Nebraska Kids Not Getting National Respect They Deserve
Berk Brown is the founder of Nebraska Prep Volleyball, LLC. He has won 19 awards for his journalistic work during his career, including awards from both the Nebraska Press Association and Minnesota Newspaper Association. In the early 2000s he was a regular contributor for ESPN.com. He has covered, coached and been involved in volleyball for the past 25 years. You can reach him at Berk@NebraskaPrepVolleyball.com.
The national volleyball website PrepVolleyball.com recently finished its 2017 Senior Aces list where it ranks the nation’s 100 best high school seniors.
It’s a tremendous exercise and process. A panel of college coaches from across the country is used to determine who the top 100 players are and where they rank. The website has been putting this list out annually since 2004 (online at least). Nebraska has had at least one player listed among the top 100 in the
Berk Brownnation every year except one, the Class of 2010.
Rankings such as these are always subjective, and the Senior Aces list is no different. The website even acknowledges that there is no “perfect” list and that there are certainly differences in opinion among the coaches on the panel as to who the best players are. The list is really a consensus among a wide-range of views. The other glaring thing that I take away from it is the perspective a college coach brings to evaluating a player. The college coaches are giving their input from a perspective of which player(s) they would want in their program for the next 4-5 years, not so much from the perspective of what a player has accomplished in high school and club.
Even with that knowledge of the process, however, I’ve found myself questioning over the past few days if players from Nebraska are getting the respect they deserve – especially in the last few years.
Research shows that Nebraska ranks second in the nation to Hawaii in the number of Division I volleyball players it produces on a per-capita basis. We develop great talent here. The most dominant Division I program in the nation right now – Nebraska – has six homegrown players on its roster. Fresh off a Sweet 16 season, Creighton has seven players from Nebraska and UNO – which was just a few points from qualifying for the NCAA tournament last year – has five.
In the latest AVCA rankings, you’ll also find Nebraska kids playing for ranked programs Kansas (#4), USC (#21) and Kansas State (#25) as well as a couple receiving votes in Iowa State and Wichita State.
At the Division II level, this week’s rankings of Wayne State at #2 and Nebraska-Kearney at #5. Those two schools have a combined 25 Nebraska kids. Players from Nebraska are also vital parts of the rosters of #11 Central Missouri, #14 Washburn, #17 Palm Beach Atlantic & #20 Augustana.
At the NAIA level, Nebraska boasts the #1 team in Midland Unviersity, #4 Hastings College, #19 Bellevue University and #20 Doane College with Peru State also receiving votes. Those five teams have a combined 78 home-grown players.
I know I’m biased, but I think the high school talent in Nebraska is exceptional. It would also seem that talent translates well at the college level based on the success teams at all levels have with Nebraska kids. So, it begs the question: Why don’t more Nebraska kids crack the top 100 rankings?
In the last four years, just five players from Nebraska have been Senior Aces. In 2005 alone there were seven players from Nebraska among the top 100. In the first 10 years of the Senior Aces list, Nebraska got an average of 2.8 players per year in the top 100. That number is just 1.25 in the last four years.
Part of it is, in my opinion, cyclical. The Class of 2017 isn’t the deepest or best group Nebraska has had and 2018 gets a little bit better – but not a whole lot. When you look down the pipeline to 2019 and 2020, I see the potential for Nebraska getting back to the days of having three or four of the top 100 players.
Another part of the reason, I think, is how data-driven recruiting can be. Before the prevalence of the Internet, email, recruiting services, etc., college coaches had to rely much, much more on the “eye test.” Now, a college coach can go into a database and filter results to show them only players 6-foot-2 or taller or middle blockers that can jump touch over 10 feet. This has hurt Nebraska kids, in my opinion, the state simply doesn’t produce as many freaks of nature that will jump off the spreadsheet at you. Nebraska kids are grinders. They’re gamers and winners. They’re fundamentally sound and good teammates. None of that shows up in databases.
You want to know why Division II and NAIA programs thrive in Nebraska? Part of it is the great coaching those programs have. Another huge part is that their rosters are loaded with Division I level talent that slipped through the cracks.
The other reason, in my opinion, for the drop off in the number of top 100 players from Nebraska has been the explosion of the club volleyball scene. Volleyball has always been popular in Nebraska, but the sport has grown tremendously on a national level, bringing in more kids and more volleyball clubs and therefore giving more kids. Nebraska Elite and Nebraska Juniors are two clubs in Nebraska that have always focused on developing talent, getting exposure for its players and sending them off to college. That means traveling outside of a 200-mile radius and it has paid off to the tune of those two clubs producing, basically, all of Nebraska’s top 100 players.
Where Nebraska’s Top 100 Senior Aces Have Played Club
Nebraska Juniors – 17
Nebraska Elite – 10
Challengers VBC – 2
Kansas City Power – 1
Panhandle VBC – 1
Premier – 1
River City Juniors – 1
Where Nebraska’s Top 100 Senior Aces Have Played High School
Papillion-LaVista South – 5
Papillion-LaVista – 4
Millard North – 3
Bellevue West – 3
Omaha Gross – 2
Bennington – 1
Columbus – 1
Elkhorn – 1
Elkhorn South – 1
Ewing – 1
Freeman – 1
Kearney – 1
Lincoln Christian – 1
Lincoln Northeast – 1
Lincoln Pius X – 1
Logan View – 1
Omaha Burke – 1
Omaha Concordia – 1
Sidney – 1
Southwest – 1
Waverly – 1
The emergence of VCNebraska in the last few years should help as well. The club is finally getting old enough that it will have players making those lists soon, likely starting with Creighton recruit Jaela Zimmerman in the Class of 2018. Premier got its first Top 100 player with Creighton recruit Steph Gaston coming in at #99 this year and it wouldn’t be shocking to see the club get another next year with Papillion-LaVista South junior Taliyah Flores.
Ultimately, if we’re being honest though, the reason for a lack of players in the Top 100 from Nebraska the last few years is because those doing the rankings have simply missed the boat on Nebraska kids. Let’s take a look at the last four years in terms of who has been ranked and who wasn’t but probably should have been.
For 2017, only Gaston got into the rankings. Should there have been more? Yes. Gaston at #99 feels about right. She’s a great kid that has all earlier-mentioned intangibles of a player from Nebraska and – for God’s sake – she’s 6-5. Realistically, with a couple years of working with the Creighton staff she has the potential to turn into the steal of the 2017 recruiting class. She’s just not there yet, so the ranking makes sense.
The head scratchers are Omaha Skutt’s Alli Schomers (Missouri-KC) and Brooke Heyne (Kansas State) getting left out of the top 100 as well as Elkhorn South’s Sarah Swanson (TCU). Time will tell who among that group plus Gaston has the best college career, but I think you would get a pretty healthy debate among people about it because all four seem on par with each other from that standpoint.
The thing working against Schomers, I think, is that she isn’t going to dazzle you with athleticism. All she’s going to do is consistently beat you in every facet of the game and do all the things you have to do to win. Being 5-9 works against Heyne in a data-driven world. But, let’s cut to the chase here – if you needed someone to get you a kill to win you a state championship, who is the one player in Nebraska you would pick? It’s Heyne 100% of the time. The five inches she gives up to the prototypical outside hitter she makes up for by having a vertical at least five higher inches better than most.
As for Swanson, if I’m being honest, I thought she was a lock to be a Top 100 player. She won an AAU national championship in the Open division between her sophomore and junior year. She’s 6-1 and headed to a Power 5 school. She led all Nebraska underclassmen last year with 515 kills and she’s a weapon with her serving and blocking. She’s had double-digit kill totals in 26 of her last 29 matches. I’m still stunned she fell outside the Top 100.
In 2016, Papillion-LaVista South’s Raegan LeGrand was Nebraska’s lone representative at #89. My initial thought then – and still now – is that was low. LeGrand has seen the court in a couple sets as a true freshman for USC and you wonder if her ranking wasn’t hurt a little bit by the fact that she never really got to shine in high school or club as a libero because of what a good outside hitter she was at that level. My thought is that LeGrand should have been in the 50-65 range and definitely that two Nebraska kids got left off that should have been on it – Brittany Witt and Olivia Nicholson.
All Witt did was play for four Class A state titles – winning three of them – and finish her career as the all-time dig leader in Nebraska history. Witt has seamlessly transitioned into big-time college volleyball with Creighton, leading the Bluejays with 4.1 digs per set and is also second on the team in ace serves and assists. Her exclusion from the list is probably one of the all-time snubs.
Nicholson dominated at North Platte and she had Team USA experience at the junior level, but it was probably her lack of experience in a big club during her 15s-17s years that hurt her exposure. Still, though, it was an incredible oversight to leave her off the Top 100. Now a freshman at Colorado State, Nicholson had three kills, three digs and three block assists the other night against Texas. Not too shabby for a kid that got no Senior Aces love. So far this season Nicholson is averaging 2.36 kills, 0.79 blocks and 2.86 digs per set while hitting .264.
In 2016, Freeman’s Carley Remmers came in at #100 while Omaha Concordia’s Megan Wickey was #39. A back injury led to Remmers redshirting at Ohio University last year and she is working her way back into action this year. Wickey left for Ohio State but a series of concussions during the summer before her freshman year as a Buckeye ended her career.
Nebraska’s snub that year? Lincoln Pius X setter Sara Boothe. Not only was Boothe a rare three-year starter for Jake Moore when the Thunderbolts were a powerhouse, but she holds the school’s single-match assist record. As for her potential in college, well, you could ask Creighton about it because all Boothe did was notch 51 assists, three kills and 16 digs for Coastal Carolina against the Bluejays in a 3-1 loss in the first round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament.
Finally, in 2014 Waverly’s Olivia Boender came in at #56 and was Nebraska’s lone player on the Senior Aces Top 100. The ranking seemed right at the time and Boender, a redshirt sophomore for the Huskers, has been a productive part of the Nebraska bench as she looks to have a major roll for the team in her final two years.
Omaha Marian’s Sydney O’Shaughnessy should have been included in the Top 100 that year. Anyone who watched her lead the young Crusaders to its first of three consecutive Class A state championships knew they were seeing something special in 2014. In many ways, O’Shaughnessy embodies everything you want in a team leader and setter and is an athletic freak. When she committed to Omaha I predicted she would lead the Mavericks to their first NCAA Division I Tournament appearance. I still stand by that as O’Shaughbessy earned All-Summit League honors as sophomore and ranked 34th nationally in assists for Omaha with 1,271.
Below is a list of all the players from Nebraska who have been named to the Senior Aces Top 100 list starting in 2004.
2017
99. Steph Gaston, 6-5 RS, Papillion-La Vista (Papillion, Nebraska), Premier — Creighton
2016
89. Raegan LeGrand, 5-10 Libero, Papillion-La Vista South (Papillion, Nebraska), Nebraska Juniors – USC
2015
100. Carley Remmers, 6-1 OH, Freeman (Adams, Nebraska), Nebraska Juniors — Ohio
39. Megan Wickey, 6-2 OH, Concordia (Omaha, Nebraska), Nebraska Elite – Ohio State
2014
56. Olivia Boender, 6-2 OH, Waverly (Nebraska), Nebraska Juniors — Nebraska
2013
73. Jessica Bird, 5-11 OH, Bennington (Nebraska), Nebraska Elite — Creighton
13. Kelly Hunter, 5-11 S/RS, Papillion-La Vista South (Papillion, Nebraska), Nebraska Juniors — Nebraska
8. Amber Rolfzen, 6-3 OH, Papillion-La Vista South (Papillion, Nebraska), Nebraska Juniors – Nebraska
5. Kadie Rolfzen, 6-3 OH, Papillion-La Vista South (Papillion, Nebraska), Nebraska Juniors – Nebraska
2012
51. Lauren Sieckmann, 5-10 S, Elkhorn South (Elkhorn, Nebraska), Nebraska Juniors — Nebraska
2011
69. Emily Wilson, 6-3 RS, Gross Catholic (Omaha, NE), Nebraska Elite — Missouri
60. Michelle Sicner, 6-2 S, Millard North (Omaha, NE), Nebraska Elite – Creighton
34. Sara McClinton, 6-2 OH, Millard North (Omaha, NE), River City Jrs. – Nebraska
12. Lillian Schonewise, 6-3 MB, Papillion-La Vista South (Papillion, NE), KC Power – California Berkeley
2010
None
2009
72. Chelsey Feekin, 6-2 S, Papillion-La Vista (Papillion, NE), Nebraska Elite – Wichita State
64. Hayley Thramer, 6-4 MB, Ewing (Ewing, NE), Nebraska Juniors – Wisconsin
20. Gina Mancuso, 6-0 OH, Papillion-La Vista (Papillion, NE), Nebraska Juniors — Nebraska
18. Lauren Cook, 5-7 S, Pius X (Lincoln, NE), Nebraska Juniors — UCLA
2008
60. Kelsey Petersen, 6-0 OH, Kearney (Kearney, NE), Nebraska Juniors – Iowa State
59. Keelin Bourne, 6-3 RS/S, Millard North (Omaha, NE), Nebraska Elite – Illinois
2007
82. Catie Wilson, 6-3 MB/OH, Gross (Omaha NE), Nebraska Elite — Missouri
32. Gabi Ailes, 5-6 libero, Bellevue West (Bellevue NE), Nebraska Elite — Stanford
25. Brooke Delano, 6-4 MB, Bellevue West (Bellevue NE), Nebraska Juniors — Nebraska
2006
13. Brooke Bartek, 6-2 MB, Lincoln Northeast (Lincoln, NE), Nebraska Juniors —Nebraska
2005
85. Amanda Hantouli, 6-3 MB, Burke (Omaha, NE), Nebraska Juniors – Michigan State
63. Alison Jacobs, 5-10 S/OH, Elkhorn (Elkhorn, NE), Nebraska Elite – Auburn
50. Amanda Gates, 6-3 MB, Columbus (Columbus, NE), Challengers VBC – Nebraska
40. Savannah Noyes, 6-2 MB, Southwest (Indianola, NE), Challengers VBC – Kansas
35. Megan Wilson, 6-2 RS/S/OH, Lincoln Christian (Lincoln, NE), Nebraska Juniors – Missouri
20. Kyla Roehrig, 6-3 OH, Papillion-La Vista (Papillion, NE), Nebraska Juniors – Minnesota
2. Jordan Larson, 6-1 OH, Logan View (Hooper, NE), Nebraska Juniors – Nebraska
2004
68. Carolyn Decker, 6-1 OH/RS, Bellevue West High (Bellevue, NE), Nebraska Elite– Creighton
27. Meghan Smith, 6-0 MB, Sidney High (Sidney, NE), Panhandle VBC – Nebraska