Top MN Liberos in the Class of 2023

<p>Junior year comes with a lot of challenges on the court and in the classroom.  The pressure is no longer to compete with the older girls, but now there is an added threat about not making the team for some high schools.  The job of a defender can turn into a number of different roles.  They can land the big libero spot, serve up some aces as a serving specialist, be that next in line as a defensive specialist, or even get reworked as an attacker or setter if it’s what the team needs. </p> <p>The competition is crazy tough and by now, if you aren’t playing club, you typically won’t be playing in college.  I wanted to do a deep dive into our rankings for the class of 2023 liberos.  The rankings have been updated, and here are the ‘bros ranked in the Top 50.  </p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="73495" first="Kate" last="Thibault"] – MN Select 17-1 – Committed to Oregon</strong> </p> <ul> <li>Committed to Oregon – Ranked #27 in the Dec 2021 RPI </li> <li>Plays for MN Select 17-1 – Won the NCR Region Qualifier, Midwest Championships – The Fiesta (17/18 Premier Division), and took 2^nd in the ASICS Show Me Qualifier (17 Open Division) </li> <li>JVA Watchlist </li> <li>Hit the 1,000 digs Milestone as a freshman for Watertown-Mayer </li> <li>Class AA All-State </li> <li>Prep Dig Rank #2 </li> </ul> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="135295" first="Sophia" last="Johnson"] – MN Select 17-1</strong> </p> <ul> <li>Plays as a defensive specialist for MN Select 17-1 – Won the NCR Region Qualifier, Midwest Championships – The Fiesta (17/18 Premier Division), and took 2^nd in the ASICS Show Me Qualifier (17 Open Division) </li> <li>Class AAAA State Champion </li> <li>Prep Dig Rank #13</li> <li>2021 CCX Sports All-Area Honorable Mention </li> </ul> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="73487" first="Rylee" last="Nelson"] – Northern Lights 17-1</strong> </p> <ul> <li>She can do it all as a lefty.  She sets and hits from the pins for Zumbrota-Mazeppa. </li> </ul> <ul> <li>She is the Libero for Northern Lights 17-1 – Took 2^nd place at the NCR Region Qualifier and 5^th in the 17 Open Division at the Nike Mideast Qualifier </li> </ul> <ul> <li>4.0 GPA </li> <li>Playing Varsity for Zumbrota-Mazeppa since in 8^th grade </li> <li>2-time All-Conference </li> <li>Hit the 1,000 Assist Milestone her sophomore season with Zumbrota-Mazeppa </li> <li>Tallied 17 kills in Zumbrota-Mazeppa’s 3-1 playoff win against Caledonia </li> <li>Prep Dig Rank #23</li> </ul> <p> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="166333" first="Ellenor" last="Crimmins"] – Northern Lights 17-B</strong> </p> <ul> <li>Plays for Northern Lights 17-B – Took 10^th place in the 17-USA Division at the ASICS Show Me Qualifier </li> <li>Libero for East Ridge </li> <li>Tallied 390 Digs in 2021 for East Ridge </li> <li>Prep Dig Rank #24</li> </ul> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="73480" first="Maggie" last="Lile"] – SMV 17-1 Black</strong> </p> <ul> <li>Plays for SMV 17-1 Black – Won the Odd Cup 17’s Division, Med City Cup 18’s Division, and Mizuno Midwest JVA Challenge 17 Club Division </li> <li>Impact Player and Hustle Award winner at Spring Grove </li> <li>Academic All-Conference </li> <li>4-year varsity starter </li> <li>2-time All-Conference </li> <li>Recorded her 1,000^th Dig in 2021 </li> <li>Passed an impressive 2.40 this fall </li> <li>Prep Dig Rank #25 </li> </ul> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="166341" first="Caitlyn" last="Christenson"] – SWMNVB 17-1 </strong></p> <ul> <li>Class AAA All-State </li> <li>Plays for SWMNVB 17-1 – Took 1^st place in the Pentagon AAU Grand Prix and 4^th place in the Nebraska AAU Grand Prix in the 18’s division </li> <li>Big South All-Conference </li> <li>Prep Dig Rank #37</li> </ul> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="86642" first="Liesl" last="Haugen"] – MN Select 17-2</strong> </p> <ul> <li>Plays libero for MN Select 17-2 – Placed 3^rd at NCR Region Qualifier and Mizuno Midwest JVA Challenge </li> <li>Tallied 349 Digs for Maple Grove this fall </li> <li>Received Player of the Match honors 8 times for Maple Grove in 2021 </li> <li>2021 CCX Sports All-Area Team </li> <li>Prep Dig Rank #49</li> </ul>