Karrie Downey Took Colorado Volleyball To Another Level In The 1990s

The University of Colorado will be inducting another champion into its Athletic Hall of Fame. This time, the dynamic volleyball great of the 1990's, Karrie Downey (Larsen). Her accolades have known no bounds, and she still continues to influence young athletes throughout the state of Colorado.

Downey grew up in the San Diego area in a town called La Mesa, also known as "the Jewel of the Hills." She didn't play volleyball until she got to Helix High School, where she soon discovered her love for the game.

The recruiting process began, and ended, with Colorado first taking interest in her. Then, the big-name schools (Nebraska, BYU) really started to take interest in her talent and skill capabilities. However, her mind had already been made up, stating she "wouldn't have considered other schools because CU was the first to take interest in me."

Downey paved the way for CU volleyball's success, setting multiple records that exist to this day, including career points (2,990), kills (1,790) and attacks (4,665). She led the Buffaloes to the 1993 Big Eight Conference championship and back-to-back Big Eight Tournament titles in 1992 and 1993, defeating Nebraska in the finals both years. Downey recorded big numbers in the 1993 Big Eight Championship game, leading both teams in kills (25) and digs (27). Downey also led the team to the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 in 1993 and 1994.

Downey represented CU with great integrity and represented the entire United States, participating in the 1998 World Championships in Japan. To this day, she is the only University of Colorado volleyball athlete to play and start for the US National team during a world championship.

"It was a dream come true," Downey said. "I loved training every day and it was everything that I wanted to do."

While at Colorado, she focused her academics on international studies, which came in handy when playing overseas.

Additionally, Downey believes that the most memorable place she played internationally was in the Dominican Republic. She recalls that at random moments, the lights would go out in the middle of a match and the arena would be pitch black. They would then have to wait until power returned and they could resume play. This was common in the Dominican Republic.

Following a five-year playing career overseas, Downey turned to coaching. First at Clemson and then as an assistant at Colorado State from 2000-07. She even coached the US Women's Junior National Team in 2007.

She now resides in Fort Collins, Colo., with her husband Brett Larsen, a cross country & track student-athlete at Colorado from 1990-94, and their five children. Downey spends her time volunteering at her children's schools, her church, and gets involved with coaching for every recreation activity she can. She also has taken up the hobbies of sewing and playing her violin.

Downey claims that her favorite memory at Colorado was beating the volleyball powerhouse of the nineties, Nebraska.

"There is nothing like beating Nebraska, especially during those years," she said.

Downey's Hall of Fame career has not been defined only by the accomplishments she made at CU regarding volleyball; it has been determined by her leadership, her academic accomplishments, her coaching and community involvement.

Downey has helped elevate the game of volleyball and influenced blooming student-athletes to be as positive of a role model as she is.

Karrie Downey Took Colorado Volleyball To Another Level In The 1990s

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