Nebraska Teams Ready to Start 18s Bid Chase in Kansas City

It’s bid season. Buckle up.

Unsurprisingly, our earliest qualifier events of 2023 largely encompass the 18s age group at events featuring top-tier teams across the board. Some heavy hitters from the Midwest will be at this one, offering a good litmus test for talented 18s squads from the Great Plains Region.

Here’s the breakdown heading into one of the biggest mid-January events of the year. It all starts here.

Premier Nebraska 18 Gold

Premier 18 Gold’s competition in Kansas City is reminiscent of the field it faced en route to a bid at last year’s Northern Lights Qualifier.

Dynasty 18 Black and Front Range VBC 18-1 Black reside in Premier Nebraska’s three-team pool to open Saturday’s slate. Though Premier didn’t face Front Range in last year’s NLQ, the Nebraska squad started off Gold pools with an emphatic victory over Dynasty. I’d argue that the Dynasty win was the turning point that propelled Premier to a 17 Open bid that weekend. Now, this Nebraska-KC battle is rekindled on Dynasty’s home turf in the 18s age group. This should be good.

18 Gold’s lineup of superstars has one final season together before the 2023s leave to compete on the biggest stages in collegiate volleyball. Premier has a wealth of options on the left side with Alanna Bankston Alanna Bankston 6'1" | MB Millard West | 2023 State #68 Nation NE (Louisville), Stella Adeyemi Stella Adeyemi 5'9" | OH Papillion-LaVista South | 2023 State #95 Nation NE (Hawai’i), and Destiny Ndam-Simpson Destiny Ndam-Simpson 6'1" | OH Omaha Westside | 2023 State #37 Nation NE (Creighton) all capable of playing six rotations at that spot. Purdue commit Grace Heaney Grace Heaney 6'2" | RS Elkhorn North | 2023 State #33 Nation NE will dominate on the opposite pin. Don’t lose sight of the backcourt players, either, as Olivia Mauch Olivia Mauch 5'7" | DS/L Bennington | 2024 State #50 Nation NE (Nebraska) and Makenzie Dyrstad Makenzie Dyrstad 5'7" | DS/L Papillion LaVista South | 2023 State NE (Rutgers) are just as vital to 18 Gold’s success.

Premier Nebraska 18 Black

Indeed, Premier Nebraska is bringing another entry to the fold with 18 Black hunting a bid in 18 USA.

It’s hard to believe we’re seeing the final prep moments from this team’s players. Shealie Wiebers Shealie Wiebers 5'9" | RS Papillion-La Vista South | 2023 State NE is fresh off a final championship run with Papillion-La Vista South, and fellow setter Skylar Walters Skylar Walters 5'9" | S Millard West | 2023 State NE has had her share of moments on the big stage, too. Papio South gets another representative in the frontcourt with Ava Greene locking things down in the middle.

18 Black has a two-day pool gauntlet to get through before its future slate is decided. Tulsa Power, MAVS, and CIA open things up on Day 1 before OK Charge and Ozark Juniors await the following afternoon’s contests. It’s undoubtedly a tough group that will likely bring out the best in 18 Black this weekend.

Nebraska ONE 18 Black

It’s double trouble from the Great Plains region in 18 USA.

Nebraska ONE 18 Black is joining the fray in this division and has plenty of recognizable names on its roster. State champion setter Elecea Saathoff Elecea Saathoff 5'9" | S Lincoln Lutheran | 2023 State NE has a wealth of offensive options in the frontcourt, including outside hitters Alexa Gobel Alexa Gobel 5'11" | OH Lincoln Southwest | 2023 State NE and Lanie Brott Lanie Brott 6'0" | OH Lincoln Pius X | 2023 State NE . 2024 libero Teagan Little Teagan Little 5'8" | DS/L Lincoln Southwest | 2024 State NE has also made the move to Nebraska ONE this year, providing a fascinating new dynamic to 18 Black’s backcourt.

Similar to our discussion of Premier Nebraska’s 18 USA pool, this will be a challenging wave of opening matches for Nebraska ONE. Top Flight, OP2, and OTVA will face 18 Black on Saturday, while HPSTL and Pohaku highlight the Sunday slate.

Club Legacy 18 Alpha

I’m really excited to see how this Club Legacy group stacks up in 18 American.

My anticipation was elevated when 18 Alpha put together an admirable showing at last week’s season-opening Elite Classic. We saw the high-flying pin offense from Evie Howard Evie Howard 5'6" | DS/L Bennington | 2023 State NE , the smooth setting from Keira Murdock Keira Murdock 5'8" | RS DC West | 2023 State NE , and the ever-effective floor defense of Emmalee Sheppard Emmalee Sheppard 5'4" | DS/L Fremont | 2023 State NE . This Club Legacy roster is stacked full of athletes who have made an extraordinary impact on the high school stage, and there’s a serious opportunity to do the same in club.

It all starts Saturday with matchups against WLegacy, STATC, and Allegiant.

Nebraska ONE 18 Lime

18 Lime marks a second entry from the Nebraska ONE camp, and this group will join Club Legacy in 18 American.

This is an intriguing roster that features a variety of notable names, including Hannah Schilz and Jaidyn Bell Jaidyn Bell 5'4" | DS/L Milford | 2024 State NE . It’s always tough to predict outcomes in early-season tournaments, so let’s see if 18 Lime can have a big breakthrough.

It all starts when the team faces Landshark, KC Twisters, and Apex in opening pools.