Early-Season Check-in with Nebraska’s Top 2025 Liberos
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Defensive talent is plentiful in Nebraska’s Class of 2025. Yesterday, we started a bit of a “prelude series” to our upcoming rankings updates on the Nebraska site. Our first feature focused on some of the state’s top 2025 setters, and…
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Continue ReadingDefensive talent is plentiful in Nebraska’s Class of 2025.
Yesterday, we started a bit of a “prelude series” to our upcoming rankings updates on the Nebraska site. Our first feature focused on some of the state’s top 2025 setters, and we’re ready to carry on that motif into another feature. Today is all about the defensive specialists, a position that has so many elite standouts in the 2025 class.
Here’s our early-season check-in on this star-studded group.
A Synergous Squadron
Nebraska ONE 16 Synergy has an enviable platoon of defensive specialists. But we’ve known that for a while, right?
This unit is still led by Keri Leimbach Keri Leimbach 5'4" | DS/L Lincoln Lutheran | 2025 State #40 Nation NE , our top-ranked overall player in Nebraska’s 2025 class. This skilled libero has already proven that there are few things she can’t accomplish, from winning two state titles in her first two years with Lincoln Lutheran to getting podium finishes at qualifiers like NLQ and Show Me.
But it takes more than just the libero to make a stout defensive unit–and especially a unit as stellar as 16 Synergy. Zoe Rademacher Zoe Rademacher 5'6" | DS/L Norris | 2025 State NE , a Lincoln East prep standout, has maintained her valuable role as a primary defensive specialist who makes her mark in the middle-back area. She is also unusually long for a backcourt defender, meaning Rademacher can make some long-range saves from outside her midline.
And 16 Synergy’s talented backcourt personnel just keeps expanding. Harper Gable Harper Gable 5'10" | DS/L Norris | 2025 State NE and Sierra Crist are two more names to keep an eye on in this unit, though it would be unwise to exclusively label them as defensive specialists. We saw Gable play a frontcourt role during Synergy’s run to the Show Me Qualifier title last year, and Crist has seemingly played every position under the sun in early-season action. But when this pair is in the backcourt, it bolsters the team’s end line even more.
Finally, there’s Anna Jelinek Anna Jelinek 5'9" | DS/L Norris | 2025 State NE , an athlete who has prep libero experience with Norris but is firmly entrenched as an outside hitter for 16 Synergy. It’s hard to overstate the value of a six-rotation hitter who could absolutely be a defensive specialist at the next level. That’s the kind of leadership Jelinek brings, and it’s hard to find many 16s teams with a better ball control unit than Nebraska ONE.
Club-by-Club Depth
That’s a lot about Nebraska ONE, but there’s significant 2024 libero depth across the board from Nebraska’s top clubs.
You can start with Premier Nebraska, whose 16 Gold group is absolutely loaded now that Sierra Pokharel Sierra Pokharel 5'4" | DS/L Millard West | 2025 State NE has joined the fray. Pokharel has long been a frontrunner among Nebraska’s 2025 defensive specialists, but she had been maintaining that status while playing up before this season. She joins a group that already had Rya Borer Rya Borer 5'1" | DS/L Norris | 2025 State NE , an agile defender who compiled quite a highlight tape during last year’s action. She and Pokharel have already been quite a tandem that will keep 16 Gold in the bid conversation.
And it’s easy to count on other Premier Nebraska defenders stealing the spotlight all the way down the 16s ladder. Keep an eye on players like Gabby Lund Gabby Lund 5'7" | DS/L Gretna East | 2025 State NE , Georgia Sinnett Georgia Sinnett 5'8" | DS/L Millard West | 2025 State NE , and Karrigan Gangwish.
Nebraska Elite has its own libero star power with players like Melody Mayer Melody Mayer 5'7" | DS/L Omaha Marian | 2025 State NE and Isabel Junior Isabel Junior 5'8" | DS/L Elkhorn South | 2025 State NE . This pair has been a formidable force that can trade spots in the backcourt and not skip a beat. If 16 Maverick wants to repeat last year’s Open breakthrough, this libero tandem will just need to stay on its regular upward trajectory.
Of course, we can’t forget about the up-and-coming talent competing with VCNebraska, either. Olivia Kremer Olivia Kremer 5'11" | DS/L Lincoln Southwest | 2025 State NE is one of several athletes that will have a big say on the 16s race in the Midwest, and that’s only just scratching the surface of VCN’s depth. Look for more impact players to arise as we quickly approach our next rankings update.