Players That Won’t Let the Ball Drop: New Year’s Eve Edition

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>As the ball gets ready to drop on New Year's Eve these players work hard to not allow the ball to drop. Here is a closer look at some talented liberos and defensive specialists to keep on your radar regardless of class!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Class of ‘24 5'2” Libero [player_tooltip player_id='172607' first='Lainey' last='Benson'] </strong>out of Hastings High School. Benson was so impressive in the loss to #3 Norris in the District Finals this past fall. She was all over the court digging up Norris' impressive front line all morning. Benson does a fantastic job of reading hitters and has a really good platform to target. She is so scrappy and frustrates opponents by picking up hard hits or a short tip over the block. Lainey had 509 digs and 29 ace serves for the Tigers this past fall. She was definitely a floor leader out there!&nbsp; Look for her to have a stellar senior season.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Class of ‘24 5'4” Libero [player_tooltip player_id='104992' first='Jaidyn' last='Bell'] </strong>out of Milford High School and plays club for Nebraska One. Jaidyn does a great job of using her hands and reacting to balls. Bell had 307 digs for the Lady Eagles this past fall and chipped in 20 ace serves. She was also heavily targeted in serve receive averaging 15.4 receptions per match. Bell also does a great job of covering her hitters and pops up balls off of touches allowing her team more chances at the ball.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Class of ‘25 5'10” [player_tooltip player_id='155031' first='Zoe' last='Rademacher']:</strong> Rademacher out of Lincoln East and plays club for Nebraska One Synergy. She is really athletic and during the Top 250 Expo earlier this month she hit the ball really well when she played front row despite being listed as a defensive specialist or libero. Zoe is so versatile! She does a fantastic job of digging shots and keeping the ball in the middle of the floor. Zoe had 205 digs and chipped in 26 aces as a defensive specialist for the Spartans this past fall. Keep her on your radar for a variety of positions!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Class of ‘25 5'3” Isabella Vlasek:</strong> Vlasek out of Omaha Marian and plays for Club Legacy. Vlasek is a really strong and smart server. She can serve a float that dives right before the ten-foot line or sail to the back line and land perfectly in deep zone one. Then she will serve a float serve ace to the sideline zone five that just dies and has opponents looking at each other. She had 37 aces as a sophomore for the Crusaders this fall and 197 digs as a defensive specialist. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Class of ‘24 5'4” Libero [player_tooltip player_id='152865' first='Summer' last='Bojanski'] </strong>out of Fremont Archbishop Bergan and plays club for Hardblock. Bojanski is a talented multi-sport athlete, as she also plays basketball for the Knights averaging 8.4 points per game. You could tell she was a competitor in the State Semifinal game in November as she had 37 digs in the match against Amerherst. Bojanski was also targeted on serve receive and had only one error out of 24 attempts. Bojanski averaged 10.9 receptions per set. The Knights went on to win 3-1 and eventually lost in the State Final to undefeated Lincoln Lutheran. Summer does a fantastic job of getting a touch on every ball whether it is a pancake or a hard hit. She had 474 digs this past fall season and chipped in 54 ace serves. Bojanski is an overall phenomenal ball handler and athlete!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>All of these athletes are gritty and fun to watch! They keep opponents frustrated by digging balls. They also help their own offense by passing effectively in serve-receive and digging balls to the middle of the floor, allowing their setters to run the offense efficiently. Keep these players on your radar in the New Year!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->