Round 1: Overton Eagles Return All Starters for Fort Kearny Conference Showdowns

Overton Class of 2021 pictured. Photo contributed by Coach Ryan. TEAM: OVERTON EAGLES CLASS: D1 LOCATION: South Central Nebraska, Dawson County NSAA TEAM ENROLLMENT (female, grades 9-11): 39 CONFERENCE: Fort Kearny COACH: Hayley Ryan We start the 2020 Nebraska Prep Dig Team Series off in the Stivrins Regional with a matchup between C2 Mead and D1 Overton in the first round. To hear more about your favorite team, hop over to our Twitter feed @nebhsvolleyball to vote them to the second round until 9:00 p.m. on Tuesday, May 19! This may be the year for Overton to take that next step and go deeper into the Class D1 State Tournament! After a 28-5 record in 2019, the Overton Eagles under head coach Hayley Ryan has the majority of her team returning in 2020. The Eagles made it to State last season and suffered a first-round loss to Archbishop Bergan. Coach Ryan summarizes her team best, “In 2019, Overton had a very successful volleyball season. We have several players with playing experience and will be returning all 6 starters from last season. The added depth will continue to help build our team and offer options throughout the season. There will be a solid senior class that has been seeing court time since their freshman year. Our strengths are our height, quick offense, and hitting abilities at the net. Our blocking is also a threat to the opposing team. Our setter will be a senior this year and has worked with our hitters for several years getting down timing on hits and blocking. Last year there were great improvements in our defense and I look forward to that carrying over and only improving with the upcoming season. We did lose 2 seniors from last year but will be getting 7 or more incoming freshman that have seen success as athletes. We have confidence this team will be top competitors in the state this year.” With middle hitters 6’ [player_tooltip player_id="82572" first="Rachel" last="Ecklund"] and 5’10 [player_tooltip player_id="58203" first="Haley" last="Fleischman"] taking turns terminating sets and blocking the opposition in the middle position, their supporting cast proves extremely proficient with setter [player_tooltip player_id="82643" first="Anna" last="Brennan"] averaging 10 assists per set and the Eagles as a team averaging 17.5 digs per set with a 92.7 serving percentage. Returning Letter Winners: ⇒ #15 [player_tooltip player_id="82572" first="Rachel" last="Ecklund"] | 2021 | 6’ Middle | Uncommitted | Team Captain 2019 Awards: OWH Class D1 1st Team, LJS Class D1 1st Team, Second in school record for kills in a season with 368. 2019 Stats: Kills/Set, Total, Hitting Percentage: 4.1, 339, .393 Serving Percentage: 96.3 Blocks/Set, Total: .7, 62 Digs/Set, Total: 3.6, 300 Receptions/Set, Total: 4.9, 409 Rachel comments, “From freshman year to now, I have definitely grown a lot. As a freshman, I was scared and didn’t have much confidence. I went from playing outside hitter to a defensive specialist and then back to an outside hitter. I am very flexible when it comes to different positions, so it doesn’t take me long to adjust. As of now, I am a middle hitter and with the help of my coaches and teammates, I am very confident in my abilities and know that it is okay to make mistakes.” ⇒ #9 [player_tooltip player_id="58203" first="Haley" last="Fleischman"] | 2021 | 5’10 Middle | Uncommitted | Team Captain <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/9850105/5dcebdae90eeb108b4a06345">HUDL Highlights </a>Club: Nebraska Gold 2019 Awards: OWH Class D1 2nd Team, LJS Class D1 2nd Team, School record for kills in a season with 409. 2019 Stats: Kills/Set, Total, Hitting Percentage: 4.9, 409 Serving Percentage: 92.6 Blocks/Set, Total: .8, 65 Digs/Set, Total: 2.7, 227 Receptions/Set, Total: 2.4, 196 Haley comments, “My freshman year I played right-side hitter, and I have transitioned to middle blocker the past two years. I have worked really hard to develop my blocking techniques as well as my back-row defense. I have definitely improved a lot since my freshman year, and I look forward to growing even more as a player and teammate this upcoming year.” Haley’s College Insight, “Yes, I have the goal of playing volleyball in college. Before COVID-19 halted in-person college visits, I visited Concordia University and Nebraska Wesleyan University. I have been in contact with other schools, and I am very excited to get on those campuses to continue the recruiting process and finalize my decision." ⇒ #8 [player_tooltip player_id="82643" first="Anna" last="Brennan"] | 2021 | 5’6 Setter | Uncommitted 2019 Stats: Serving Percentage: 95.9 Digs/Set, Total: 2.0, 164 Assists/Set, Total: 10.0, 831 ⇒Allie Altwine | 2021 | 5’7 Outside Club: PVJ, Midwest Select teams 2019 Stats: Digs/Set, Total: 2.7, 225 Receptions/Set, Total: 2.4, 197 Allie on a team slogan, “When I think of a slogan for my team the first thing that comes to my mind is One Team One Dream. This slogan fits my team because we have always wanted to work hard as a team to make our dreams come true and we have a lot of determination. ⇒Kenzie Scheele | 2022 | Outside 2019 Stats: Kills/Set, Total, Hitting Percentage: 1.5, 92, .207 Digs/Set, Total: 3.2, 201 Receptions/Set, Total: 2.4, 151 Kenzie on growing since her freshman season, “It was a big change. Knowing what I know now helps me so much as a player and a teammate.” ⇒Addison Luther | 2022 | Right Side 2019 Stats: Serving Percentage: 97.5 Digs/Set, Total: 2.1, 172 Receptions/Set, Total: 2.6, 214 ⇒Maili Meier | 2022 | 5’3 Outside/Right Side 2019 Stats: Serving Percentage: 94.7 Want more information on the Overton Eagles including their tuff Fort Kearny Conference and thoughts on 2020? Vote for them on Twitter @nebhsvolleyball to push them to round 2!