Dresden, Germany, February 27, 2017. Kadie Rolfzen exactly remembers the time she decided to play Volleyball. Back then, there was a tall blonde woman from Fremont who made it to the big stage of college sports in Nebraska where thousands of fans were cheering for her. This woman was Jordan Larson and Kadie and her twin sister Amber wanted to be like her.

On Tuesday the Rolfzen twins will play against their idol when DRESDNER SC face Eczacibasi VitrA ISTANBUL at 16:30 (local time). It is their first clash as the twins were not part of DRESDNER SC when Eczacibasi played in Dresden during the first leg of the 2017 CEV Volleyball Champions League.

Larson is one of the biggest stars in Volleyball. Until 2008, she played for the Nebraska Huskers where she set numerous records. It was the start of a big career. Between 2009 and 2014, Jordan played in Russia. The American star won the Russian national league with Dinamo KAZAN four times (2011-2014), became Russian Cup Champion in 2012 and celebrated her first Champions League and Club World Championship titles in 2014. However, it was not the last time she had something to be proud of.  

In 2015, the now 30-year-old moved to Eczacibasi VitrA ISTANBUL and instantly celebrated another Champions League title and became Club World Champion again. This season Eczacibasi retained their world title in Manila and as a result, Larson became the first player to win the FIVB Club World Championship three times.

She has been just as successful also with the US national team. Larson became World Champion in Italy in 2014, won a silver medal at the London Olympics in 2012 and bronze in Rio last year.

“I wanted to follow in the footsteps of Jordan Larson and chase the dream to play in front of 8,000 spectators in Nebraska”, says Kadie Rolfzen. That dream became true. The 22-year-old twins played for the Nebraska Huskers until December. Then they took the big step to pursue a career in Europe. The Rolfzen twins work hard to accomplish their dreams. “When we go out to the court, the fun is over. Then we just want to win,” says Amber.

Since the end of December, the twins play for DRESDNER SC and last week their grandparents visited them in Dresden. “Grandma and granddad really liked Dresden and that’s something to say, as they have been travelling a lot and have seen many places in Europe,” says Kadie. However, there was something more exciting to see than the sights of Dresden. Since head coach Alexander Waibl changed tactics, the twins are both starting players.

You can see their chemistry on the court. Kadie is playing the part of the passing opposite now while Amber transitioned from opposite to middle blocker - the position she played at the Huskers. “It was a big change, but it works pretty well. I think that the match against Eczacibasi will help us in regards to the upcoming playoffs in the German league. You can learn a lot when you test yourself against such a strong team. They realise your weakness much faster and then they pressure it hard,” knows Kadie.

The twins are especially excited to play against Jordan Larson. We will see how well DRESDNER SC do this time. The last clash with Eczacibasi VitrA ISTANBUL ended with a clear 0-3 home loss for the Germans – but back then, the Rolfzen twins were not part of the game…