Best Verticals from Prep Dig Top 250 Expo in Omaha

<p>There are a lot of factors that go into a college coach’s decision-making process when it comes to recruiting. Beauty, as they say, truly is in the eye of the beholder.</p> <p>Coaches have a limited number of scholarships or scholarship money, a limited number of roster spots and what they are each looking for can vary as widely as the kind of fish there are in the sea.</p> <p>But, there are a few staples that every college coach wants to know about an athlete during the recruiting process. One of those is a player’s vertical. Your vertical can make you or break you in the recruiting world, because it is the great equalizer when it comes to a player’s height. Ya, maybe you’re 6-foot-2, but if you have a 25-inch vertical compared to the 5-11 player with a 30-inch vertical, you’ve got some work to do.</p> <p>There is no better example to come out of Nebraska of just how important a vertical is than former Skutt Catholic standout and former Gatorade Player of the Year Brooke Heyne. She’s generously listed on the Kansas State roster as being 5’11. But, she very well may have the best vertical of any Nebraska player in the past few years.</p> <p>Heyne is one of five players listed on the Kansas State roster as an outside hitter. How tall are the others? Two of them come in at 6’4, one at 6’3 and one at 6’2. Then there is 5’11 Heyne. But, who was one of the best attackers on the team down the stretch in 2018 – Heyne’s redshirt freshman season – for the Wildcats? Yep, it was Heyne. She was twice named the Big XII Rookie of the Week in she had seven matches with 10 or more kills in Kansas State’s final 11 contests of the year.</p> <p>It’s not always about how tall you are, but rather, how tall you play. And that’sx determined by your vertical.</p> <p>And, let’s not forget how important a vertical is at all the positions. As a setter, your ability to get up above the net and turn a bad pass into a good set is paramount, not to mention you ability to block and be an attacker in the front row. Even as a libero and defensive specialist, your vertical is for being able to make athletic plays and – as a DS – being able to attack from the back row.</p> <p>So, here is a look at the top vertical leaps that were recorded during the Prep Dig Top 250 Expo in Omaha on Sunday. What’s really cool about the list is the variety of school sizes, clubs and positions represented.<strong> </strong></p> <p>Isadora Schwab, 5’9, Jr., Setter, Fairbury, (Nebraska ONE) – 32”<br /> Emma O’Neill, 6’1, Fr., MB, Papillion-LaVista South (Premier) – 31”<br /> Molly Ramsey, 5’4, Soph., Libero, Norris (Nebraska Juniors) – 30.5”<br /> Anna Koehler, 5’8, Jr., OH/DS, Platteview, (Trojan Volleyball Club) – 30”<br /> Megan Heimes, 5’4, Jr., libero, Hartington Cedar Catholic (Nebraska Edge) – 27”<br /> Ella Matthies, 5’10, Soph., OH, Omaha Roncalli (River City Juniors) – 27”<br /> Karsen VanScoy, 5’4, Fr., Libero, Waverly (VCNebraska) – 27”<br /> Lily Rowe, 5’9, Fr., Setter/Pin, Columbus Lakeview (Club Legacy) – 26”<br /> Adrianna Smith, 6’0, Sr., OH, Aurora (Nebraska Juniors) – 25.5”<br /> Annabella Madsen, 5’10, Soph., OH, Omaha South (Nebraska Elite) – 25.5”<br /> Peyton Neff, 5’10, Soph., Setter, North Platte (Mid-Nebraska) – 25.5”<br /> Brooke Peltz, 5’8, Soph., OH, Lincoln East (Nebraska Juniors) – 25.5”<br /> Amanda Wolf, 5’8, Soph., OH, Omaha Burke (Omaha Volleyball Club) – 25.5”</p>