Nate Mongan has been coaching Premier 18 Gold for a while now, so when he says this year’s version of the squad can compete nationally, he knows what he’s talking about. Mongan, who also serves as an assistant coach at…
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SubscribeNate Mongan has been coaching Premier 18 Gold for a while now, so when he says this year’s version of the squad can compete nationally, he knows what he’s talking about.
Mongan, who also serves as an assistant coach at Midland University, likes what he has seen thus far from his group.
“Premier 18 Gold has the athletes to compete well in the region and nationally. We have many multi-sport athletes, with many players participating in high school basketball. We have the fire power in the front row to be a strong net play team,” he said. “Serve receive and serving will be a strong skill set of this team. Many of the primary passers on Premier 18 Gold are high school pass/dig leaders for their respective class.”
Mongan also said he likes the fact that his players come from successful high school program where winning – and having a winning mentality – is the norm. His squad will need that mentality with a schedule that includes playing in the Omaha President’s Day Tournament, Northern Lights January Thaw, Show Me Qualifier and Colorado Crossroads Qualifier.
At setter, Premier 18 Gold has Arkansas Tech recruit Delaney Saucier of Skutt Catholic and one of the team’s main defensive specialist is Omaha recruit Kenzie Michalek of Papillion-LaVista while Reahgan Stueve of Missouri Valley High School in Iowa will also serve as a defensive specialist.
Taliyah Flores, a North Dakota libero recruit from Papillion-LaVista South, is one of the top all-around players in the state and will be a staple in the back row as well as playing outside hitter. Also on the outside will be Midland recruit Brooke Fredrickson of North Bend and Lauren Bair of Clarinda High School in Iowa.
Sydney Fitzgibbons, a Washburn recruit from Papillion-LaVista, is in the middle for Premier 18 Gold while Millard West junior Hailey Petersen, Skutt Catholic junior Syd McDermott and Illinois-Chicago recruit Clara Lamb of Omaha Westside are the candidates to fill the other middle position or opposite spot.
Players on the Premier 18 Black team are as follows. Haley Alharithy of Omaha Concordia, Karli Eckert of Papillion-LaVista, Taylor Heinen of Elkhorn South, Claire Larson of Millard South, Elyse Splichal of Bellevue West, Gabby Armour of Omaha Concordia, Hailey Folkers of Millard North, Jada Key of Millard West and Ava Macke of Omaha Roncalli.
