Top Performing Upper Classmen DS/Ls at Nebraska Top 250 Expo

<p>Good defense is vital to the success of any volleyball team. The skills needed to master the defensive specialist position include exceptional ball control, outstanding digging skills, great serve/receive skills and good passing. They must always be on the ball and have great focus. They also need to make successful defensive plays. Every one of the athletes in attendance today at the Prep Dig Top 250 Expo in Nebraska was way above average in skills on the court and had unique skills. Let's look at these defensive specialists from the upper classes in Nebraska who stood out at the expo today.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='396740' first='Marin' last='Brummond']</h2>   <p>Brummond is a 5'9" junior defensive specialist from Skutt Catholic. Brummond looks like a well-trained and practiced athlete. She has a great platform, awesome footwork, and never gives up on the ball. She moves quickly on the court and is anticipatory about where the ball is going to go so she can be prepared to intercept it when a hitter is attempting a kill. She is a good defensive player and has a high volleyball IQ.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='730415' first='Gabrielle' last='Jacobs']</h2>   <p>Jacobs is a 5'4" junior DS/L from Sidney High School in Sidney, Iowa. Jacobs was impressive all day long with her one-handed digs and consistency moving around the court and bringing the ball back into play. She has a great platform, consistent and good serves including a couple of aces, and is a verbal athlete which is important when organizing a team. She covered where she needed to be and was quite quick about it, helping her team immensely while scrimmaging. She is an impressive athlete.</p>   <figure class="wp-block-image alignleft size-thumbnail is-resized"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/07/97-Sophia-Miller.jpg?w=150&h=150&crop=1" alt="" class="wp-image-576631" style="width:158px;height:auto" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">[player_tooltip player_id='575173' first='Sophia' last='Miller'], DS/L from Buena Vista HS, class of 2027.</figcaption></figure>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='575173' first='Sophia' last='Miller']</h2>   <p>Miller is a 5'2" sophomore defensive specialist from Buena Vista High School. Miller has great hands for setting the ball, has a great platform for digging the ball, and has a keen eye for the court and determining where everyone is and where they are going. She has a high volleyball IQ and an instinctive feel for the game. She is well practiced and trained well. She moves like a pro and can serve with skill, set well, dig like nothing will stop her, and is a gem on the defensive part of the court.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='521215' first='Mary' last='Bahle']</h2>   <p>Bahle is a 5'5" sophomore defensive specialist from Omaha Westside High School. Bahle is the kind of player who will help her team in any way that she can. If you need a setter, she can do that. If you need a defensive specialist she can do that too. If you need someone to sacrifice their body to dig up a ball so her team can continue playing, she can and will do that too. She is a great team player and has all of the skills to go with her assigned position of a defensive specialist. This means she can dig, she can set, she can get low to the ground and back up so fast it will make your head spin. She has low serves and gets some aces with her deceptively simple attempts. She is an awesome athlete and was impressive at the expo and I cannot wait to see her development in a couple of years when she is ready to graduate.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='728658' first='Brooke' last='Krienke']</h2>   <p>Krienke is a 5'5" sophomore DS/L from Scotus Central Catholic High School. Krienke sacrificed her body about ten times today and dove under the ball to get it up to her setter with accuracy. She saved a ton of points that the other team was trying to earn and made her side of the net look very good. I loved watching her amazing, one-handed digs and saves all day long. Her effort and success were consistent all day at the expo. If soccer has not been played by Krienke, she should try it out because she looked like a great goalie as well as a great defensive specialist!</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='726868' first='Braeli' last='Myers']</h2>   <p>Myers is a 5'4" defensive specialist from Omaha Westview's sophomore class. Myers has a great platform, and quick feet, and makes smart adjustments on the court as she learns the other team's offensive skills and tricks. She has no fear and moves under the bigs to dig when they are attempting to hit so a block doesn't knock them out of the set. She moves with speed and agility and has some great moves! </p>   <p></p>

Good defense is vital to the success of any volleyball team. The skills needed to master the defensive specialist position include exceptional ball control, outstanding digging skills, great serve/receive skills and good passing. They must always be on the ball and have great focus. They also need to make successful defensive plays. Every one of the athletes in attendance today at the Prep Dig Top 250 Expo in Nebraska was way above average in skills on the court and had unique skills. Let's look at these defensive specialists from the upper classes in Nebraska who stood out at the expo today.