Class B Volleyball Players Making an Impact on the Bball Court

Several top-notch volleyball players are also showcasing their athleticism on the basketball court this week at the Nebraska High School Girls State Volleyball Tournament March 1-4th in Lincoln. Many teams who were successful this fall on the volleyball court have carried that winning momentum to the basketball court. Here is a look at some of the dual sport standouts.   In Class B Elkhorn North is the top seed and is coming off a State Runner-Up in volleyball this fall. The Elkhorn North girls are so athletic and their success on both the volleyball court and basketball court proves they are the team to beat in only their third year in existence as a school.   6 '2 " Senior and Purdue volleyball commit [player_tooltip player_id='59201' first='Grace' last='Heaney'] uses her length to help her on the basketball court. Heaney hammered 443 kills this past fall and had a monster game in the finals to Omaha Skutt with 23 kills in the loss. Heaney is so athletic and jumps well and blocks have a hard time getting around her when hitting from the pin. On the basketball court she is smooth and defenses have a hard time guarding her. Oh, and she is good at track as well. Grace is one that can literally do it all and do it well.   5'8” Junior and Northern Iowa volleyball commit [player_tooltip player_id='109593' first='Reese' last='Booth']. She is a spark plug out on the basketball court. Her high volleyball IQ, leadership, and communication skills carry over from running the offense as a setter to being a guard on the basketball floor. Reese is aggressive and fun to watch on the basketball court too. Booth had 974 set assists for the Wolves this past fall. Booth does a phenomenal job of playing floor defense on the volleyball court. That defensive prowess extends to the basketball court as well. Look for the Wolves to defend their State Title this week in Lincoln.   5'7” Junior Defensive Specialist  [player_tooltip player_id='172561' first='Addison' last='Hatcliff'] from Beatrice. Hatcliff helped an improved Lady Orange volleyball team this year with 371 digs this past fall and has eclipsed 990 total digs for her career.  Hatcliff does a great job of reading her hitters. Her defensive mind is also evident on the basketball court as she had 6 steals against Bennington in the District final. Hatcliff is also a great shooter for the Lady Orange as well. Look for her to be a big leader going into her senior year on the volleyball court with some other veteran players around her.    5 '11 " Junior setter [player_tooltip player_id='172604' first='Kiera' last='Busboom'] from Beatrice: This lefty impressed at President's Day last week for Nebraska Juniors. She has a high volleyball IQ and is super competitive. She is tall and has long levers which enables her to block well on the pin hitters too. The lefty has some range on the basketball court too! Busboom led her team in total blocks with 35 this season and had 407 assists and 166 kills for the Lady Orange last season.    5'7” Sophomore outsider hitter [player_tooltip player_id='462535' first='Cynley' last='Wilkinson'] from York: This outside has some power! She hammered 311 kills last fall for the Dukes. She hits the line so well and can tool her blockers well for being a smaller outside. Cynley has a great jump float serve that just tails off at the end. She chipped in 32 ace serves last fall. On the basketball court she has a nice outside shot and can hit the three. Look for her to contribute to the Dukes at State Basketball this week! Keep this athlete on your radar! She also plays with a lot of energy!    Sophomore outside hitter Chloe Koch from York is a great shooter on the Dukes basketball team. She averages 8.9 points a game. On the volleyball floor she made her varsity debut this fall and had 66 kills and 120 digs for the Dukes. She transitions well on the pin and can jump well. She has good power for a sophomore. Look for her to continue to improve and be a force her junior year.    6 '0” Senior outside hitter [player_tooltip player_id='171630' first='Kara' last='Kassebaum'] from Waverly. Kara averages 4.5 points a game for the Lady Vikes basketball game. She had 298 kills and 26 ace serves for Waverly last year. Kara did a nice job of hitting line and working on tooling blockers. She also does a great job of reading blockers and defense by mixing up her shots by throwing a roll shot in there.    5'9” Junior outside hitter [player_tooltip player_id='172606' first='Karsyn' last='Leeling'] from Sidney: Leeling is a great athlete in three sports for the Raiders. Leeling has some range on the basketball court. She hammered 382 kills and had 45 ace serves for the Raiders this past fall. The Lady Raiders lost to Norris in the first round of the State Tournament in November. Leeling had 8 kills in the 3-set loss to the Titans. She has a tremendous arm swing and can hit the line so well. Karsyn is quick and powerful. She is also able to take some heat off and hit nice shots to keep defense off balance. She is really fun to watch compete!   These talented athletes not only shine on the volleyball court but will showcase their skills this week at the State Basketball tournament in Lincoln. It is so fun to watch these talented players compete at other sports at a high level. As the old saying goes, “Success breeds success.” Keep an eye on these players as they trade the white ball for the orange ball this week!

Several top-notch volleyball players are also showcasing their athleticism on the basketball court this week at the Nebraska High School Girls State Volleyball Tournament March 1-4th in Lincoln. Many teams who were successful this fall on the volleyball court have carried that winning momentum to the basketball court. Here is a look at some of the dual sport standouts.