Creighton Academy Camp: A Look at the Liberos and Pin Hitters
OMAHA – Creighton coaches are very excited – as they should be – for the upcoming 2018 season and a large part of that optimism comes from its incredible depth of talent at the pins and in the back row.…
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Continue ReadingOMAHA – Creighton coaches are very excited – as they should be – for the upcoming 2018 season and a large part of that optimism comes from its incredible depth of talent at the pins and in the back row.
If the talent at the Creighton Academy Camp this week is any indication, depth at the pins and in the back row will continue to be a strength for years to come. Some of the top in-state talent as well as some of the top talent in the Midwest was on hand for the camp. It’s a camp where all of the future Bluejays attended as well as some of the top uncommitted players that are looking to catch the eye of the Bluejays’ staff.
Yesterday we wrote about the top setters and middles at the camp. Today, let’s take a look at the top liberos and pin hitters. Players are listed alphabetically by graduation year.
Emily Bressman, 2019, DS/OH, Omaha Marian (Nebraska)
Those of us in Nebraska know Bressman, a Creighton commit, as a powerful attacker and one of the best full-rotation outsides in the state. I mean, she does have just shy off 1,000 career kills for Class A powerhouse Omaha Marian. But, Bressman worked with the back-row specialists the entire time I was there both days, which tells me she’s getting prepped to come in a be a difference maker in the back row. I can easily see her carving out a niche at Creighton as a DS that hits bullets from the back row. She’s ranked as the #2 overall prospect in the Nebraska class of 2019.
Makenna Krause, 2019 Libero, Hortonville High School (Wisconsin)
Krause is the #127 overall prospect out of Wisconsin and she performed as one of the top back row players at Creighton. The Bluejays do graduate one back row player after this season, so it’s possible the Bluejays are still looking to take a walk-on for 2019 to pair with Bressman. But with All-American Brittany Witt returning for her senior season in 2019 and uber prospect Ellie Bolton coming in 2010, it’s difficult to see Creighton having any money available for a 2019 or 2020 back-row specialist. Krause is a good one, though.
Lily Thomas, 2019, Libero, St. Margaret’s Episcopal (California)
Thomas, like Krause, is probably looking for an opportunity to earn a roster spot somewhere and it’s hard to blame kids for wanting a shot to come to Creighton. Thomas was really fluid in camp and has good quickness and deadens the ball well. It’s just unfortunate for back-row players that money is hard to find and they play a position that is usually the last one filled in a recruiting class, which means waiting until the summer before your senior year to get a lot of interest.
Reagan Karlin, 2020, OH, Garden City (Kansas)
Karlin is a strong, physical attacker that has already committed to Creighton. Part of the allure of Karlin as a recruit was her position flexibility along the net and she showed why during camp. She has a good, quick arm and an ability to make shots and adjusts well to blocks. She wasn’t fully healthy at the camp, but she still looked every bit the part of a big piece to Creighton’s future success.
Ellie Bolton, 2020, Libero, St. James Academy (Kansas)
Bolton is Creighton’s libero of the future and she showed why while on campus this week. She has that presence about her that you want from a libero and she looks like she has already developed a good bond with some of her future Bluejay teammates – or she just meshes well quickly. Either way that’s a great sign for Creighton. Bolton comes from powerhouse program St. James Academy and you can tell she’s been really well trained. She showed great anticipation, quick feet, quiet and strong platform and was not timid whatsoever on the court. She’s got a bright future.
Megan Skovsende, 2020, OH/DS, Skutt Catholic (Nebraska)
Skovsende, a Creighton commit, initially drew the most interest from college programs for her ability in the back row, but her improvements as an attacker in the past year or two has led to the potential that she could be a full-rotation outside. She worked exclusively with the pin hitters during the sessions I was at. Regardless what she winds up doing, Skovsende showed at the camp all the abilities she has shown on the high school and club scene locally – a knack for outstanding serve receive and passing and ability to hit shots on the outside.
Nyah Anderson, 2021, OH/MH, San Antonio (Texas)
Anderson is an intriguing prospect out of San Antonio. I’m not sure where she goes to high school, but she played on the top 15s San Antonio Magic squad this past club season. She worked as both an outside and a middle on the first day of camp and I personally thought she looked better in the middle, where her explosive leaping ability and quickness played very well. Unfortunately, she took a pretty good shot to her thumb on a block and had to sit out the end of Monday’s camp. She was back Tuesday morning with it taped up and she looked good.
Cora Behnke, 2021, OH, Oconto High School (Wisconsin)
Behnke is the #2 overall prospect in the Wisconsin class of 2021, and the Bluejays have had quite a bit of success recruiting in the Badger State. She’s a strong, athletic outside that showed the ability to play full-rotation. There were a lot of high-quality pin hitters from the 2021 class on campus, as that class fits pretty well into Creighton’s recruiting cycle. Behnke was definitely one of the best in the camp and one of the top three or four in her class.
Eve MaGill, 2021, OH/RS, Xavier High School (Iowa)
MaGill is uncommitted and, although her Six-Pack club team out of Iowa lists her at 6’4, she could actually be a little taller than that. She definitely has big-time college volleyball written all over her and if she were left-handed she could probably name what school she wanted to go to. I’m not sure she looks – right now at least – like a college outside hitter, she seems like a right side to me. She has a serious block with her long arms and a really good wrist snap on the ball. She’s a recruit definitely worth watching. She’s the #3 overall prospect in Iowa’s class of 2021.
Shayla McCormick, 2021, OH, Skutt Catholic (Nebraska)
McCormick has become one of the top sophomore outside hitters in the state and really burst onto the national scene with her strong showing at AAU Nationals this summer. She has really good length and extension on her swing which helps her generate a lot of power for a smaller frame. She was also a standout at the Omaha individual camp and definitely has a Division I skill set.
Norah Sis, 2021, OH, Papillion-LaVista (Nebraska)
Sis, ranked as the #5 overall prospect in the Nebraska class of 2021, is the best outside hitter in the state for the class not named Krause. Her back-row game is advanced for her age and she has consistently demonstrated the ability to terminate against elite-level competition. She will definitely end up at a high-caliber Division I program if that’s the route she wants to take.
Brilee Wieseler, 2021, Libero, Skutt Catholic (Nebraska)
At some point this summer, I swear Wieseler is going to break every bone in her face, either from hitting the court or from hitting something that got in her way. She’s been a standout at every camp where I’ve seen her (Nebraska, Omaha, Creighton) and her play has definitely caught the attention of coaches at each place. She literally goes through every drill or competition as if her hair is on fire – and coaches love that.
Ava Heyne, 2022, OH, Skutt Catholic (Nebraska)
Heyne – yes, the younger sister of Brooke and Lily – probably had the slightest frame of any of the top pin hitters at the camp, but when your sisters are both Division I hitters, you know she’s going to fill out her frame and get stronger as the years go by. Heyne held her own against much bigger and older competitors and showed a really nice serve. She will be worth keeping an eye on for the next few years.
Shayla Meyer, 2022, OH, Superior (Nebraska)
Another incoming freshman with a familiar last name, Meyer is the younger sister of Nebraska recruit Kalynn. Shayla definitely doesn’t look anything like an incoming freshman as she has a tall, broad frame that packs quite a bit of power. She is getting on the volleyball development path at a younger age than her sister, so it will be interesting and fun to see how she blossoms as a player in the next couple years.
Hannah Allick, 2022, Libero, Lincoln North Star (Nebraska)
While her twin sister Rebekah is busy crushing balls at the net, Hannah did a standout job over the two days at Creighton of keeping balls off the court. She has a strong frame and body for the back-row position and she has a high motor. She showed off a pretty mean jump float serve and can really pick it in the back row. She’s got a chance to come in and be one of the top defenders in the state as a freshman.