Premier 18 Gold’s Last Chance at a National Title
Jared Williams
<p>Premier 18 Gold will be one of 48 teams playing for the 18 National title in Anaheim, California this weekend. They will begin pool play on Friday afternoon, and will conclude tournament play on Sunday.</p>
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<p>This Premier 18 Gold squad features 7 college committed players on their 10 player roster. Out of the 10 players on the roster, 8 of them are seniors playing in the last tournament of their club volleyball careers this weekend. After facing top level competition at national qualifiers and through local tournaments in Nebraska, 18 Gold is ready to lay it all on the line this weekend.</p>
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<p>Setter <strong>Delaney Saucier</strong> (Omaha Skutt-Arkansas Tech) will be running the show for 18 Gold. After winning the Class B state championship as Skutt’s starting setter this last fall, Saucier would love to end her club career with a national title. This 18 Gold squad is lucky to have one of the top setters in the state.</p>
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<p>Premier 18 Gold also has some of the best back row defenders in the state. <strong>Mckenzie Michalek</strong> (Papillion-LaVista-UNO) and <strong>Taliyah Flores </strong>(Papillion-LaVista South-North Dakota) are two of the best defenders for this 18 Gold squad. Taliyah Flores is one of the best all around players in the state of Nebraska. Whether she’s taking rips in the front row or taking bullets in the back row, she will be a key factor in Premier’s success this weekend. Premier also has <strong>Reahgan Stueve</strong> (Missouri Valley, IA) in the back row as well.</p>
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<p>In the front row, Saucier has plenty of weapons to choose from. Premier 18 Gold has some of the most versatile hitters in the state, and a lot of them can hit anywhere on the net. Along with Flores, 18 Gold also has <strong>Brooke Fredrickson </strong>(North Bend-Midland University) and <strong>Lauren Bair </strong>(Clarinda, IA-Grand View) as options on the outside. In the middle they have <strong>Sydney Fitzgibbons </strong>(Papillion-LaVista-Washburn University), <strong>Clara Lamb </strong>(Omaha Westside-University of Chicago-Illinois), <strong>Sydney McDermott </strong>(Omaha Skutt, 2019), and <strong>Hailey Petersen </strong>(Millard West, 2019). Lamb, McDermott and Petersen are all used on the right side as well.</p>
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<p>Last year this Premier squad finished in the silver bracket at the USA Girls Junior National Championships in the National division. This year, 18 Gold would like to take a few steps further and win it all. </p>
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