2020 Year in Review: Highlights From an Unusual Year

To say the least it has been an interesting year in the sports world and volleyball is no different. On Thursday March 12, the world began to change drastically as the Covid 19 pandemic hit the United States, cutting into a great club season of volleyball and changing volleyball from club to college. In fact I was at my daughter’s club practice the night before and my other daughter’s practice that night on the 12th. Who would’ve thought that would be the last time they would practice for that club season? Despite the circumstances, club directors, athletic administration, coaches, players, parents came together to make summer camps and the Nebraska High School season work and work safely and successfully. The first time my girls got to go to a volleyball camp was June 3rd at The Volleyball Academy in LaVista. It was fun, safe and gave my girls a sense of normalcy in a crazy world! Kudos to The Volleybal Academy! Here is a look at some of my top volleyball memories and highlights from 2020! The Concordia Team Camp in July: [caption id="attachment_114920" align="alignleft" width="300"]<img class="size-medium wp-image-114920" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2020/11/2020-Lincoln-Lutheran-long-pic-300x174.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="174" /> 2020 Lincoln Lutheran[/caption] This camp was great to see lots of great teams there who made some noise in the 2020 fall high school season. Lincoln Lutheran finished the high school season with a 30-8 record and a 4th place finish at the Class C-1 Nebraska State Tournament. The Warriors were led by senior Abi Wohlgemuth with 255 kills and 5’10" sophomore [player_tooltip player_id="59212" first="Abby" last="Wachal"] with 400 kills on the season. Junior [player_tooltip player_id="82215" first="Ashlyn" last="DeBoer"] had 44 service aces and 839 set assists. Looking forward to Lutheran being a contender again this coming year and watching them over the summer! Kearney Catholic also had a strong showing at camp as well. They were fun to watch! These two teams would eventually meet up in the first round of the Nebraska State Tournament which indicated how stiff the competition at the Concordia Camp was! Looking forward to watching [player_tooltip player_id="37577" first="Ashley" last="Keck"] in her senior season, who hammered away 408 kills, had 377 digs and chipped in 34 ace serves in her junior campaign. The progression and emergence of Elkhorn North was so fun to watch this year! Look for them to be a contender in the years ahead. The second half of the season Coach Graggert had the girls gelling and playing like experienced veterans. The Timberwolves finished the season 13-18 with a District Final Runner-Up 3-1 loss to Waverly. They notched their first inaugural season win on September 8th against Bennington. Led by right side hitter sophomore [player_tooltip player_id="59201" first="Grace" last="Heaney"] who had 354 kills and 45 total blocks on the season. Grace is so smooth and natural on the court. Look for her stock to continue to rise as she heads into her junior year! [caption id="attachment_103376" align="alignleft" width="300"]<img class="size-medium wp-image-103376" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2020/08/image-2-copy-300x300.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="300" /> Photo: I received this from Christina Boesiger head coach of Norris[/caption] Eastern Midland Conference rivals Norris and Waverly put on a show on September 15th. With 3 Husker commits on the floor you knew it would be a high talent match. Norris was down 2-0 and came back and won a 5 set thriller! Norris was led by 6’3" junior [player_tooltip player_id="37542" first="Ella" last="Waters"] as she hammered 18 kills in the match and senior Wayne State commit Kalli Kroeker had 14 kills. Junior Nebrasaka commit [player_tooltip player_id="37546" first="Maisie" last="Boesiger"] had 50 set assists in the win. Waverly’s Nebraska commit Whitney Launstein had 18 kills in the loss and [player_tooltip player_id="37528" first="Bekka" last="Allick"] had 11. Sophomore Mady Bannit who filled in for Bekka Alllick after her injury, played well the rest of the season and did a great job at the Prep Dig Expo 250 earlier this month. It will be fun to see what she can do in the upcoming season! This game was one of the best high school games of the season! Adams Central knocking off powerhouse 24-4 Grand Island Central Catholic in the C-1 District Finals was for those who cheer for the underdogs! I knew when I did the Central Conference Preview the Patriots had a ton of talent! Senior [player_tooltip player_id="82586" first="Caitlyn" last="Scott"] led the charge with 332 kills on the season. [player_tooltip player_id="102979" first="Chelsey" last="Wiseman"] had 657 set assists in her junior campaign. Look for the Patriots to make a statement this next year with some young talent coming up! 2020 Prep Dig Expo 250 was also a highlight of this unusual volleyball season! I have worked the last two years at the Expo and this was a fantastic event with a high talent level and a great turnout even compared to 2019’s normal year! There was a high level of talent from all over the Midwest area obviously Nebraska but also Iowa as well. Some of the top Nebraska prospects headline the 2024 and 2023 Prep Dig Rankings as well. 2024 setter 6’0 [player_tooltip player_id="104674" first="Carolyn" last="Maser"] from GICC and 2023 outside hitter [player_tooltip player_id="59208" first="Destiny" last="Ndam-Simpson"] both were super impressive at the Expo. Carolyn’s ease and strength from the setting position as a freshman was impressive. Destiny’s explosiveness and athleticism on the outside was top notch at the Expo. Here is hoping that 2021 is successful on and off the court! Cheers to 2021! Happy New Year!