Recruiting Update: Elkhorn South’s Estella Zatechka
There are so many liberos and passing specialists from Nebraska patrolling the back row of some of the top college programs at all levels across the country and Elkhorn South sophomore-to-be Estella Zatechka is poised to be among the best…
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Continue ReadingThere are so many liberos and passing specialists from Nebraska patrolling the back row of some of the top college programs at all levels across the country and Elkhorn South sophomore-to-be Estella Zatechka is poised to be among the best to continue that pipeline.
As the libero for one of the top 15s club teams in the nation – Premier 15 Gold – interest in Zatechka has exploded in the past months after having built on a stellar freshman season at Elkhorn South. The 5-foot-8 Zatechka tallied 264 digs and 240 serve receptions while adding 33 ace serves for the Storm in the fall while playing the defensive specialist roll along side all-state and Wayne State libero recruit Jordan McCormick.
Now, though, the limelight is all on Zatechka, who already had a ton of local interest before getting to high school. Last summer at the defense specialist camp at Nebraska she was awarded the Best Libero Award.
She is currently uncommitted and has not taken any official visits. Because she is so young, the new recruiting rules preventing contact until the summer prior to an athlete’s junior year have impacted her. But, last summer she got to camps at Kansas State, Iowa State, Creighton and Omaha along with the one at Nebraska.
Zatechka said she plans on attending those same camps this summer and is considering camp invitations from Missouri, Notre Dame, West Virginia and several others. She said she is very selective about what she is looking for in a college program.
“I am looking for a school that has good culture, strong values, positive learning environment, and hard work ethic,” she said. “As of now I am interested in pursuing business or nursing. It has been super exciting and a really fun and positive experience. I am very humbled by all the schools that have contacted me.”
As a rule of thumb, most liberos and defensive specialists are among the last to be offered scholarships and money can sometimes be hard to find after schools target pin hitters, setters and middles. So, the fact that Zatechka already has some offers in hand tells you something about how much major programs are attracted to her skill set. Zatechka did not want to go public with the schools that have offered her, but was very candid when talking about what she likes the most from prospective coaches and programs.
“I am most interested in the colleges that are consistently pursuing a relationship with me,” she said. “I have developed strong relationships prior to the rule change and I have done multiple FaceTimes and calls with the coaches. So far the change has been a good break but I’m excited to talk with the schools again.”
Zatechka’s Premier 15 Gold team will be competing in the 15 Open division at USAV Nationals in a few weeks and she is also playing beach volleyball this summer with the goal of making the national championships in Manhattan Beach, California, in July.
You can see Zatechka’s highlights here on Hudl.