. He’s said several times over the past month that Hord is “really cool.”

Cook hadn’t met Hord before he began recruiting her last winter.

“We really hit it off,” Cook said. “I didn’t know she was going to commit on that visit, but we were having a pretty good feel that she was liking it. I could just tell how happy she was and her parents were really impressed. I think what finally sealed the deal, and I told the entrepreneurial school on East Campus, we spent a lot of time out there and I think those guys made the difference, to be honest with you.”

Cook also thinks players feel comfortable and safe at Nebraska, which is the second-smallest school in the Big Ten based by enrollment.

“She could just picture it, and our players are great to be around, and I know they had a big part in that as well,” he said.

During a news conference after the Red-White Scrimmage, Hord showed some of that personality that Cook has talked about.

Asked about assistant coach Jaylen Reyes — he played that night due to the Huskers being short one player — Hord said, “Definitely not a girl, that’s for sure. He’s got a really good swing. He’s lacking on defense a little bit.”

When she was asked if she had done some trash talking after blocking her position coach, Hord said, “I’m not good at smack talk, yet. I’m learning.”

In a previous interview joked about doing a face plant when she was running on a treadmill while working out at Lionheart Fitness and Tanning near campus in State College last spring when she was no longer part of the Penn State program.

During last week’s scrimmage Hord put on a “block clinic,” Cook said.

Hord’s blocking production could end up being something Nebraska fans haven’t seen lately. Last season she averaged 1.4 blocks per set, which ranked seventh nationally. Nebraska hasn’t had a player with that many blocks since Amber Rolfzen’s 1.58 in 2015.

* Nebraska opens the season with two home matches on Friday — against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at 11 a.m. and Tulsa at 6:30 p.m.

* Former Nebraska volleyball player Jordan Larson has left her role as volunteer assistant coach for the Texas volleyball team, according to the Austin American-Statesman. The report said Larson left for personal reasons.

Reach the writer at 402-473-7435 or bwagner@journalstar.com. On Twitter @LJSSportsWagner.

Get local news delivered to your inbox!

Husker volleyball/women's basketball reporter

Brent Wagner has worked at the Journal Star for 19 years, including 11 years covering the Nebraska volleyball program. His other beats include Nebraska women’s basketball, high school cross country and high school soccer.

Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.

Kaitlyn Hord, who was an All-American middle blocker at Penn State, announced Sunday afternoon that she is transferring to Nebraska.

Kubik and Knuckles each graduated from high school early to train with the Huskers in the spring of 2019. Now, they are captains together.

On the bus ride to the gold-medal match at the 2020 Olympics, "I just lose it," Jordan Larson says. “On the drop of a hat, I was crying." 

Jordan Larson reportedly left the Texas volunteer coaching position for personal reasons.

Nebraska had it rolling Friday morning, racking up blocks, blasting back overpasses and getting kills from every spot on the court.

Nebraska's Kaitlyn Hord hits the ball during the team's first practice of the season on Aug. 9 at the Devaney Sports Center.

Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device.