Former Nebraska Prep Stars in the 2022 D1 NCAA Tournament
It’s time for our yearly NCAA tournament feature. This is one of my favorites. Despite Nebraska residing near the bottom dozen in the United States in total population, prep volleyball athletes from the Cornhusker State are always well-represented in the…
Access all of Prep Dig
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingIt’s time for our yearly NCAA tournament feature. This is one of my favorites.
Despite Nebraska residing near the bottom dozen in the United States in total population, prep volleyball athletes from the Cornhusker State are always well-represented in the NCAA tournament. It’s a testament to the volleyball culture that has been built here over several decades, and this feature is a way to put it all on display.
So, here are the tournament-bound Division 1 teams that will have a Nebraska native on their side.
Arkansas
What a year for Kylie Weeks to join the Arkansas program.
The former Elkhorn South and Nebraska Elite outside hitter joined the Razorbacks this fall, and Weeks’ outstanding ball control acumen was the primary skill that landed her in the ultra-competitive SEC. A bit of Hog history has already been made in Weeks’ first year with Arkansas, as the Razorbacks clinched their first NCAA tournament berth since 2013 and broke into the AVCA Top 25 for the first time in seven years.
Arkansas is establishing quite a recruiting foothold in the Plains, so Weeks could pave the way for even more Nebraska additions in Fayetteville.
Creighton
No one is surprised by the Nebraska representation, and no one is surprised by Creighton’s consistency, either.
The Bluejays are fresh off a 27-4 campaign in which they won their third consecutive Big East tournament title. That championship did not come easily, however, as Creighton won an absolute thriller of a championship match in a 3-2 decision over archrival Marquette. CU seized the Big East automatic bid into the NCAA tournament, though the Jays certainly didn’t need it to get in. DJ Sokol Arena will host first- and second-round matchups, with the host getting Auburn in the opener.
And Creighton’s individual accolades are about as impressive as the team’s accomplishments. This is a discussion of Nebraska athletes, and there’s no better place to start than with the Big East player of the year, Norah Sis. The former Papillion-La Vista Monarch has had a meteoric rise with Creighton to snag the conference POY honor as a sophomore. After Sis snagged MVP honors at USAV U18 Nationals, though, it was already clear she was ready for the next level.
Skylar McCune is also a name that most Nebraska prep enthusiasts will recognize, and she has made an immediate impact as a true freshman. Her defensive prowess has been on full display as a right-back specialist who has piled up plenty of first contacts this season. McCune’s role could expand even more next year, but the Gretna grad’s primary focus is on the upcoming postseason slate.
The list goes on. Jaela Zimmerman has remained on the Bluejay roster and has been an invaluable teammate and “coach” during her injury rehab. Other dominant Nebraska outside hitters have also had vital supporting roles, including Marian’s Emily Bressman and Skutt Catholic’s Megan Skovsende. Former GICC great Katie Maser has made her share of appearances, too.
That all amounts to six Nebraska natives who will hope to push the nationally-seeded Bluejays to new heights this postseason.
Iowa State
Cyclone Head Coach Christy Johnson-Lynch, a native Nebraskan who coached at Millard North and River City Juniors in her post-college years, has two small-town Nebraska stars on this year’s roster.
Junior middle blocker Jordan Hopp made the move to Iowa State after having an outstanding multi-sport tenure at Alliance High School. Her quick development in the late stages of her prep volleyball career yielded an opportunity to play in the Big 12, and Hopp has delivered. A 12-kill performance against Big Ten foe Penn State was a highlight of this season for Hopp.
And there’s a familiar name from Diller-Odell in Ames, too. Sophomore setter Addison Heidemann departed for Iowa State after winning a state title with the Griffins in 2020, and she’s entering her second NCAA tournament in as many years with the Cyclone program.
Louisville
Hey, we have another native Nebraskan as a head coach here.
Louisville Head Coach Dani Busboom-Kelly knows Nebraska as well as anyone in the volleyball world. She played here at the prep and college level and coached for the Cornhuskers, too. Those Nebraska connections likely helped pull in redshirt freshman setter Elle Glock when she transferred from Southern Cal.
Glock was made for high-pressure matches, as she won three state championships with Wahoo before joining the college ranks. She has a chance to inherit the starting setter role next season, and Louisville’s status as a championship frontrunner continues in 2022.
Nebraska
You knew the Cornhuskers would be here.
The five-time national champions have five native Nebraskans contributing to this year’s lineup, and three of them hail from the same high school. The Waverly trio of setter Anni Evans, opposite Whitney Lauenstein, and middle blocker Bekka Allick has brought local interest in the team to new heights in 2022.
All three of these Waverly Vikings come from different classes and have had different career trajectories. Evans was the first to arrive in 2020 and walked on after a successful career as a setter for Waverly and VCN. She eventually earned a semester scholarship, however, and has been a regular sight in Nebraska’s 6-2 system this year.
Lauenstein arrived as part of Nebraska’s vaunted 2021 class. She had a fascinating prep career that included a transition from middle blocker to outside hitter. By the end of her high school days, her explosiveness and raw athleticism were too much for the Husker coaching staff to pass up. 2022 has been Lauenstein’s breakout year, as she sits second on the team in total kills.
Allick is the newcomer to the group. The true freshman middle blocker gained plenty of Team USA experience in addition to her dominant performances as an outside hitter for Waverly. She immediately entered the Nebraska starting lineup this fall and leads the team in hitting percentage this year. Not a bad start.
Of course, it’s not all about Waverly here. Lindsay Krause, another part of the 2021 class, arrived at Nebraska after never losing a postseason match in her entire career with Skutt Catholic. Some of those state title bouts pitted Krause against Norris setter Maisie Boesiger, who walked on this year as a defensive specialist. I think they’re both thankful to now be on the same side of the net.
Northern Colorado
Norris knows how to produce ball-control stars.
We already mentioned Boesiger on this feature, but there’s a former Titan tearing it up at libero in the Big Sky. Northern Colorado senior Michaela Boon leads the Bears in digs with 448, good enough for nearly four per set. Stout players like Boon have engineered a long run of success for Northern Colorado, which will head to its seventh NCAA tournament since 2009.
Pittsburgh
Sabrina Starks has been there and done that. It’s just another NCAA tournament for the veteran.
The Platteview High School graduate is in her fifth year of volleyball competition with Pittsburgh thanks to the extra season provided by COVID-19 eligibility rules. Starks, a dynamic middle blocker with small-town roots, has been to the NCAA tournament for every year of her career. That includes last year’s first-ever trip to the national semifinals in Columbus.
San Diego
This is the right year to be a Torero.
Kate Galvin piled up monster numbers throughout her career at Millard North–and she made it look easy, too. The Class of 2022 libero wrapped up her outstanding prep career and immediately went for a change of scenery at USD.
And Year 1 has been extraordinary. San Diego finished the season 27-1 and 18-0 in the West Coast Conference. That was nearly good enough to get a #1 seed and regional host, but the Toreros have a chance to prove themselves in a potential appearance in the Stanford regional.
South Dakota
The ‘Yotes will keep expanding their Nebraska presence for the next few years. For now, we have a quartet of players to discuss from this year’s team.
South Dakota has a pair of juniors from Nebraska in Papillion-La Vista’s Brooklyn Schram and Sidney’s Mattie Johnson. Schram held the starting setter role and has shown the same finesse and accuracy that we saw in her prep days. We also have to hearken back to the days when Johnson’s high-flying style helped put her western Nebraska squad on the map.
But when Schram went down with an injury late this season, another Nebraska prep legend had to step up. True freshman Madi Woodin has stepped into the setter spot after she seemingly set every assist record imaginable with Elkhorn South. South Dakota did not skip a beat with Woodin in the lineup and won yet another Summit League title to clinch a postseason bid.
A recognizable name from South Dakota’s sophomore class has also seen some action this year. Outside hitter Kylen Sealock made a habit of lighting up the stat sheet at Lincoln Pius X, and that ought to continue as she advances her career with the Coyotes.
These Nebraska natives will return to their home state to take on Houston in the first round of the Creighton sub-regional. What a reunion.
Central Florida
Finally, we hike all the way down to UCF for one more Nebraskan.
This isn’t the first time Central Florida has picked up a player from the Cornhusker State. Lincoln Southeast alum Nerissa Moravec wrapped up a successful career at middle blocker for UCF last year. Now, the five-time defending AAC champs have another Great Plains representative in freshman setter Abby Schomers.
Schomers saved her finest prep moments for last, as she played a brilliant stretch of postseason matches to help Skutt Catholic to the 2021 state title. Her work with Nebraska Elite was equally impressive, and there’s no wonder why the Knights decided to pick up this skilled setter.