Nebraska Athletes at USAV High Performance

Every year, talented volleyball athletes of all ages attend try-outs throughout the spring at various club tournaments for the chance to earn a spot on the USA Volleyball High Performance roster. Dedicated to training and developing elite athletes, the mission of USAV High Performance is to identify high potential athletes for future National and Olympic teams. The High Performance “pipeline” is for volleyball athletes who aspire to reach the elite level of their sport and grow the pool of talented young players.

The High Performance program is offered to both boys and girls in the indoor, beach, and sitting game. Within indoor, there is a tier of roster opportunities for Junior (ages 17-18), Youth (ages 15-16), Select (13-14), and Future Select (12 and younger).

Here is the tier of selected rosters: National Team, A1 National Training Program, Continental Program, A2 National Training Program, A3 National Training Program, National Training Program, and National Skills Program (listed from highest to lowest).

2018 US Girls’ Youth National Training Team

Rylee Gray, 6’4” middle blocker from Omaha, and Lindsay Krause, 6’3” outside from Papillion, were selected to train with the Youth National Team and earn a spot on the roster who will compete at the 2018 NORCECA Girls’ U18 Continental Championship in Honduras. Rylee Gray, a 2021 graduate, will be a sophomore at Elkhorn South this fall and competes on Nebraska Elite 151. Lindsay Krause, also a 2021 graduate, will be a sophomore at Skutt Catholic this fall and competed with Premier 15 Gold this spring. Both girls will be future teammates at the University of Nebraska as both are verbal commits to the decorated program.

The now 20-player roster will travel to the US Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs and train for two weeks. At the end of the training program, 12 of the 20 will be selected to make the roster to compete in Honduras August 25 – September 2. The team will be coached by former Ohio State coach, Jim Stone. The U.S. Girls’ Youth National Team has won the NORCECA Girls’ U18 Continental Championship seven of the ten times at the event.

Girls’ Select A1 National Training Program

Shaylee Myers, an outside hitter for Premier 14 Black, was selected for the A1 Program, the highest level of programming available to athletes in the Select age group. The 2022 graduate will start training July 19^th at the Cox Business Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Participating athletes train as a group for 5 days before splitting into ability-tiered teams of 12 to compete at USA High Performance Championships immediately following training. Teams are selected based on athlete performance during training.

USA High Performance Championships is an international tournament hosted by USA Volleyball annually and features international teams and Region High Performance teams from all over the United States. International teams that frequent the tournament are Canada, Chile, China, Dominican Republic, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, and Puerto Rico. Not only are athletes exposed to high-level competition, but also seen in action by college coaches from across the country including staff in the USAV High Performance Program.

Girls’ Youth Continental Team Program

Whitney Lauenstein, a middle blocker for Nebraska ONE 16 Mojo, was selected for the Youth Continental Team Program. The 2021 graduate will start training July 19^th at the Cox Business Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Training will commence the same as the A1 program, where teams are selected at the end of the five days based on athlete performance during training. Immediately following training, the teams will compete in the USA High Performance Championships.

Girls’ Select A2 National Training Program

Olivia Mauch, a libero for Nebraska Elite 13 Thunder, was selected for the Select A2 National Training Program. The 2024 graduate will travel to the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs July 10^th to participate in four days of training, and three days of international-style competition. The A2 Program is designed to give the next tier of the country’s top athletes the opportunity to work and learn from top coaches in the country where training, competition, and classroom sessions will take place.

Girls’ Youth A3 National Training Program

Taneesha Curovic, a libero for VCNebraska 15 Blue, was selected for the Youth A3 National Training Program. The 2021 graduate will be training at California University of Pennsylvania starting July 10^th. The five-day training session will modeled after the techniques, systems, and daily practices of the US National Team. After being exposed to the elite training, athletes will receive a comprehensive player evaluation by the coaching staff.

Girls’ Select A3 National Training Program

Eluria Ahl, a libero for River City Juniors 15 Navy, was selected for the Select A3 National Training Program. The 2022 graduate will be training at California University of Pennsylvania starting July 10^th. Format for this camp is the same as the Youth A3 Program where participants will receive five days of elite training and be exposed to National Team level drills.

Girls’ Future Select National Training Program

Taylor Silverberg, an outside for Nebraska ONE 12 Invasion, was selected to attend the Future Select National Training Program. The 2024 graduate will train for five days at the A-Game Sportsplex in Franklin, Tennessee starting July 10^th. This program is a multi-day commuter training program available only to the youngest athletes in the High Performance pipeline. Participants at this training camp will receive instruction in training, competition, and volleyball-specific classroom sessions.