Nebraska Bid Tracker: Premier 15 Gold’s Early Statement at WCQ
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Premier Nebraska 15 Gold’s long-awaited entrance to the qualifier stage did not disappoint. Sure, last weekend’s Windy City Qualifier was not our first look at 15 Gold against national competition. This team dazzled us at Triple Crown NIT while only…
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Continue ReadingPremier Nebraska 15 Gold’s long-awaited entrance to the qualifier stage did not disappoint.
Sure, last weekend’s Windy City Qualifier was not our first look at 15 Gold against national competition. This team dazzled us at Triple Crown NIT while only dropping one match. We knew Premier Nebraska was ready for the 15 Open race, and it all started in Chicago.
15 Gold met these lofty expectations by finishing runner-up at WCQ and immediately securing a trip to GJNC. Let’s get a good look at Premier Nebraska’s path to glory, as we may be looking at a championship frontrunner in this division.
Still Rolling
Perfection prevailed for most of Premier’s stay at WCQ.
15 Gold was tabbed as the #13 overall seed in 15 Open and the second-ranked team in its initial four-team pool. We’ll always harp on the unpredictability of the 15s age group, so cast those seeds aside for a moment. This is not an ordinary 13-seed.
Premier Nebraska defied its Day 1 placement by going 3-0, including a sweep victory over top-seeded TAV 15 Black Fifer. It wasn’t an easy trip, as evidenced by a 16-14 win in the third set against Adversity. Still, this was a firm early statement that put 15 Gold comfortably into the next round.
The matchup against TAV was just the first of several Texas tangles for Premier Nebraska. Round 2 featured tough contests against Austin Skyline and (North Texas’) Premier, but 15 Gold prevailed in both. Premier remained perfect with a win over Sky High. 6-0.
15 Open’s Gold pools featured the “Midwestern flair” we mentioned in the Easter Sunday primer. Premier Nebraska met Dynasty and HPSTL, clubs from the west and east sides of the Show Me State. Florida’s Tribe 15 Elite Cardinal was the odd one out.
Three Open bids were available in Chicago. That meant a bid could be claimed with an outright first-place pool finish or a win in a third-place match after placing second in pools. 15 Gold looked like a team that wouldn’t be settling for anything less than first.
Sunday started with a narrow three-set win over Tribe. Premier Nebraska seemed to use the momentum from this hotly contested victory to play even better volleyball as the morning progressed. 15 Gold roared past HPSTL for its second win, putting the team in a prime position among its peers. The Great Plains crew may not have needed a third victory to win the pool outright, but 15 Gold did it anyway. A dominant performance over Dynasty locked in a spot in the championship bout.
TAV ultimately got revenge in the final contest, but the big goal was checked off the list. Premier Nebraska 15 Gold seized its first opportunity for a GJNC bid.
The Future
Nebraska has its share of future stars in the Class of 2027. Many reside on Premier 15 Gold’s roster.
Where do we even start with this group? 15 Gold showed incredible balance, lineup flexibility, and individual versatility en route to this championship triumph. Let’s jump around the lineup.
Blocking was a noticeable strength in Chicago, and there’s plenty of credit to go around. The middles have a steady hand in this, so our first shoutouts go to Lyric Judson Lyric Judson 5'10" | MB Papillion-La Vista South | 2027 NE and Erin Cramer Erin Cramer 6'3" | MB Omaha Marian | 2027 NE . What an all-around duo for 15 Gold. Judson and Cramer have refined their blocking technique this year and are so quick to close from pin to pin. Then, you have to factor in their offensive contributions. These two are free to run some routes along the net, even while sharing the frontcourt with a right-side hitter. This variable threat gives 15 Gold’s middles a ton of open space in side-out situations. Good luck stopping this offense when good passes bring all attacking options into play.
Now that we’ve brought up passing, let’s talk about some defensive specialists. This is a very malleable position for 15 Gold, as many of its liberos have also played outside hitter. The contrasting jersey has been primarily anchored by Taylor McLeay Taylor McLeay DS/L Omaha Marian | 2027 NE , who brings extraordinary quickness to the libero spot. She often patrols the middle-back area in floor defense, an homage to her hitting background.
Aubree Fettin Aubree Fettin 5'8" | S Papillion-La Vista | 2027 NE is another important figure in 15 Gold’s defensive alignment, but her narrative evolved dramatically at WCQ. We saw all of Fettin’s familiar ball-control skills in the back row, but she also wielded her explosive arm as a six-rotation outside hitter. This was a true display of how fluid 15 Gold’s lineup can be, as Fettin suddenly burst onto the scene as a leading scorer. What a development.
15 Gold now has a wealth of left-side hitting options at its disposal, particularly as Papio South star Kam Bails Kam Bails 5'9" | OH Papillion-La Vista South | 2027 NE re-enters the mix. The wicked right arm of Reese Eilenstine Reese Eilenstine 5'8" | OH Elkhorn South | 2027 NE got some good work in Chicago, too. Any of the aforementioned players can make trips across the back row and further blur the lines of their “true” position.
And good luck figuring out what position to assign to Reagan Wallraff Reagan Wallraff 6'0" | MB Elkhorn North | 2027 NE . She can do it all. Her debut season with Elkhorn North showed how she can transform a match from the middle blocker spot. However, Wallraff has embraced a full-time outside hitter role with 15 Gold to ensure she can get as many swings as possible. Her range and length must be harnessed in every rotation. Don’t forget that Wallraff is passing plenty of balls to go with her terminal attack. This is not your standard middle blocker, or pin hitter, or whatever else!
Here’s one more player who wears multiple hats for 15 Gold: Ava Waters Ava Waters RS Gretna East | 2027 NE . We were primarily acquainted with Waters’ right-side attacking prowess when she competed with Gretna East in the school’s first-ever volleyball season. She still gets chances to terminate with Premier Nebraska, but 15 Gold also allows Waters to set the offense from the back row. The team’s rhythm never skips a beat with this multi-talented star taking the reins. When Waters is in the front row, Millie Mauch Millie Mauch 5'8" | S Bennington | 2027 NE steps in and keeps everything flowing. This is another Class B prep star who got plenty of reps as a freshman.
While we’re hanging out on the right pin, we’ll give a nod to Maddox Graves and Kaitlyn Huff Kaitlyn Huff 6'0" | RS Elkhorn North | 2027 NE at opposite. Physicality gets a major boost when either of these two makes an entrance. They can be used to relieve either setter in the front row or anchor a spot in the starting lineup. Lineup flexibility keeps expanding.
This is a long-winded way of demonstrating how stacked Nebraska’s 2027 class is becoming. Premier Nebraska 15 Gold becomes the third Great Plains team to secure an Open bid, after Nebraska Elite 15 Revolution (NLQ) and VCNebraska 15 Elite (MEQ). The next few seasons are going to be really, really good.
The Tracker
18 Open
Premier Nebraska 18 Gold (KC MLK)
18 National
VCNebraska 18 Elite (GPR)
18 USA
Premier Nebraska 18 Black (NLQ)
18 American
Banzai VBC 18 Select (GPR)
18 Freedom
Club Legacy 18 Alpha (GPR)
17 Open
Nebraska ONE 17 Synergy (WCQ)
17 USA
Nebraska ONE 17 Black (WCQ)
Premier Nebraska 17 Black (WCQ)
15 Open
Nebraska Elite 15 Revolution (NLQ)
Premier Nebraska 15 Gold (WCQ)
VCNebraska 15 Elite (MEQ)
15 USA
Premier Nebraska 15 Black (NLQ)
15 Liberty
VCNebraska 15 Black (MEQ)