Breakout Season: Jordan Hopp's Iowa State Journey

Senior Jordan Hopp is hitting her stride, ranking among the best in the Big 12 in hitting percentage while being Iowa State's leading blocker this season, but it hasn't come easy.

Jordan came to Iowa State with just high school playing experience without playing for a club, a rarity for players at this level.

"When you haven't played club, it can be hard to catch up on all those reps and that's what Jordan was facing her first couple of years," Head Volleyball Coach Christy Johnson-Lynch said. "She was trying to catch up compared to other middles who came in who had so many more repetitions over the years."

Jordan grew up in Alliance, Nebraska, a town of about 7,500 in the Western part of the state. The nearest club team, where most recruits get recognition from college coaches, was either four hours away in Denver, Colorado or six hours away in Lincoln, Nebraska. Jordan knew she'd have to take an alternative route to get Division I attention as an under-the-radar recruit.

"Because of where I lived, there was no national club around so I decided to continue to play three sports in high school," Jordan said. "During the summertime, I would sign up for the elite camps at Division I colleges and play with top recruits around the country. In between each camp I participated in high school team camps for volleyball and basketball. It was always my goal to play Division I sports, but not until the high school level is when I truly found the passion for volleyball."

Whether it was traveling to camps, sending highlights to coaches, participating in showcases or trying out for the USA team, Jordan took advantage of the opportunities to get closer to her goal of advancing to the next level of playing collegiate volleyball. On the court, she had a team-first mentality and took no shortcuts.

"I did whatever the coaches needed me to do to better the team whether that was mimicking other teams' offenses to prepare us for the game to even playing a different position," Jordan said. "I came to practice every day with the mindset that no matter what the outcome was the overall goal was to get one percent better either physically or mentally. Overall growing confidence and trust in myself is what made me become the player I am today."

Jordan left a lasting legacy at Alliance High School, having three 100 block seasons including setting the school record for total blocks in a season and career blocks while leading her school to break an 18-year volleyball state championship appearance drought in 2018. Not only was Jordan skilled in volleyball, she was also accomplished in basketball and track and field. In fact, Jordan compiled 12 varsity letters, a feat only four other girls and seven total have accomplished in the school's history.

With more and more high school athletes gravitating towards specializing in one sport, being a multi-sport athlete is becoming less common, but for Jordan it is all she has known.

"Being a multi-sport athlete started when I was very young," Jordan said. "So I do not remember what it was like not playing a sport. Once one season was over, it was most likely the following week the new sport starts up."

Johnson-Lynch says she loves what those who have played more than one sport bring to the program.

"I love multi-sport athletes because, one, they're doing different things throughout the year," Johnson-Lynch said. "Sometimes if you're only playing volleyball, when you show up to college you have these overuse injuries because all you've done is play volleyball. Also because they've had a variety of experiences through the years; they've had to be coached by different styles and personalities and figure out how to get along with different teammates. I think other sports teach you about volleyball and vice versa."

Jordan agrees that playing multiple sports helped her develop as a volleyball player.

"It taught me to compete at a high level not only physically but mentally," Jordan said. "Basketball is a very physical sport that helps with coordination and endurance. Track was a great way to work on my mental side of being an athlete since you are competing against yourself most of the time and it teaches you how to control your emotions during high-stress situations. It helped me develop into becoming a great slide hitter because I was constantly doing one-foot repetitions in both sports. During basketball I remember doing hundreds of layups during practices and in track, high jump is very similar to running a slide. It also helped me by letting different muscles rest and recover when I was taking the time off volleyball to play other sports."

Johnson-Lynch also states these athletes may show up a little behind in their skills, but they typically catch up quick because of their variety of experiences and ability to adapt.

It took some time for her to adjust to playing at the collegiate level, but Jordan pressed on.

"I know she got sick of hearing it, we kept telling her she just had to keep working; she's been patient, she's bided her time," Johnson-Lynch said. "I think she's shown a lot of perseverance because it was going to take a while for her to hone her skills enough to where she could consistently play at this level and that is what she's done."

Through all the challenges, Johnson-Lynch credits Jordan's persistence.

"I would call it patience for sure," Johnson-Lynch said. "Especially these days it's hard for student-athletes to hang in there for four years. Most bail before then but she has stuck it out and it's been really hard for her to go through that process. She did a tremendous job of even through the adversity, disappointments and frustrations to keep at it. She really had a breakthrough this year. She took off and really hasn't looked back. I'm thrilled for her because when you see someone stick it out that long you pull for them and hope that things work out and it's paid off for her."

Now in her senior season, Hopp has totaled 143 kills at a commanding .358 hitting percentage while leading Iowa State with 78 total blocks. Jordan knew what she was capable of, writing "I want to be one of the best volleyball players I can be, and I know I can achieve my goals going to Iowa State," after making the decision to commit to Iowa State in high school, and has stuck to believing in herself through her Cyclone journey.

"College sports take time and patience to be great," Jordan said. "Having patience and trusting the process is something that I stuck to. Development takes time and effort but if you have patience and believe in yourself, good things will come from that."