2023 Memories, Moments, and Storylines We’re Thankful For
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Nebraska has given us a lot in 2023. In the spirit of the holiday weekend, we’re looking back. Sometimes, amid the flurry of recruiting storylines and fierce competition, it’s nice to bring a wide lens and relive fun times. We’re…
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Continue ReadingNebraska has given us a lot in 2023. In the spirit of the holiday weekend, we’re looking back.
Sometimes, amid the flurry of recruiting storylines and fierce competition, it’s nice to bring a wide lens and relive fun times. We’re thankful for so many things—especially the opportunity to enjoy the ride alongside you.
Here’s a special holiday journey through the 2023 time capsule.
Bid-Hunting Breakthroughs
Remember the club season? What a time.
I’ll always welcome the idea of bringing as many Nebraska teams as possible into the GJNC spotlight. That wish played out perfectly in 2023, so that’s something we could be thankful for again and again.
We got the party started at the Northern Lights Qualifier with Premier Nebraska 17 Gold getting a repeat Nationals bid in Minneapolis. No surprises there. In the second wave of NLQ, we got to behold the drama-filled action that put both Nebraska ONE 16 Synergy and Premier Nebraska 16 Gold into the Open race. That tiebreaker chaos has to be one of the highlights of the 2023 calendar year, and those NLQ results marked big breakthroughs for both squads.
Premier Nebraska 15 Black also made its mark at the event with a 15 USA bid and a runner-up finish. The 15 Black roster turned out to be a preview of some impactful sophomores on the prep side, so I was thankful for the early look at this talented team.
The Show Me Qualifier brought its own wave of bid-earning triumphs. A “breakthrough” is an apt way to describe Premier Nebraska 15 Gold’s journey to an Open bid in Kansas City. This group had been through a series of close calls before, including the final pool gauntlet in Minneapolis. Kansas City was the venue for redemption, putting the new era of 15s stars on the map.
Speaking of 15s, we can’t leave out the Show Me championship delivered by South Central NE 15 Black in 15 Liberty. We eventually tabbed this group as the “small-town Nebraska super team,” which showed its prowess through momentous qualifier victories. It’s not the last we’d see of South Central in 2023, either.
Finally, the Great Plains Bid Tournament was its own spectacle that offered a final chance for teams to punch their ticket. Miraculous comebacks and three-set thrillers were a major theme here, demonstrated by teams like Nebraska ONE 15 Black and Premier Nebraska 17 Red. In the end, we had a healthy group of 16 teams representing the Great Plains Region at USAV Nationals.
GJNC’s Finest Outings
Two of the aforementioned teams will get another nod for their memorable performances at GJNC: Nebraska ONE 16 Synergy and South Central NE 15 Black.
I think we were all thankful for how well Nebraska ONE 16 Synergy represented the Cornhusker State on club volleyball’s biggest stage. Synergy had missed out on the final bracket the year before and strived for more in 2023. They accomplished their goal–and a lot more.
While other teams dominated with wicked firepower and unmatched physicality, 16 Synergy brought its familiar approach of up-tempo, low-error volleyball. It was effectively a demonstration of what Nebraska volleyball is perceived to be: gritty, fundamental, and unyielding. Nebraska ONE ended the year on the 16 Open podium in a huge referendum on this group’s will to win on the national scene.
South Central NE had its own podium moment in 15 Liberty. Again, this run was proof that every corner of Nebraska can produce players worthy of competing at club volleyball’s highest levels. South Central’s Chicago trip was characterized by a series of wild three-set wins and avenged losses from pool play, eventually generating unprecedented success for the central Nebraska club. That carried right into the high school season, where many of 15 Black’s players were back for the state championships, too.
The 2025 Recruiting Journey Begins
Once the summer arrived, it was time for the Class of 2025 to have its moment in the recruiting frenzy. Things moved quickly.
The first Nebraska athletes off the board were our top three players in the 2025 rankings. Lincoln Lutheran libero Keri Leimbach Keri Leimbach 5'4" | DS/L Lincoln Lutheran | 2025 State #40 Nation NE opted to stay in the Star City and become a Cornhusker. Leimbach’s club teammate, Lincoln Southeast middle blocker Natalie Wardlow Natalie Wardlow 6'5" | MB Lincoln Southeast | 2025 State #17 Nation NE , joined the Big Ten train with her Wisconsin commitment. To top it all off, we had another marquee in-state announcement with Omaha Westside opposite Ashlyn Paymal Ashlyn Paymal 6'2" | RS Omaha Westside | 2025 State NE heading to Creighton.
That initial wave was followed by additional high-profile pledges from Nebraska’s most dominant prep 2025s. D1 commits rolled in from Grand Island’s Tia Traudt Tia Traudt 6'0" | OH Grand Island | 2025 State NE (UNLV), Elkhorn North’s Shay Heaney Shay Heaney 6'2" | OH Elkhorn North | 2025 State NE (Grand Canyon), and Millard West’s Sierra Pokharel Sierra Pokharel 5'4" | DS/L Millard West | 2025 State NE (South Dakota). Nebraska ONE kept the commits rolling with Anna Jelinek Anna Jelinek 5'9" | DS/L Norris | 2025 State NE pledging to Long Beach State and Mattie Dalton Mattie Dalton 5'10" | OH Fremont | 2025 State NE announcing plans to represent North Dakota.
Commitments are the best part of any recruiting journey, so we’re always thankful for these moments. Better yet, there’s more still to come from the 2025s.
Class A Parity
On to the high school scene. How about that Class A season?
It’s hard to pick out a singular event or result that best demonstrated this year’s parity in Class A, but perhaps the state tournament came close. Just a look at the Class A postseason participants painted a good picture. We had three Lincoln squads and a Grand Island group in a class that has been historically dominated by the Omaha metro.
Then, the results started rolling in. Nothing says “parity” quite like a #8 seed over a #1 seed. The passion, energy, and competitiveness displayed in the quarterfinal bout between Papio and Papio South is why we’re so thankful for the high school season. There’s nothing like it.
Upsets kept rolling in as Bellevue West won its tournament opener as the #6 seed. It was the first semifinal bid for the Thunderbirds in almost two decades, so there’s another dose of parity for you.
In the end, it was a Class A season that ended with a Lincoln team on top–something that hadn’t happened since the beginning of the 21st century. We had grown accustomed to Omaha dynasties being the unstoppable force in the Class A bracket, but Lincoln Southwest was the one to fill that niche in 2023. Unpredictability and widespread parity is something that makes covering the high school season so much more exciting, and we’ll always be thankful for that. Let’s do it again next fall.
Small-Town Stardom
As if South Central NE’s club rise wasn’t evidence enough, the Nebraska high school season demonstrated that the level of play among small-town schools just gets better and better.
We’re immediately drawn to Minden, this year’s Class C1 champion. While we’re naming some big-time 2025 commitments here, the Whippets boasted one of their own with Wayne State-bound Mattie Kamery Mattie Kamery 5'10" | S Minden | 2025 State NE leading the way at setter and outside hitter. Kamery’s prep journey is proof that impactful athletes can come from anywhere and compete anywhere. She was also a vital catalyst for Nebraska Pride’s successful 2023 club debut, which is another demonstration of the talent base building in small-town Nebraska.
Minden was not the only small-town school to play incredible volleyball this year, especially with the Class C1 field being so deep. We have fond memories of this year’s Harvest Festival Invite, where Minden competed alongside other powerhouses like Kearney Catholic and Gothenburg. The focus on fundamentals and team cohesion among these teams was incredible to watch, and that carried all the way into the postseason in Lincoln.
Overton finally got its ring in Class D2. We felt like this moment was coming, especially with the kind of dominance the Eagles had shown in the regular season. One of the prevailing themes of Overton’s rise was their reliance on six-rotation contributors at nearly every position, including the middle blockers. If you like watching multi-talented athletes thrive, one of your best bets was a tiny powerhouse in Class D2.
Another shoutout is due for Sumner-Eddyville-Miller, Class D1’s #6 seed that had a similar mantra as Overton in the substitution department. All-around contributors took precedence as S-E-M went from underdog to champion. There’s no way we can capture the full scope of our 2023 journey without these hidden gems who dazzled us to cap off the fall campaign. It never gets old.