Completed Event: Volleyball at #1 Nebraska on September 13, 2025 , Loss , 0, to, 3
Volleyball
at #1 Nebraska
L 0-3
Grand Canyon University Athletics
Photo by: Wesley Kurz
Nelson unretires, heads to 1st postseason
11/20/2024 4:00:00 PM | Volleyball, Paul Coro
GCU libero returned to college after teaching, coaching at high school alma mater
Two years ago, Mykenna Nelson's 15th year of playing volleyball was seemingly her last when her chance at a collegiate postseason was squashed by her Utah Tech senior season ending with a 1-4 stretch.
"How do you possibly say goodbye to something that gave you everything?" Nelson wrote in a farewell post.
You don't.
Nelson did not realize that her path to playing volleyball again would be with Grand Canyon in her hometown, put her on her most successful team, allow her WAC Tournament debut to reach 2,000 career digs this week and require a path as winding as when the Lopes libero tracks an opponent's attack.
Last fall, Nelson was teaching at her Phoenix alma mater, Greenway High School, with a full load of six English Language Learner classes.
This fall, she is a GCU graduate student who digs up four attacks per set and went from 18 wins in her last two Utah Tech seasons combined to 18 wins and counting for the Lopes' second-seeded WAC Tournament team.
"It's been a year of remembering why I loved the game," Nelson said. "Coming into this program, all the girls care so much and want to give their best every day. It brings back that love for the game when you're with people who love the game as much as you do. The passion for the game is so big in this gym with these girls, the coaches and everyone. That's exactly what I wanted."
What Nelson wanted is what GCU needed. Nelson was the the WAC's digs leader in 2022, and she managed to stay sharp in her "retirement" by coaching Greenway's junior varsity boys volleyball team and playing in a weekly women's league, which included GCU's first Division I-era libero, Emily Vitel.
T
he Nelson family is ingrained in volleyball. Her mother, Shannon is a club volleyball coach. Her older sister, Jordyn, was her Utah Tech teammate. Her younger sister, Haidyn, is a Greenway sophomore who she cites as the "why" for continuing her career.
After finishing a ninth-place season and graduating at Utah Tech, Nelson returned to Phoenix and learned of the teaching opening at Greenway, where her mother works as the athletic secretary. Teaching English-learning students at three levels, from proficiency to the alphabet, meant lunches with her mother and being a part of Haidyn starting high school there.
Because Nelson's career span included the NCAA's COVID waiver, the option of a fifth season of eligibility hung in her head.
"I loved volleyball and missed it," Nelson said. "I was thinking, 'Should I go back for a fifth year?' "
But how or where did not come to fruition until the Nelsons were at a Valley volleyball event in January, when she mentioned her interest to play again to former Lopes player and director of operations Kendall Rohrer. She passed it along to the former GCU coaching staff, which led to a Nelson campus visit and commitment within 72 hours.
"You have to come," said GCU captain Tatum Parrott, who was a Greenway freshman teammate when Nelson was the Demons' senior captain.
Nels
on put in two weeks notice at Greenway and joined GCU offseason practices just as a coaching staff change took place. In February, the Lopes hired head coach Kendra Potts, whose winning track record and genuine way clicked with Nelson.
"This is not fair," GCU graduate outside hitter Ashley Lifgren said of Nelson during one of her first GCU workouts. "How is she so good and she hasn't been playing for a year?"
"It was seamless," Potts said. "She's a student of the game and an extension of the staff. She's got a natural coach's eye, coming from her mom coaching her. She's just gifted. Not a lot of players could come out of a year of retirement and be as good as she was. I would've never known that she had been out for a year when I watched her play for the first time with us."
Throwing her body to the floor for every set of 90 matches at Utah Tech also took its toll. The volleyball respite allowed her back to heal, although GCU teammates immediately took to calling her "Grandma" during spring workouts.
Beyond the leadership of her floor hustle and copious opponent studies, Nelson impacts the Lopes program with a personality as bright as her play.
"It's God's hand; it's not by accident," Potts said of her first GCU year coinciding with Nelson's last college year. "Her wisdom and calmness on the court has taught so many of us, including the staff, to enjoy the moment here."
Nelson helped five Lopes teammates receive postseason honors, while she relished in the joys of her winningest college season and the anticipation of her first WAC Tournament, where GCU is the No. 2 seed playing a Thursday quarterfinal against Seattle U in Arlington, Texas.
The door that once closed on Nelson's career proved to be a revolving door.
"It was all in God's plan," Nelson said. "He opened up this opportunity for me. I never thought I was going to be in a teacher's classroom. Now being there a year ago and now being back playing the collegiate level at the highest level is wild to think that it even happened.
"I think I can finally say goodbye happily."
"How do you possibly say goodbye to something that gave you everything?" Nelson wrote in a farewell post.
You don't.
Nelson did not realize that her path to playing volleyball again would be with Grand Canyon in her hometown, put her on her most successful team, allow her WAC Tournament debut to reach 2,000 career digs this week and require a path as winding as when the Lopes libero tracks an opponent's attack.
Last fall, Nelson was teaching at her Phoenix alma mater, Greenway High School, with a full load of six English Language Learner classes.
This fall, she is a GCU graduate student who digs up four attacks per set and went from 18 wins in her last two Utah Tech seasons combined to 18 wins and counting for the Lopes' second-seeded WAC Tournament team.
"It's been a year of remembering why I loved the game," Nelson said. "Coming into this program, all the girls care so much and want to give their best every day. It brings back that love for the game when you're with people who love the game as much as you do. The passion for the game is so big in this gym with these girls, the coaches and everyone. That's exactly what I wanted."
What Nelson wanted is what GCU needed. Nelson was the the WAC's digs leader in 2022, and she managed to stay sharp in her "retirement" by coaching Greenway's junior varsity boys volleyball team and playing in a weekly women's league, which included GCU's first Division I-era libero, Emily Vitel.
T
he Nelson family is ingrained in volleyball. Her mother, Shannon is a club volleyball coach. Her older sister, Jordyn, was her Utah Tech teammate. Her younger sister, Haidyn, is a Greenway sophomore who she cites as the "why" for continuing her career.After finishing a ninth-place season and graduating at Utah Tech, Nelson returned to Phoenix and learned of the teaching opening at Greenway, where her mother works as the athletic secretary. Teaching English-learning students at three levels, from proficiency to the alphabet, meant lunches with her mother and being a part of Haidyn starting high school there.
Because Nelson's career span included the NCAA's COVID waiver, the option of a fifth season of eligibility hung in her head.
"I loved volleyball and missed it," Nelson said. "I was thinking, 'Should I go back for a fifth year?' "
But how or where did not come to fruition until the Nelsons were at a Valley volleyball event in January, when she mentioned her interest to play again to former Lopes player and director of operations Kendall Rohrer. She passed it along to the former GCU coaching staff, which led to a Nelson campus visit and commitment within 72 hours.
"You have to come," said GCU captain Tatum Parrott, who was a Greenway freshman teammate when Nelson was the Demons' senior captain.
Nels
on put in two weeks notice at Greenway and joined GCU offseason practices just as a coaching staff change took place. In February, the Lopes hired head coach Kendra Potts, whose winning track record and genuine way clicked with Nelson."This is not fair," GCU graduate outside hitter Ashley Lifgren said of Nelson during one of her first GCU workouts. "How is she so good and she hasn't been playing for a year?"
"It was seamless," Potts said. "She's a student of the game and an extension of the staff. She's got a natural coach's eye, coming from her mom coaching her. She's just gifted. Not a lot of players could come out of a year of retirement and be as good as she was. I would've never known that she had been out for a year when I watched her play for the first time with us."
Throwing her body to the floor for every set of 90 matches at Utah Tech also took its toll. The volleyball respite allowed her back to heal, although GCU teammates immediately took to calling her "Grandma" during spring workouts.
Beyond the leadership of her floor hustle and copious opponent studies, Nelson impacts the Lopes program with a personality as bright as her play.
"It's God's hand; it's not by accident," Potts said of her first GCU year coinciding with Nelson's last college year. "Her wisdom and calmness on the court has taught so many of us, including the staff, to enjoy the moment here."Nelson helped five Lopes teammates receive postseason honors, while she relished in the joys of her winningest college season and the anticipation of her first WAC Tournament, where GCU is the No. 2 seed playing a Thursday quarterfinal against Seattle U in Arlington, Texas.
The door that once closed on Nelson's career proved to be a revolving door.
"It was all in God's plan," Nelson said. "He opened up this opportunity for me. I never thought I was going to be in a teacher's classroom. Now being there a year ago and now being back playing the collegiate level at the highest level is wild to think that it even happened.
"I think I can finally say goodbye happily."
Players Mentioned
Kendra Potts Post Match Press Conference | GCU vs NAU 9.7.25
Monday, September 08
“You don’t know what it’s like.” | The Lope-a-Palooza Experience
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Bella Nunez & Sophia Parlanti Press Conference | GCU vs LIU | August 29, 2025
Saturday, August 30
Kendra Potts Press Conference | GCU vs LIU | August 29, 2025
Saturday, August 30