LINCOLN — Taylor Simpson, a reserve outside hitter on the Nebraska volleyball team, has left the program and appears to be planning to transfer to the Huskers' former Big 12 rival, Kansas State.
"Taylor Simpson informed us over break that she would like to pursue another option and has made the decision to no longer be a part of the Nebraska volleyball program," NU coach John Cook said in a statement Tuesday afternoon. "We have released her from her letter of intent in order for her to pursue another program and receive aid immediately. We wish Taylor nothing but the best of luck in the future."
With the release, Simpson would not have to sit out a year and would be eligible to play for a new school next fall, likely Kansas State, The World-Herald has learned.
The KSU admissions office on Tuesday confirmed that Simpson had applied for admission. A KSU athletic department spokesman declined to comment on whether Simpson would be joining the Wildcats. The KSU volleyball office, reached Monday, said Kansas State coach Suzie Fritz was out of the country and would not be available for comment this week.
The Wildcats ended Nebraska's season in December with a five-game victory at the NU Coliseum in the second round of the NCAA tournament.
The 6-foot-3 Simpson, a native of Colorado Springs, Colo., appeared in 12 matches for the Huskers during her freshman season, recording 13 kills and nine blocks before missing the final two months of the year with a back condition. Simpson was expected to be a regular contributor, providing depth behind starters Gina Mancuso and Hannah Werth before her health troubles.
"That really hurt not having her," Cook told The World-Herald in December. "She could have made a big contribution."
Cook also said in December that Simpson would see a back specialist and would be held out of volleyball activities until at least February.
Simpson came to NU as the Huskers' top outside hitting recruit in 2010. She was the No. 9 overall recruit in the country in 2010 according to Prepvolleyball.com and a member of the U.S. junior women's national team.
Despite the departure, Nebraska returns three starting outside hitters. Mancuso, a first-team All-American, and Werth will be seniors while Morgan Broekhuis will be a junior. Another outside hitter, Alicia Ostrander, a native of Gordon, Neb., sat out as a redshirt this fall.
The Huskers also signed outside hitter recruits Kelsey Fienand Alexa Strange, both from California, in their 2011 recruiting class.
Contact the writer:
402-444-1201, sports@owh.com
Copyright ©2012 Omaha World-Herald®. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, displayed or redistributed for any purpose without permission from the Omaha World-Herald.
RSS Feeds