Stock-Risers from Lincoln Heartland Cup 17/18 Power League

Delaney Humm (Lincoln Pius X) of VCNebraska 17 Elite goes up for a kill against the block of Premier 16 Gold’s Paige Fixemer (Millard South) and Brooklyn Scram (Papillion-LaVista) during a pool play match on Sunday. (Photo by Berk Brown)

LINCOLN – There were plenty of standout performances on Sunday in the 17/18 Division of the Heartland Cup Power League. Here is a look at a half-dozen players who turned in some of the best stock-raising work on the day.

Delaney Humm (Lincoln Pius X), 5’10, OH, VCNebraska 17 Elite – Class of 2019 #38

Humm did lead a very talented Pius X team in kills last fall, but one thing I really liked on Sunday was her efficiency. Yes, she had a lot of kills during high school, but she also took a boat load of swings and her hitting percentage was the lowest among the Thunderbolts’ top attackers. She showed much better control on Sunday and came up big in big moments.

Bailey Wilson (Millard West), 6’0, MH, Premier 17 Gold – Class of 2019 #43

Considering that Wilson’s career high for kills in a high school match is 11, that should tell you how well she was playing on Sunday when she had nine in two-and-a-half sets against a VCNebraska 17 Elite team with a pair of middles committed to Big 10 schools. Wilson won’t overwhelm anyone with her size or power, but she was clicking big time on fast-tempo balls combined with great shot selection.

Jaden Ferguson (Lincoln Southwest), 6’0, OH, Nebraska Juniors 181 Black – Class of 2019 #19

The evolution of Jaden Ferguson continues to be one of the most fun things to watch on the volleyball court. Over the last couple years Ferguson has gone from being a great high school athlete that plays volleyball to being a great high school volleyball player. She started a little slow on Sunday in the championship pool, but then went on to show that she can terminate almost any time she wants.

Alyssa Rezac (Bishop Neumann), 5’7, Setter, VCNebraska 17 Elite – Class of 2019 #62

Rezac was a steady force behind VCNebraska 17 Elite’s undefeated day, making plays when it was needed of her and running a pretty smooth show when she was setting. Rezac suffered a concussion late in the high school season which forced her to miss the Round of 16 match against Ord, so it was good to see her performing well and looking really good on Sunday.

Bailee Sterling (Kearney), 5’11, OH, Nebraska Juniors 181 Black – Class of 2018 #14

Despite the fact that we have Sterling ranked as the 14^th best senior in the state, I realized on Sunday just how much I’ve underrated her as a player. I think she can make a push to be a top-10 player by this summer and Sunday was a good showcase of just what an outstanding athlete she is. She played out of position as a MH on Sunday, but Sterling is so athletic she can be a force anywhere. Northern Colorado got itself a really, really good player in Sterling.

Chloe Paschal (Papillion-LaVista), 5’8, OH/DS, Premier 16 Gold – Class of 2020 #25

Paschal is one of several “tweeners” on the talented Premier 16 Gold team that can be an effective attacker, but whose long-term future likely lies as a libero or DS. Paschal was third on the Papillion-LaVista team in kills in the fall but her defensive game is really strong and colleges like back row players that have a physical presence and can take aggressive swings – Paschal fits that mold perfectly.