Nebraska's Top 18s Take On GJNC in Phoenix

The 18s finale is almost here. Time to give a big sendoff to some Nebraska athletes who have given us so much great volleyball over the years. Phoenix is this year’s host for the 18s Girls Junior National Championships, and we’ll have a lot of Nebraska teams making the trip down to the desert to compete in this final showcase of 18s talent. The Cornhusker State obviously has a lot of recent history with taking 18s titles, so let’s meet the next candidates to carry on that winning tradition.   Premier Nebraska 18 Gold I still think back to the wild weekend that 18 Gold had at NLQ to get to this point. All those hard-fought wins in Omaha showed the resilience, experience, and trust that permeates this tight-knit team. Premier is about to set its sights on another 18 Open championship. Keep an eye on the ball control phase for 18 Gold, as this has often been the rock-solid core of this team’s success. It’s also something that gets contributions from just about every position. [player_tooltip player_id="58782" first="Shaylee" last="Myers"] and Skyler McCune are always a vital part of this team’s backcourt defense, while [player_tooltip player_id="58775" first="Estella" last="Zatechka"] and [player_tooltip player_id="58779" first="Ella" last="Hazen"] will lock down serve receive in their defensive specialist roles. I’ve also been impressed with how well [player_tooltip player_id="37552" first="Sydney" last="Conner"] and [player_tooltip player_id="88293" first="Liv" last="Reitsma"] have stepped up at the setter spot to form a two-headed machine that distributes well to 18 Gold’s attacking options. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> Ticket punched! It was a long, wild weekend for <a href="https://x.com/Premier_18Gold?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Premier_18Gold</a>, but they’re heading to the 18 Open finals at NLQ! <a href="https://t.co/LZIJUrP8hr">pic.x.com/LZIJUrP8hr</a> — Austin Kingsley (@KingsleyATK) <a href="https://x.com/KingsleyATK/status/1488229552744591360?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 31, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>   Premier Nebraska 18 Black It’s "double trouble" for Premier Nebraska with 18 Black lurking in the 18 American field at GJNCs. And, unsurprisingly, we can see a lot of the same strengths with 18 Black that we just discussed regarding 18 Gold. [player_tooltip player_id="58807" first="Kobie" last="Patten"] and [player_tooltip player_id="58800" first="Taylor" last="Bunjer"] are two left sides that are always present in the team’s passing and defense. If it’s not those two making big plays in serve receive, you can expect [player_tooltip player_id="82209" first="Kate" last="Galvin"] and [player_tooltip player_id="82270" first="Presley" last="Liberty"] to be the ones stepping up. Setter [player_tooltip player_id="88309" first="Jayna" last="Hope"] is quickly progressing as a leader for this squad, and [player_tooltip player_id="134934" first="Marisa" last="Lootens"] has done the same as a setter/opposite. Again, versatility is not in short supply with this bunch, and I’ll be interested to see which lineups are deployed on the Nationals stage.   VCNebraska 18 Elite 18 Elite might be finding its rhythm at just the right time. The final weekend of the Midwest Power League in Lincoln showed what this high-flying squad is capable of. [caption id="attachment_191337" align="alignright" width="446"]<img class="wp-image-191337" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2022/04/IMG_8535-crop-3358x2205-1650397371-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="446" height="293" /> Haith attacks for 18 Elite.[/caption] It’s a roster full of recognizable names that have made a persistent impact on the Nebraska prep scene. [player_tooltip player_id="58771" first="Shayla" last="Meyer"] has recently demonstrated her ability to terminate on either pin, while [player_tooltip player_id="58791" first="Masa" last="Scheierman"] has made some big strides on the left side. And, speaking of two-setter systems, [player_tooltip player_id="58796" first="Hannah" last="Allick"] and [player_tooltip player_id="58801" first="Karli" last="Symonsbergen"] have created quite a formidable duo this year and will keep that momentum going in Phoenix. Don’t sleep on the middle blocker spot, either, with [player_tooltip player_id="58777" first="Regan" last="Haith"] and [player_tooltip player_id="88299" first="Alexis" last="Gates"] leading the charge there. VCN is part of the 18 National division this year, and we’ll be keeping close tabs on the schedule release for this group.   Nebraska Elite 18 Crossfire 18 Crossfire will bring an exciting lineup of multi-talented players to Phoenix when the team competes in the 18 Liberty division this weekend. Marissa Brown and Karlee Rogokos have quickly emerged as a pair of very reliable attackers for this team, while [player_tooltip player_id="105769" first="Paisley" last="Gibson"] also brings six-rotation skills to the fold. [player_tooltip player_id="151142" first="Kaitlin" last="Thiebauth"] is another player that can thrive in the middle or on the right, so the lineup possibilities for this team are extensive. That versatility is bound to pay dividends at GJNC, and I’d expect Nebraska Elite to have a stout showing in Phoenix.   Nebraska ONE 18 Black Finally, we’ve got to watch out for Nebraska ONE 18 Black among the 18 Freedom competitors. 18 Black’s players know how to compete at a high level. [player_tooltip player_id="58792" first="Brianna" last="Lemke"] has been one of the most prolific scorers in Nebraska’s 2022 class, so watch out for her final outing with 18 Black this weekend. Lincoln Lutheran teammates [player_tooltip player_id="82463" first="Raegan" last="Holle"] and [player_tooltip player_id="82465" first="Molli" last="Martin"] have also been consistent standouts for this squad, and their abundance of high-pressure experience is well documented. The moral here is that you’ll want to get a broad view of the 18s GJNCs divisions. There’s some Nebraska influence just about everywhere.