Top Club Contenders Tune Up at Nebraska Elite Classic

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Welcome back, club volleyball.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Early-season regional tournaments are a perfect way to usher in a new club season. Teams experiment with lineups, build team chemistry, and see how they stack up with local rivals. The Nebraska Elite Classic offered a window into these points. Of course, it was also a way for us to get into midseason coverage form.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It's good to be back.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline">18s Making Moves</span></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We're pleased to see many of Nebraska's top 18s groups sticking together for one final journey.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Premier Nebraska 18 Gold emerged victorious in the 18 Gold pool and only dropped one set in Sunday's event. Nebraska Gatorade Player of the Year [player_tooltip player_id='155053' first='Charlee' last='Solomon'] returned to the dual setter-hitter role that made her so impactful with Papillion-La Vista South. 18 Gold settled into a two-setter offense that allowed [player_tooltip player_id='155046' first='Isabel' last='Campie'] to thrive as a backcourt distributor. Multi-position versatility was a theme along the net, as we saw [player_tooltip player_id='155044' first='Elle' last='Heckenlively'] at middle blocker and [player_tooltip player_id='155043' first='Shay' last='Heaney'] spend some time on the right.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[program_tooltip program_id='428717' first='Nebraska' last='ONE'] 18 Black kicked off the year with an impressive third-place showing in the same pool. Year-over-year consistency is helping this group, as the team can lean on familiar leading attackers like [player_tooltip player_id='342612' first='Sierra' last='Crist'] and [player_tooltip player_id='495061' first='Kate' last='Carnie']. Multi-year state champion [player_tooltip player_id='342613' first='Jillian' last='Donovan'] returns to pilot the offense.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Last weekend's event featured plenty of 18s depth with Nebraska Elite 181 and Nebraska Top Flight 18 Gold producing highlight moments. We were particularly excited to see [player_tooltip player_id='189370' first='Julia' last='Ringenberg'] operate with Elkhorn South teammates like [player_tooltip player_id='173520' first='Ava' last='Stone'] and [player_tooltip player_id='173519' first='Isabel' last='Junior'].</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline">16s Contenders Emerge</span></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sunday was a big day for a few of Nebraska's upstart 16s squads.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Of course, this event gave us our first in-person look at the new era of Synergy volleyball. [program_tooltip program_id='428717' first='Nebraska' last='ONE'] 16 Synergy challenged itself in the 18 Gold pool and narrowly knocked off the eventual champions in a three-set thriller. [player_tooltip player_id='445956' first='Reagan' last='Wallraff'] anchored one of the left side spots, continuing her extended stay at that position. 16 Synergy was also not afraid to leverage [player_tooltip player_id='498907' first='Nora' last='Herian'] in high-pressure situations, and the Pierce High School star delivered.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p lang="en" dir="ltr">This is also a new venue for [player_tooltip player_id='445956' first='Reagan' last='Wallraff'], the high-flying Elkhorn North attacker who can play middle or left side.<a href="https://twitter.com/We_are_NEONE?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@We_are_NEONE</a> 16 Synergy with some outstanding early reps in the Elite Classic. <a href="https://t.co/ZExAPqHAoE">pic.twitter.com/ZExAPqHAoE</a></p> <p>&mdash; Austin Kingsley (@KingsleyATK) <a href="https://twitter.com/KingsleyATK/status/1878463150338494612?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 12, 2025</a></p> </blockquote> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Premier Nebraska 16 Red was triumphant in the event's 16/17 Gold bracket. It was a drama-filled Sunday for this group with plenty of deuce sets and marathon rallies. [player_tooltip player_id='521185' first='Brynn' last='Rasmussen'] was a clutch attacker all day. We also have to give a shoutout to the libero platoon featuring [player_tooltip player_id='521192' first='Maddy' last='Stukenholtz'], [player_tooltip player_id='499010' first='Bailey' last='Ferguson'], and [player_tooltip player_id='521194' first='Martha' last='Lampe'].</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p lang="en" dir="ltr">Premier Nebraska will field a deep group of 16s teams in 2025.</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='521185' first='Brynn' last='Rasmussen'] dishes the out-of-system swing for <a href="https://twitter.com/premier16red?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@premier16red</a>. <a href="https://t.co/bxPzuiW75Y">pic.twitter.com/bxPzuiW75Y</a></p> <p>&mdash; Austin Kingsley (@KingsleyATK) <a href="https://twitter.com/KingsleyATK/status/1878472130712502782?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 12, 2025</a></p> </blockquote> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Nebraska Elite 16-1 went toe-to-toe with 16 Red on multiple occasions. Setter [player_tooltip player_id='458183' first='Kherington' last='Snider'] continues to demonstrate her mastery of the setter position. New key attackers emerged from this one, including [player_tooltip player_id='521212' first='Kayla' last='Brown'] and [player_tooltip player_id='499001' first='Madison' last='Phillips'].</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p lang="en" dir="ltr">Big early-season debut for Nebraska Elite 16-1, which qualified in GJNC's Open division last year.</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='499001' first='Madison' last='Phillips'] going to work on the right side. <a href="https://t.co/1oSW4C34ux">pic.twitter.com/1oSW4C34ux</a></p> <p>&mdash; Austin Kingsley (@KingsleyATK) <a href="https://twitter.com/KingsleyATK/status/1878469468789133634?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 12, 2025</a></p> </blockquote> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline">More Quick Hitters</span></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We'll leave you with a few more quick points to ponder.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>What about the 17s? Nebraska Elite 17-1 finished runner-up in 18 Gold and featured several new additions to the lineup. [player_tooltip player_id='276203' first='Anslee' last='Watters'] performed admirably on the left side, while [player_tooltip player_id='276195' first='Makenzie' last='Wingett'] was as dominant as ever in the middle.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Club Legacy 17 Alpha was also a standout in the 17s camp. [player_tooltip player_id='349466' first='Josie' last='Piernicky'] took a high volume of swings at Sunday's event and found ways to score when out of system.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Overall club depth around the region keeps improving. We watched Banzai VBC 16 Select make Sunday strides against tough competition. Nebraska Elite also welcomed SWI from across the river, giving us some Iowa representation in the Great Plains Region.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list -->