Random Thought Thursday: A Recap of the Nebraska Top 10 Camp
To try and put into perspective the flurry of volleyball activity that’s called the Nebraska Top 10 Volleyball Camp at Kearney Catholic, here are a few facts from last week’s action.
In four days, a total of 54 teams of all class sizes from across the state combined to play 331 matches in a display of what we can expect to see this upcoming high school season.
Before we get into recapping the tournament play, there was a couple recruiting tidbits with ties to the Top 10 Camp. Word that Maria Wortmann, who helped lead Crofton to the Class C-2 division title, had previously committed to Wayne State circulated during the camp. Also, Centura’s 5-foot-9 outside Casey Krolikowski, played at the camp and today she gave her verbal to Hastings College. Matt Buttermore, head coach at Hastings College, was one of about 15 coaches representing nearly a dozen colleges at the Top 10 Camp.
There were a total of 18 teams competing in each of the three divisions at the Top 10 Camp – A/B/C-1, C-2 and D-1/D-2. Here are the teams that finished in the top 10 in each of the divisions.
A/B/C-1
1.) Millard South
2.) Kearney Catholic
3.) Omaha Concordia
4.) North Platte
5.) Hastings St. Cecilia
6.) Grand Island Northwest
7.) Norris
8.) Aurora
9.) Wahoo
10.) Minden
C-2
1.) Crofton
2.) Stanton
3.) Centura
4.) O’Neill St. Mary’s
5.) Superior
6.) Sutton
7.) Southern Valley
8.) Lutheran High Northeast
9.) Hartington CC
10.) Wakefield
D-1/D-2
1.) Stuart
2.) Giltner
3.) Emerson-Hubbard
4.) CWC
5.) Lawrence-Nelson
6.) Ansley-Litchfield
7.) Hampton
8.) Mullen
9.) Exeter-Milligan
10.) Howells-Dodge
Here are some of my random thoughts from spending two full days at the camp, which gave me a chance to watch all of the teams at least once.
- Millard South looked really good. Now, granted, the only other Class A team there was North Platte, but the Patriots were impressive nonetheless. A few weeks earlier, Millard South had finished seventh out of 16 teams in its pool at the UNO Team Camp. That put them behind Omaha Concordia and Grand Island Northwest – two teams Millard South bounced back to beat in Kearney. Millard South went 24-15 and lost to Lincoln Southeast in a district final last year to finished ranked #10 in the final Nebraska Prep Volleyball Class A rankings. It’s not hard to see them figuring into the Class A title hunt this year.
- The best player at the tournament was a toss-up between Omaha Concordia senior outside Megan Wickey and North Platte junior middle Olivia Nicholson. Millard South senior outside Lauryn Hilger wasn’t too far behind.
- I was really impressed with Millard South’s 5-foot-11 junior setter Paxton Throne. The Patriots already have one of the Metro Conference’s top returning setters in senior Santana Gallegos – but the combination of both of them gives Millard South a real impressive lineup.
- Hands-down the best server of the week was Morgan Stute of Kearney Catholic. University of Nebraska-Kearney got a steal with her commitment. I can count on one hand the number of better all-around liberos in the state – and have fingers left over.
- North Platte has three players that could start for just about anyone in the state in Nicholson, 6-foot-1 senior middle Jessy Hunt and 5-foot-8 junior outside Allison Kuenle. The three all command the net and make the Bulldogs a state-tournament contender. Whether or not they become state title contenders will depend on how their defense and setting improves as the season continues.
- Kearney Catholic showed why it will open the year as the team to beat in Class C-1 as the Stars left a lot of people impressed. Of course, that’s not much of a surprise considering Kearney Catholic has won two straight state titles and has played in four straight championship matches. The Stars return 12 of the 14 players from their state-championship team a year ago, including six players who had more than 100 kills a year ago. At the Top 10 Camp the Stars split with North Platte and lost to Millard South 25-23, 25-17.
- Even though it finished third, Omaha Concordia was probably the hottest team by the end of competition in Kearney. Ohio State recruit Wickey looked outstanding, but the eye-opener for me was the play of 5-foot-11 sophomore outside Averey Yaksich. Yaksich played well last year for the Mustangs as a freshman, but she’s grown a couple inches and her game has improved greatly. She looks like she’s ready to step-up as a major force to compliment Wickey, which will make Concordia tough to beat this season. Concordia’s depth, as a whole, looks much better this year. The Mustangs did not have a senior on the team last season and the fact that they can have six solid players on the court together has played a big role in their third-place finish in Kearney and finishing third in their pool at the UNO Team Camp.
- It should come as no surprise that both Hastings St. Cecilia and Grand Island Northwest looked good, despite losing major pieces from last year. St. Cecilia has All-Nebraska caliber setter Clare Hamburger and one of the top liberos in Shanda Farmer to help anchor the team. Josie Prevette and Lil Sheehy both looked sharp for the Hawkettes. I would look for a breakout season from 6-foot lefty middle Lucy Skoch for St. Cecilia. She’s just a sophomore, but looks like she can become a dominant player. The only returning player for Northwest who saw significant playing time a year ago is 6-foot right side Erin Schleicher – but clearly coach Diane Rouzee has many capable players and the Vikings look like they are reloading, not rebuilding.
- Minden finished 10th in the Class A/B/C-1 division, but the real story there is that Ali Rowse is dealing with a back issue and did not play. In fact, there is a chance that she may miss part or all of this season because of the issue. The Whippets simply aren’t the same team without Rowse – who is one of the premier setters in the state. Without her, the team still played well and senior DS/libero Abbie Sanders had some real nice service runs and digs in the match I was able to see.
- To me, Columbus Lakeview DS/libero Abbey Humlicke stood out with her play during the camp. Ditto for 6-foot junior middle Kayla Schrunk.
- It’s absolutely sick how Gothenburg’s Tiani Reeves – a Nebraska recruit – can elevate when she wants. Just sick.
- Defending Class B champion Norris looked great at times and at other times looked like they are a little bit of a work in progress. The Titan trio of Kylie Hohlen, Maddy Bruder and Payton Ruhl, though, may be as good of a Class B trio as there is.
- Sidney struggled to win matches against larger schools, but they have a pair of 5-foot-11 middles in senior Savanna Rosenbaum and sophomore Annalise Lecher who will give the best of teams trouble.
- Emerson-Hubbard 6-foot junior middle Kylie Belt is going to get a whole lot of kills this season.
- Friend sophomore middle Brooke Baugh is a name to remember.
- Giltner showed up with a couple fresh faces this year – both of which happen to be over 6-foot. The defending Class D-2 state champions now have 6-foot-2 middle Bailey Craig, a transfer from Southern Valley and 6-foot-1 junior middle Chainey Tompkin, a transfer from Sandy Creek, where she had 271 kills and 90 blocks as a sophomore a year ago. Both are impressive.
- Hampton has some great talent – 5-foot-8 sophomore setter Jaime Troester and 5-foot-10 sophomore middle Madison VanHousen – are names to remember.
- Other players who I thought really stood out during the camp include: Mullen’s Ally Ginkens and Jessica Lovitt, Ansley-Litchfield’s Lindsy Siegel, just about everyone on the Stuart team – but especially setter Jaden Schafer, Beatrice’s Hannah Sexton and Allen’s Gabby Sullivan.
Berk Brown of Nebraska Prep Volleyball has won 19 awards for his journalistic work during his career, including awards from both the Nebraska Press Association and Minnesota Newspaper Association. He has covered, coached and been involved in volleyball for the past 24 years and also wrote consistently for ESPN.com in the early 2000s. You can reach him at Berk@NebraskaPrepVolleyball.com.