No longer on hold: Jordi Holdaway’s first season back
LOGAN — Utah State Volleyball has proven they are in the top tier of the Mountain West Conference. A key player for the Aggies this season has been defensive specialist Jordi Holdaway.
Holdaway, a transfer from in-conference rival Boise State, is in her sophomore season with the Aggies. The Monteview, Idaho native has appeared in more than 70 matches in her career.
In her freshman season at Boise State in 2019, Holdaway recorded 28 assists, 21 aces and 179 digs, all top-five stats for her team. The next year, Holdaway yet again reached the century mark in digs and was second on the team in aces with 17.
But balancing academics and athletics took a toll on Holdaway’s mental health.
“A lot of people don’t understand how much mental health goes into college sports, so I was just struggling a lot for personal reasons,” Holdaway told USU Athletics in September.
She decided to take a break from volleyball and college and moved to Florida to work.
“I ended up just being done with volleyball for a little bit,” Holdaway said.
But after living and working in Florida, Holdaway decided to join her sister at Utah State for school. Following a semester of just being a student, Holdaway reached out to head coach Rob Neilson to try out for the 2022 season.
“It was a no-brainer when she was already in school,” Neilson told USU Athletics. “She’s been everything we hoped she would be.”
Renewing her career at Utah State, Holdaway’s numbers carried over.
Through 29 games this season, Holdaway had 96 assists, 362 digs and 25 aces. She placed top four in those categories, leading the team in digs by almost 75.
“Her stats at Boise were great,” Neilson said. “We knew she was going to be solid. Her athleticism and work ethic have carried the weight.” Holdway said she still uses things she learned in Boise.
“When it gets tough, you have to learn to push through it,” Holdaway said. “I had some hard years at Boise trying to make a spot and meet friends. Here, I got to start fresh like I did at Boise, but whatever obstacle I faced, I got to push through it.”
Holdaway’s defensive specialist position, also referred to as the libero, stands out on the court. The libero wears a different color from the rest of the team and is not allowed to serve or rotate to the front line.
Typically, the libero is seen as the best defensive player on the team.
“She’s brought us a ton of depth at the libero position where we have three great players,” Neilson said. “It’s been pretty competitive. To see her win that spot and compete at a high level has been great.”
When the Aggies faced Boise State in Logan back in October, Holdaway set her season high for assists with eight and had 22 digs, her second highest of the season.
But stats aren’t the most important thing for Holdaway.
“I feel like it’s easy in college to forget what you are playing for. It’s stats and business-like a lot of the time,” Holdaway said. “You only see highlights of hitters’ percentage or liberos’ amount of digs. At the end of the day here, I’m learning that it’s fun, and I do it because I love it.”
When you watch the USU-Boise game, you can see something written on Holdaway’s hand.
“I write a different word on my hand each game,” Holdaway said, pointing to her marked hand. “I put it there so that when I go to pass, I can see it. I like putting words like ‘fire’ or ‘them’ to remind me of my teammates. My teammates are my focus of the game.”
Holdaway also said that during Breast Cancer Awareness Month, she had a special reference on her hand.
“I put my mom’s (Cindy) name. She has cancer, so she is a good reminder. She has been a huge influence on me,” Holdaway said. “She’s never missed anything in my life, from piano recitals, swimming lessons, dance or every single game she can come to.”
This coming season, look for what Holdaway is focusing on each game by reading her hands.
Submitted photo from USU Athletics.