Career Highlights from Premier 18 Gold, GJNC’s 18 Open Runner-Up

These athletes left an indelible, permanent mark on Nebraska’s volleyball landscape. It’s hard to believe their prep journey has ended.

As if this Premier Nebraska 18 Gold group hadn’t given us enough thrilling moments over the years, the team made one final splash with a second-place finish in the 18 Open division at GJNC. It was an extraordinary display of the team’s “clutch factor,” as well as its ability to adapt to changing circumstances. Two younger players–16 Gold outside hitter Shay Heaney Shay Heaney 6'2" | OH Elkhorn North | 2025 State NE and 15 Gold setter Millie Mauch Millie Mauch 5'8" | S Bennington | 2027 NE –were called to fill in and did an incredible job in doing so. We’ll have more on this pair in the coming weeks.

For now, though, this feature is a look back at the 18 Gold players who have wrapped up their prep careers with a wealth of memorable moments to their credit. The team’s usual starters, with the exception of 2024 libero Olivia Mauch Olivia Mauch 5'7" | DS/L Bennington | 2024 State #50 Nation NE , will all depart for their college destinations in a matter of weeks. They’ll undoubtedly keep the good times rolling once they’re back on the court, but I wanted to take one final opportunity to reminisce. Before we look ahead toward the future, let’s revel in the past.

Here are some of my career highlights from the outgoing members of Premier Nebraska 18 Gold, this year’s runner-up in GJNC’s 18 Open division.

Evolution

It’s a fact of club volleyball: teams undergo changes from year to year. This version of 18 Gold is a culmination of constant evolution that took shape over several seasons.

I started writing for Prep Dig back in the spring of 2020, so this is the first class that I’ve been able to cover from 15s all the way to 18s (and graduation). If you hop into the time machine to 2020, you can find a lot of familiar faces on 15 Gold that played a crucial role in the 18 Open runner-up triumph three years later. Stella Adeyemi Stella Adeyemi 5'9" | OH Papillion-LaVista South | 2023 State #95 Nation NE was lighting it up on the left pin, and Grace Heaney Grace Heaney 6'2" | RS Elkhorn North | 2023 State #33 Nation NE did the same on the right. Kenzie Dyrstad locked down the libero spot and delivered dimes to setter Ivy Leuck Ivy Leuck 5'8" | S Skutt Catholic | 2023 State NE , who also got her share of reps as a frontcourt opposite. And lest we forget about the middle blocker position, which featured a lethal combination of Kailey Hrbek Kailey Hrbek 6'2" | MB Elkhorn North | 2023 State NE and Alanna Bankston Alanna Bankston 6'1" | MB Millard West | 2023 State #68 Nation NE .

The composition of this roster hit a major inflection point before the team’s foray into 17s competition in 2022. Olivia Mauch Olivia Mauch 5'7" | DS/L Bennington | 2024 State #50 Nation NE joined the squad from Nebraska Elite alongside teammate Destiny Ndam-Simpson Destiny Ndam-Simpson 6'1" | OH Omaha Westside | 2023 State #37 Nation NE , providing instant boosts in both ball control and all-around offense.

But the platooning didn’t stop there. This is also when Brooklyn Fuchs Brooklyn Fuchs 6'2" | MB Lincoln East | 2023 State NE joined 17 Gold after starting her club career at VCNebraska. It’s a bit of a hike to commute from eastern Lincoln to Premier Nebraska, but this middle blocker was about to make the trip worth it.

Adding this strong trio also had ripple effects for the rest of the lineup. In particular, we saw Bankston spend more time on the pin, where she could also show off her ball control skills as a primary passer. Dyrstad, meanwhile, played a vital role as a substitute for any pin hitter that needed relief on a particular day.

This new configuration would set the stage for many months of dominance and memorable moments.

The Biggest Stages

Let’s address some of the most significant accomplishments we saw from these incredible athletes. Bear with me as I jump around from club to high school for a while.

But it’s only fair to start out on the club side, where the revamped group we just described came out of the gates swinging in 2022. The start of the 2022 calendar year was my chance to start diving into club events full-time, and the year started with January’s Northern Lights Qualifier in Omaha. This event was also our first chance to see how 17 Gold meshed under the bright lights, and the team certainly passed the first test. With the exception of their contests against 1st Alliance 17 Gold–that year’s eventual GJNC champion–17 Gold rolled through the NLQ field en route to an early bid. Get those Nationals plans started early.

Despite the quick triumph, we didn’t expect this squad to let off the gas for the rest of the 17s season. My other standout moment from 17 Gold in 2022 was the perfect run to a Show Me Qualifier championship. And this perfection entailed not dropping a single set in the ultra-competitive Open division. Watching 17 Gold take over Kansas City was something to behold, and it was a stark reminder of the team’s high ceiling.

We have to remember that volleyball is almost a year-round grind for these athletes, and the rigors of the 2022 club season quickly transitioned into senior year of high school. It should be no surprise that such a stacked club team produced similarly dominant prep results in these swan song seasons.

Every athlete on this year’s Premier 18 Gold roster appeared in the NSAA State Volleyball Tournament last fall. That’s the kind of stat that immediately gives you pause. Three athletes won walk-off championships, with Leuck representing Omaha Skutt Catholic and the pair of Adeyemi and Dyrstad adding a title to Papillion-La Vista South’s docket. Six of 18 Gold’s nine players appeared in the state title match in their respective class, which is perhaps the most incredible stat of all.

Leuck joins an ever-growing list of Skutt Catholic alums who never lost in the state tournament. Fittingly, it seemed like this multi-talented athlete saved her best volleyball for the very end. Talented setter-opposites like Leuck can take over matches in a variety of ways, and that’s exactly what we saw last November. Few players in the tournament boasted Leuck’s wide-ranging impact.

Adeyemi pitched in for Papio South’s three state championships in the past four years. Dyrstad, meanwhile, won titles with the Titans during both of her years with the program after transferring in as a junior. Both of these standouts were clearly fan favorites–Adeyemi for her high-flying kills and Dyrstad for her sprawling plays in the backcourt. The 40-0 season in 2021 will always be a major highlight for this duo.

This is also where we need to give a shoutout to Elkhorn North, led by Heaney, Hrbek, and Reese Booth Reese Booth 5'7" | S Elkhorn North | 2024 State NE , who was part of this 18 Gold group until she stayed down with the 17s this year. The Wolves climbed to the 2021 state semifinals in just their second year of existence, but it just got better after that. Elkhorn North was Class B’s top seed in last year’s tournament and came up just short of a title after playing an unforgettable classic with Skutt Catholic. Heaney and Hrbek have a permanent place in Elkhorn North lore as the team’s first graduating class, and they helped place the program on the map at an incredible pace.

Every one of 18 Gold’s players has unforgettable stories of high school glory. We can’t forget about Fuchs helping Lincoln East last fall to its first state tournament appearance in 15 years. Of course, Bankston and Ndam-Simpson gave us monster performances at the outside hitter spot for their respective teams.

Next

Of course, high school graduation is not the end of the line for any of these players. Get ready for the next level.

A couple of 18 Gold’s 2023 graduates will be staying close to home for their college destinations. Leuck will be headed to the University of Nebraska Omaha, where she can continue her combined role as a setter and an opposite can continue. The Mavericks have had a wealth of recent success with in-state players, and there’s even more reason to get excited about this program. UNO will participate in the widely publicized match in Memorial Stadium, an event that has already sold out with almost 90,000 tickets purchased. What a way to usher in a college career.

Ndam-Simpson is also heading just down the road to Creighton, a program that is racking up Big East championships lately. The team’s success with homegrown pin hitters speaks for itself, with all-American performers like Jaela Zimmerman (Malcolm) and Norah Sis (Papillion-La Vista) being stark examples in just the past couple of seasons.

The Big Ten gets on the board with Heaney (Purdue) and Dyrstad (Rutgers), and both could have immediate impacts on their respective programs. Not only will Heaney and Dyrstad have reunions on opposite sides of the net, but being in the Big Ten also entails return visits to the homeland to face the Huskers.

Bankston heads to Louisville, a team coached by former Husker legend Dani Busboom Kelly. The Cardinals also have a long-term agreement to face the Huskers in non-conference action, so a Bankston homecoming in Nebraska should also be in the cards (no pun intended). Bankston’s flexibility in the frontcourt gives Louisville so many options, and this will be a fun storyline to follow in the coming months and years.

Others on the 18 Gold roster are branching way out from their Nebraska roots. Keep an eye on Fuchs, who is departing for Lipscomb, a perennial ASUN frontrunner. And head down to Florida to see Hrbek, who will represent Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.

And you can’t get much farther out than Adeyemi’s college destination on the island of O’ahu. The Papio South legend fits the mold of so many successful Rainbow Wahine outside hitters of years past, so it’s safe to say that Adeyemi is in good hands with this Big West powerhouse.

The Memory Bank