2024 Rankings Positional Breakdown: Prolific Attackers

<p>Let’s keep the 2024 rankings content going! We’ve got a lot of position-by-position analysis coming today, and that should give you a good idea of how talented and deep this class is. Nebraska always produces great classes year after year, so it can be difficult for some younger players to stand out. Even still, these 2024s have caught our eye already and occupy our ever-expanding rankings.</p> <p>This positional breakdown is going to focus on front row players: left sides, middle blockers, and opposites. We’re taking a quick tour of our new 2024 rankings to identify the athletes who have really stood out in the past calendar year. Better yet, these players are sure to deliver much more excitement in 2022.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Outside Hitters</strong></p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="109585" first="Lauren" last="Medeck"] has remained firmly planted in the top spot for a long time. You won’t get many arguments on that, either. The versatile, six-rotation attacker added a high school championship to her growing list of accolades that includes tournament wins in multiple club age groups. She’s done it all.</p> <p>I see a lot of emerging stars in our next tier of left-side hitters. [player_tooltip player_id="152901" first="Paige" last="Frickenstein"] was easily one of our biggest stock risers in this class after the season she just put together with Archbishop Bergan. The same can be said of [player_tooltip player_id="109612" first="Megan" last="Waters"], who was a hard-hitting attacker throughout the year for Lincoln East.</p> <p>There’s a lot of good small-town representation among 2024 outsides, too. [player_tooltip player_id="105008" first="Delainey" last="Cast"] has been a consistent contributor for Syracuse ever since she joined the fray as a freshman. [player_tooltip player_id="105002" first="Josie" last="Cleveringa"] is also a perennial standout on either pin for North Bend Central.</p> <p>Other hitters from the big metropolitan areas will continue to have an opportunity to shine. [player_tooltip player_id="109592" first="Sophie" last="Wohlgemuth"] is a good contender here, as she’s another player that’s fresh off a state championship in 2021. Out in Grand Island, too, [player_tooltip player_id="104983" first="Haedyn" last="Hoos"] has shown the skill necessary to compete with some of Nebraska’s top teams.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Middle Blockers</strong></p> <p>This is a fun group of middle blockers from a lot of different regions and high school classifications.</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="104975" first="Nora" last="Wurtz"] spearheads this position in the 2024 rankings. She brings unmatched physicality and heat at the net for Douglas County West, and her showstopping dominance is only just beginning. It’s a scary thought for opponents everywhere.</p> [caption id="attachment_165833" align="alignright" width="465"]<img class="wp-image-165833" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2021/11/IMG_4382.jpg" alt="" width="465" height="310" /> Hanel (4) puts up the block for Clarkson/Leigh.[/caption] <p>The small-town swing extends from Wurtz to [player_tooltip player_id="122806" first="Chloe" last="Hanel"], who is a major impact player for Clarkson/Leigh. It’s always fun to watch a middle blocker who can shift out to the left and hit from the outside, and Hanel does this often. She’ll do anything to win.</p> <p>Our two Papio schools are well-stocked at this position, of course. [player_tooltip player_id="109603" first="Mia" last="Tvrdy"] fit right into the Papillion-La Vista offense and built off of all the great performances we’ve seen from her in club. Down at Papio South, [player_tooltip player_id="152854" first="Morgan" last="Bode"] is another player that we tabbed as a stock riser in this class after she helped anchor the net en route to an undefeated season.</p> <p>You can just keep going down the line with these middle blockers. [player_tooltip player_id="109591" first="Mikah" last="O’Neill"] has become one of my favorite players to watch, as she has that knack for taking over matches with her terminal swing. Her time on the big stage will come. One middle blocker who has already thrived on that big stage is [player_tooltip player_id="104999" first="Avery" last="Yosten"], who always brings an intimidating presence to the Norfolk Catholic frontcourt.</p>