A Family Set Former Lc Star Kirsti Olson Wraps Up Her Usc Volleyball Playing Career As Brother Soren Begins His

Kirsti Olson says she will miss the excitement of big-time college sports but adds she’s also looking forward to a few perks of being an “ex-volleyball player.”

Kirsti is a 1992 Lewis and Clark graduate whose volleyball career at the University of Southern California ended Dec. 12 in a loss to eventual national champion Stanford.

Now, finding time to relax and enjoy her friends will be nice. Just having a little space in the day to sleep and eat won’t be bad, either, says the 6-foot middle blocker.

Life in college volleyball’s fast lane is just beginning for Kirsti’s brother, Soren, LC Class of ‘95. The 6-foot-5 swing-hitter, a redshirt freshman, kicks off his playing career Jan. 10 when the USC men’s volleyball team plays at Santa Barbara.

Brother and sister are passing ships, one on his way into port, the other on her way out.

After knee surgeries during both her freshman and sophomore years, you might say Kirsti is just fortunate her ship is still afloat.

“Throughout high school, I never had an injury in my life,” she says, relaxing in her family’s South Hill living room.

Following a strong start at USC in 1992, however, she tore her lateral meniscus cartilage. She missed most of that season, then re-injured the knee during her sophomore year.

Both years, she’d played in too many games to be redshirted.

During her junior year, the pain “never really went away.” Still, she remained active the entire season.

This season was the first in which she played without pain.

“I went through a lot of difficulties just because of the injuries,” she said. “But I still loved volleyball.

“This last year, I really enjoyed playing because I hadn’t played comfortably in a long time.”

Great things had been expected of Olson coming out of LC. She was the Greater Spokane League’s Most Valuable Player her senior year and also was named to the all-league basketball team. She went to USC on full scholarship.

Despite her injuries, she did have spectacular moments: like 12 kills and eight blocks in a win against California in 1995. And her three blocks and four aces against UCLA during her sophomore year as Southern Cal broke a nine-year drought against their cross-town rivals.

She is a three-time Pac-10 All-Academic team selection.

Lisa Love, USC women’s volleyball coach, described Kirsti’s rehabilitation efforts following her injuries as “probably the biggest heart and most determination I’ve ever seen in an athlete.”

Statistics, Love says, can’t do Olson justice.

“Her desire and determination to compete were a source of inspiration for the other members of the team,” Love says. “I think many times during the year, the team just played a notch higher when Kirsti was on the court.”

Soren Olson’s voyage into volleyball was somewhat less conventional than his sister’s. He had earned All-GSL honors in basketball (second-team) and football his senior year at LC. It was a decision to join a local volleyball club - there is no boys volleyball in the GSL that determined his athletic destiny.

Soren caught the attention of coaches at USC three years ago during a volleyball camp and eventually was recruited by then-head coach Jim McLaughlin. Soren sat out last season as a redshirt.

Now, there’s a new coach at USC, 1984 Olympic gold medal-winner Pat Powers. Already Soren sees a difference in the two coaches’ styles.

“Last year, we had six starters, and they pretty much got all the attention,” Soren says. “At the end of the year, I was re-evaluating what I thought about volleyball.”

This year, Powers has been more encouraging, telling Olson that if he keeps playing well, he’ll “see time on the court,” Soren says.

Meanwhile, he’s as busy as Kirsti was each of the past four years.

At the college level, even preseason workouts have evolved into something Soren affectionately terms “voluntary mandatory.” His time, he says, really isn’t his own.

Classes from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Weightlifting from 3:30 to 5 p.m. Practice from 5 till 8 p.m. Somewhere you’ve got to find a few seconds to shower, study and sleep.

Soren remembers - not without a little envy - his freshman roommate, also a redshirt. His roommate ended up quitting the team and surfing four hours a day.

“You ask yourself what you’d be doing with all your free time if you weren’t playing volleyball,” Soren says.

His big sister has known what she’d be doing: catching up with friends, golfing, and skiing - starting with a vacation at Schweitzer over Christmas break.

She’s still got another year to work on her degree.

“Carrying a full load is pretty tough during the season” she says.

After four years of top-level volleyball and two knee operations, what advice does Kirsti have for Soren?

“I would tell Soren as long as he still loves volleyball, then he should keep playing,” she says. “I know my parents told me that when I was going through all those injuries.”

At the same time, she says, there comes a point when you realize sports isn’t the sole focus of your life.

You enjoy them while you’re playing, she says.

“And you can look back at the memories,” she says. “But then you have to move on.”

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: OLSON HONORS Kirsti Olson - At Lewis and Clark: 1991 GSL MVP Volleyball; 1992 All-GSL Basketball. At USC: 1994 and 1995 Pac-10 All-Academic Honorable Mention; 1996 Pac-10 All-Academic First Team. Soren Olson - At LC: 1994 All-GSL Football, tight end; 1995 Second Team All-GSL Basketball.