Bob Lutz: Shockers’ Jody Larson comes off tournament MVP performance

Wichita State’s volleyball team was down and out twice during last week’s Missouri Valley Conference Tournament in Springfield, Mo.

The Shockers fell behind Northern Iowa 2-0 in their best-of-5 semifinal match. And the same thing happened in the championship against Missouri State.

But along came junior Jody Larson and the rest of the WSU team to stave off elimination and find ways to win both matches.

“We really wanted to win the championship,” said Larson, a product of Maize South who played two seasons at Oklahoma before transferring to WSU. “Our team chemistry was really on point.”

The Shockers, who begin NCAA Tournament play Friday against Kansas State in Lincoln, Neb., are all about team chemistry.

Larson, though, stepped above and beyond in those final two matches with 19 kills in the championship game and a team-high 36 digs in the semifinals and final. She was chosen as the tournament’s MVP.

“I was not expecting that,” she said. “It’s very hard to pick an MVP off our team because we have so many great players.”

Larson’s mother, Teri, is a long-time volleyball and softball coach. Jody grew up playing both sports before eventually deciding volleyball was her sport of choice after her freshman year of high school.

It was about at that time, too, that she fixated on playing volleyball at Oklahoma.

“It wasn’t a tough decision for me to go there,” Larson said. “I loved the school and the atmosphere and everything about it looked amazing. I think I verbally committed as a sophomore.”

Larson, though, discovered that things aren’t always as they appear. Her two years at OU weren’t what she expected and Larson found it difficult to make an impact.

Thank goodness for a strong fall-back plan.

“I was a little disappointed about leaving OU,” she said. “I guess I didn’t look into it as much as I should have during the recruiting process.”

Being at Wichita State, though, means her parents can easily attend matches. And she’s been reunited with several old foes from the AV-CTL, including Newton’s Emily Hiebert and Abbie Lehman; Valley Center’s Hanna Shelton; Maize’s Meghan Grimes and Andover’s Regan Peare.

“I played with Emily for four years in club volleyball so I’ve known her for some time,” Larson said. “I always knew who Abby was and finally got to play with her my senior year. And I knew the others through the AV-CTL. Having girls who have played together some really helps. Abby and Emily have such a great connection, you can tell.”

Wichita State coach Chris Lamb said Larson’s volleyball IQ is her biggest asset and compared her to Larry Bird as someone who uses smarts to make up for deficiencies in athleticism.

“She can do a little bit of everything for us,” Lamb said. “She’s a good competitor with a broad skill set. When Jody is playing well, we’re definitely a different team and we’ve seen that all year. There have been weekends when she’s barely played. But when we call on her and she’s playing well, there’s another level to our game.”

Larson ranks fifth on the Shockers with 204 kills and second with 301 digs.

“So much of what Jody brings is reading and anticipating,” Lamb said. “It does wonders for you in volleyball when you’re able to anticipate and she’s always been kind of one step ahead. That’s the way it’s always been relative to kids her age. She’s been around volleyball her whole life and that expertise is what separates her from a lot of Missouri Valley players.”

Back to last weekend, because Larson is still riding high from those comebacks.

She said she knew Missouri State would eventually cool down after a fast start.

“We hit around .400 the first game and lost and that doesn’t happen very often,” Larson said. “One of their outside hitters was hitting .700 early and you can’t do that for five sets. Their fans were rowdy, super loud.”

But during the break after Missouri State went up 2-0, Larson said the Shockers felt a strange sense of calm. They didn’t feel like they were on the verge of defeat, even though that’s where all the signs pointed.

“We didn’t have to say anything, but we knew we were still OK even being down 2-0,” Larson said. “We had a really good fan section, too, and our fans got really loud. That helped. And (Missouri State) did cool down. It was a pretty exciting feeling to come back the way we did.”

Larson, who went to the NCAA Tournament last season with Oklahoma, hopes the ride continues this weekend.

“This is going to be a great experience,” she said. “K-State is a good matchup for us — this will test us. I like it.”

This story was originally published December 3, 2015 at 2:18 PM with the headline "Bob Lutz: Shockers’ Jody Larson comes off tournament MVP performance."