2022 Kickoff: Clubs Finding Early Form at Premier Showcase

The club season is here! On Sunday, Premier Nebraska, Nebraska ONE, and Banzai joined forces at The Courts for a season-opening pool play event. It was clearly an invaluable opportunity to get some live reps and experiment with different lineups before the big gauntlet of travel tournaments begins. Personally, I was excited to see how some new-look rosters would come together in this early-season contest. Forming a cohesive connection with new club teammates takes time. In spite of this, I came away impressed with how well many of the event’s teams adjusted. Take, for example, the tournament’s eventual champion, Premier 17 Gold. This team has a variety of notable additions from last year’s iteration, including outside hitter [player_tooltip player_id="59208" first="Destiny" last="Ndam-Simpson"], middle blocker [player_tooltip player_id="112002" first="Brooklyn" last="Fuchs"], and libero [player_tooltip player_id="109590" first="Olivia" last="Mauch"]. In the spotlight for this team, I mused about the championship potential of this squad. It’s early, but it appears they’re backing up that hype. This is a seriously hard-hitting squad that didn’t skip a beat when thrown into a pool with some 18s teams. 17 Gold also demonstrated the lineup experimentation that I mentioned earlier. I saw a two-setter system from this team that featured [player_tooltip player_id="103095" first="Alanna" last="Bankston"] and [player_tooltip player_id="59201" first="Grace" last="Heaney"] at opposite (a truly terrifying D1-commit combination, for sure). Later, these two attackers shared time in the front row with Bankston playing on the left. Mauch and [player_tooltip player_id="59198" first="Makenzie" last="Dyrstad"] both got plenty of run in the libero jersey, too. I’ve made zero commitments regarding which lineup I like most, and it’s really hard to go wrong with any combination on 17 Gold. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> Love what 18 Gold and 17 Gold are bringing this year. Already getting used to the new-look 17 Gold squad. <a href="https://t.co/RJxvz1dBaE">pic.x.com/RJxvz1dBaE</a> — Austin Kingsley (@KingsleyATK) <a href="https://x.com/KingsleyATK/status/1480190673458450440?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 9, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>   Premier 18 Gold looked the part, too. Like their 17s counterpart, 18 Gold gave opportunities to several different backcourt players with [player_tooltip player_id="58783" first="Skylar" last="McCune"], [player_tooltip player_id="58775" first="Estella" last="Zatechka"], and [player_tooltip player_id="58779" first="Ella" last="Hazen"] leading the way. [player_tooltip player_id="58782" first="Shaylee" last="Myers"] remains a well-rounded six-rotation left side, and Brynlee Arnold had some big moments on the right side. I’m enthusiastic about this bunch. There were plenty of other highlight moments and standout teams from this event. I particularly enjoyed seeing Nebraska ONE 18 Black take the floor for this one, and there’s a lot of great athletes on this roster to keep an eye on. [player_tooltip player_id="82465" first="Molli" last="Martin"] put down some nice swings from the middle, while [player_tooltip player_id="58792" first="Brianna" last="Lemke"] and [player_tooltip player_id="58806" first="Lexi" last="Theis"] were effective on the pins. 18 Black will join many of the other teams at this event in traveling down to Kansas City for the MLK Tournament this weekend. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> Good to see Nebraska ONE in the Premier gym this morning. Plenty of athletes on this 18s team who have just finished making a big impact on the high school side, including [player_tooltip player_id="58792" first="Brianna" last="Lemke"] and [player_tooltip player_id="82463" first="Raegan" last="Holle"]. <a href="https://t.co/qWUhaFDJzG">pic.x.com/qWUhaFDJzG</a> — Austin Kingsley (@KingsleyATK) <a href="https://x.com/KingsleyATK/status/1480201070139871241?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 9, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>   On the 16s side, Premier 16 Black and Premier 16 Red had a three-set battle that was really fun to watch. It’s so hard to score on 16 Red with their skilled corps of defensive specialists that includes [player_tooltip player_id="155040" first="Kenzie" last="Kucks"], [player_tooltip player_id="109613" first="Reese" last="Boyd"], [player_tooltip player_id="105830" first="Sydney" last="Guthard"], and Grayson Piening. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> So much defensive grit today between Premier 16 Black and 16 Red. <a href="https://t.co/lYYwQdQ5e5">pic.x.com/lYYwQdQ5e5</a> — Austin Kingsley (@KingsleyATK) <a href="https://x.com/KingsleyATK/status/1480213169129807881?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 9, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>   I also have to comment on how nice it is to have Banzai right next to Premier to provide an excellent cross-training opportunity for both sides. Banzai 18 Select was an especially fun bunch. Lily Meyer anchors this team as a front-row middle blocker and a backcourt setter. What a fun hybrid. Kennedi Branigan and [player_tooltip player_id="58788" first="Taniya" last="Golden"] also had standout moments when attacking on the left. Overall, this is how you put together a prelude to the club season. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> Always fun to see a battle of next door neighbors: Banzai and Premier. <a href="https://t.co/57ZlCV6sT6">pic.x.com/57ZlCV6sT6</a> — Austin Kingsley (@KingsleyATK) <a href="https://x.com/KingsleyATK/status/1480203215559921673?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 9, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>