Final Class of 2018 Player Rankings: 41-45

It’s officially summer time, and with that, it’s time to send off our 2018 players with the final rankings of their high school careers.

We’ve updated the Class of 2018 rankings now that their senior years of high school – and club volleyball – are over. Each day we will release more rankings until we get to the top five.

For now, here are the players that finished ranked #41-45. Congrats to them all and best of luck in the future! Thanks for all you did to make high school volleyball in Nebraska so amazing!

#41 – Jada Key, 6’0, MH/RS, Millard West (Premier) – committed to Newman University

It seems strange to say for a player ranked this high, but I’m not sure we ever really got to see what Key is fully capable of during her career. She played in only seven matches as a junior but was a key part of the team as a senior, although she averaged only 3.5 swings a set. She wound up hitting .320 on the year with 147 kills and also had 82 total blocks – including 22 solo. She has the ability to become an All-American at Division II Newman.  

#42 – Taylor Hageman, 5’10, OH, Grand Island Northwest

Hageman almost certainly would have finished much higher on this list if not for a knee injury prior to her senior year that significantly impacted her last fall. Hageman was one of the rare young players to earn playing time at Grand Island Northwest, bursting on the scene her sophomore year with 145 kills and adding another 197 her junior year. Her senior year, however, she only had one match with more than six kills, but deserve a ton of credit for quickly coming back from the injury to help her team.

#43 – Ashtynne Alberts, 5’11, OH, Omaha Marian (Performance VBC)

At any other school than Omaha Marian, Alberts would have probably put up eye-popping stats and been the team’s go-to option as an attacker, but she didn’t have as much of an opportunity to shine at Marian. As a junior, though, Alberts became a big contributor down the stretch, finishing with 155 kills on a .337 hitting percentage, which included an 18-kill performance on .415 hitting in the Class A semifinals against Papillion-LaVista South. Her opportunities were fewer her senior year, when she had double-digit swings in just 11 of Marian’s 40 matches.

#44 – Grace Hern, 5’8, Setter/DS, Omaha Marian (Nebraska Juniors) – committed to Colorado State-Pueblo

Another role player at Omaha Marian who shined during the club year, Hern’s versatility and abilities as a setter and defender never really got a chance to show themselves on the high school court as she played behind SMU recruit Lily Heim at setter and established starters in the back row. Hern did have 132 digs her senior season for Marian along with 15 assists and 22 aces.

#45 – Maddie Larson, 5’10, OH/DS, Wahoo (VCNebraska)

In many ways, Larson was the unsung hero of Wahoo’s run to its first-ever state title in volleyball in 2017. The multi-dimensional player finished her career with the Waarriors with 595 kills, 1,038 digs and 158 ace serves. Her consistency was one of her biggest strengths, but she also came up big in big moments – her only two double-digit kill totals her senior year came at the state tournament, including 11 in the finals.