| Har Bell Heritage Hero Athlete - Lori Endicott-Vandersnick |
It would be hard to imagine that any athlete from the Ozarks ever enjoyed a more storybook career than did Lori Endicott-Vandersnick. From the gymnasium floors of Willard High School to the most dazzling sports venues in the world, Endicott-Vandersnick saw them all during a sports journey that most could only have dreamed of. Like many, she developed an interest in sports and athletics at an early age, then watched as that interest matured during her prep days at Willard. Twice she would earn honors as an all-state basketball standout while in high school, but it was her skills on the volleyball court that would lead to her greatest fame and recognition (all-state volleyball honors were not selected during her high school career). Endicott-Vandersnick’s volleyball skills caught the attention of colleges and universities throughout the country, and following graduation from high school in 1985, she selected the University of Nebraska as the institution where she would further study and broaden those skills. While most people think of volleyball as a sport where spiking the ball across the net is the critical or key action in the game, Endicott-Vandersnick knew early on that “setting” the ball for those slam shots was just an important and as a result she became one of the most outstanding “setters” the sport has ever seen. Her abilities at making her teammates look spectacular did not go unnoticed while playing for the Cornhusker program. Three times Endicott-Vandersnick was named to the All-Big 8 volleyball team and during the 1987-88 season was named Big 8 Conference Player-of-the-Year. Additionally, she twice was named as a GTE All-America player and added a GTE Academic All-America honor to that list as well. Her successes at Nebraska were not however the end, but instead just the beginning of even bigger things. She gained a spot on the prestigious national volleyball team after her college days were complete and that position would take her on a wild, nearly decade long run of world and international competitions and adventures. 
As a member of the U.S. National Team Endicott-Vandersnick competed in one Goodwill Games competition, participated in two World Cup and two World Championship events. Those, of course, were just the warm-ups for not one, but two trips to the Olympic Games. As an Olympian in 1992, she traveled to the Barcelona games in Spain and came home with a third place bronze medal. Then in 1996, she and her U.S. teammates finished seventh at the games in Atlanta. In 1997 she returned to the Midwest and spent one season as an assistant coach at Pittsburg State University in Kansas and continues working volleyball clinics and camps, both in the Ozarks and nationally, when asked. She and husband Todd, this past March, became parents of a son and now reside in Mtn. Grove, Missouri where he works in physical therapy. Even though parenting is now her priority, she says giving back to her sport remains an option. “I like to think I might coach someday,” she said. “I think with the experiences I’ve had, such as the Olympic Games, it would be a waste for me not to do something related to the sport. You know I’ve played the game longer in my life than I haven’t played it.” It indeed has been a storybook ride for January’s Heritage Hero Lori Endicott-Vandersnick. The kind that most athletes will only be able to dream of. -by BIG SPORTS staff (January 2000)
For more on Lori Endicott-Vandersnick, visit these sites:Saving Grace: Volleyball Magazine |
