Midland University recruits all over the 2021 Rankings
As part of the GPAC, Midland University continues to draw some great Nebraska preps each year. This season all five Warriors that earned post-season conference honors were from Nebraska – Taliyah Flores Taliyah Flores 5'8" | OH/LI Papillion-LaVista South |…
Access all of Prep Dig
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingAs part of the GPAC, Midland University continues to draw some great Nebraska preps each year. This season all five Warriors that earned post-season conference honors were from Nebraska – Taliyah Flores Taliyah Flores 5'8" | OH/LI Papillion-LaVista South | 2018 State NE (1st team, Papillon-LaVista South), Hope Liembach (1st team, Lincoln Lutheran), Maggie Hyatt (2nd team, Louisville), Sydney Morehouse (honorable mention, Papillon-LaVista South), and Jaisa Russell (hm, Gretna). 17 out of 19 players on the roster went to high school in Nebraska.
And look to many members from the Class of 2021 to carry on the tradition at Midland University.
Midland Coach Paul Gieselman comments, “I’m really excited about our 2021 class. They are a great group of young women that will fit really well into our culture of success on the court and in the classroom. Because of CoVid, it left our 2020 class thinner than we were expecting so the 2021 class is our largest class I have had at Midland. It is one of our most athletic recruiting classes featuring several multi-sport athletes that have the ability to play way above the net. This class also gives us a great mixture of depth at several positions and addresses our needs both front row and back row. I think a few of the players will have a chance to compete on our varsity immediately while others will be really good after a year or two of training. Several of these student-athletes have been part of teams that competed in big matches with District and State and will most likely have a chance to compete at the State Track Meet this spring. We have had some great players come through our program over the years that have been All Americans and helped our program earn two Final Four berths. The 2021 class will ultimately be judged at the end of their Senior year of college based on what they accomplish on the court. I can’t wait to see how hard this class is willing to work and what they end up accomplishing.”
33 ⇒ Jessica Moss | 5’11 | MH | Syracuse (pictured above)
As a four year starter for the Rockets, Moss led Syracuse to a 22-2 record and Class C1 State Tournament appearances in 2018 and 2020. A six rotation player that averaged 3.5 kills/set on .402 hitting. Moss also competes in basketball and was the 2019 All Class Gold High Jump Champion.
34 ⇒ Cortlyn Schaefer | 5’11 | OH | Cross County
Schaefer led her team to a 22-10 record averaging 4.4 kills/set on .346 attacking. She also excels at basketball and track.
51 ⇒ Saige Craven | 5’7 | S | Ashland
Starting for the Bluejays all four years, Craven’s role was switched up her junior and senior seasons going from a 5-1 to a 6-2 in order to allow Craven to swing from the front. She led her team to the semi-finals in the Class B State Tournament and a 24-7 record. She averaged 2.2 kills/set on .260 hitting, 4.8 assists/set and finished her career with a total 2121 assists. Craven also plays basketball.
54 ⇒ Delanie Vallinch Delanie Vallinch 5'7" | DS/L Papillion-LaVista South | 2021 State NE | 5’7 | L | Papillion-LaVista South
As the libero on the Class A State Runner Up team, Vallinch led the Titans with 5.1 digs/set. She was also a force at the service line with a 95.4% serve and 30 aces this season.
73 ⇒ Rebecca Halbmaier Rebecca Halbmaier 5'9" | OH Mead | 2021 State NE | 5’9 | OH | Mead
As a varsity player since her freshman season, Halbmaier and the Raiders continued to improve from an 18-10 in 2017 to 25-7 in 2020 and Class D1 State Tournament 3rd place. The lefty averaged 3.1 kills/set on .287 hitting.
82 ⇒ Shaina Russell Shaina Russell 5'10" | OH Gretna | 2021 State NE | 5’10 | OH | Gretna
Russell led the Dragons with 3.0 kills/set this season as a six-rotation player. Playing at Midland is a family affair – sister Jaisa (senior) was a back-row specialist for the Warriors this fall and fellow commit Saige Craven ⇑ is a first cousin.
93 ⇒ Abbey Ringler Abbey Ringler 5'10" | RS Seward | 2021 State NE | 5’10 | RS | Seward
101 ⇒ Alli Becker | 6’0 | RS | Skutt Catholic
The Skyhawks are a very deep team. Many JV players would be top notch on other varsity squads. Although Becker played behind many all-state players, she was integral to the success of the program and pushed them in practices each day. Coach Saunders notes that she had the best attitude and was willing to do whatever was needed to help the team.
⇒ Morgan Sangl Morgan Sangl 5'7" | Libero Gretna | NE | 5’7 | DS | Gretna
In the Dragon backrow, Sangl averaged 2.4 digs/set and 3.5 serve receptions/set
⇒ Savanna Berger | 6’0 | MH | Plattsmouth
As a strong player for the Blue Devils, Berger averaged 3.2 kills/set on .308 hitting.
⇒ Josie Richards | 5’9 | S | Oakland-Craig
As the program added more checkmarks in the win column each of the last four years, Richards led the Knights with 9.8 assists/set and a 22-7 record in 2020.
A NOTE ABOUT RANKINGS
Player rankings are a constant work in progress, especially with athletes at the 15s and 16s level. Some players hit their stride at different times and for others, it’s a matter of getting their chance whether it’s high school or club. We seek feedback from coaches around the state and are always looking to add names as well as update information. For the players, your ranking does not define you. This is a list that is a resource for schools, it’s fun to see athletes from across the state, and is a great way to connect players with each other as well as coaches throughout the country.