Storylines and Standouts from the Skutt Invite
What a day of volleyball! It’s hard to give a brief summary of all the incredible plays and performances I saw at Omaha Skutt High School on Saturday. This is just what happens when you put a group of great…
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Continue ReadingWhat a day of volleyball!
It’s hard to give a brief summary of all the incredible plays and performances I saw at Omaha Skutt High School on Saturday. This is just what happens when you put a group of great teams together in one gym: you’re going to get a spectacular show.
Perhaps equally exciting for me was the opportunity to see a couple of teams from outside Nebraska. Seeing teams for the first time is always a thrilling experience.
So, after all this buzz, I managed to come up with some themes that stood out from the tournament. I’ll also be giving plenty of shoutouts to those players who impressed at what was arguably one of the top tournaments of the high school volleyball season.
Commits Everywhere…and Husker Heaven
If you want a good indicator of the level of talent at this event, let’s look at some of the college-committed athletes I got to see:
We’ll start with those out-of-state teams I mentioned earlier. St. Teresa’s Academy, from Kansas City, MO, has a great leader on the outside in senior Margaret McInerney Margaret McInerney 6'1" | OH St. Teresa's Academy | 2021 MO . The University of Chicago commit was effective on the left pin throughout the day. The same can be said of Payton Lombardi Payton Lombardi 5'5" | DS/L West Des Moines Valley | 2021 State IA for West Des Moines Valley, who, despite being slated to play libero at Tennessee Tech, showed some firepower as an outside hitter for the Tigers. While I was busy scouting these teams that I hadn’t yet seen in person before, these two really stood out.
Of course, there was a jaw-dropping number of committed players among the in-state schools, too. With Omaha Skutt, the list is seemingly endless. Allison Gray Allison Gray 5'9" | S Skutt Catholic | 2021 State NE , a 2021 setter bound for Arizona State, has exceptional control of her offense. Her tempo and deception are of immeasurable value to her team. Abby Schomers Abby Schomers 6'0" | S Skutt Catholic | 2022 State #94 Nation NE , meanwhile, showed a deadly arm at opposite. She’s capable of playing in the middle, too, so she’ll have plenty of opportunities to shine when she heads to Central Florida in a couple of years. While there’s understandably a lot of hype around Skutt’s hitters, don’t lose sight of Bre Skala Bre Skala 5'7" | DS/L Skutt Catholic | 2021 State NE . The Regis University commit anchored the backcourt from the libero position. What a luxury to have someone who can regularly pass dimes and make brave defensive plays.
A tight first set goes to @SkuttCatholicVB on a kill from @UCF_Volleyball commit Abby Schomers Abby Schomers 6'0" | S Skutt Catholic | 2022 State #94 Nation NE ! pic.twitter.com/3g2CsJVznE
— Austin Kingsley (@KingsleyATK) October 10, 2020
And, of course, Skutt wasn’t the only team at the tournament with a D1-bound setter. It was another great performance on Saturday for Ava LeGrand Ava LeGrand 5'11" | S Papillion-LaVista South | 2022 State #46 Nation NE , who will take her talents to Kansas State. My thoughts on Papio South are pretty straightforward: they have a roster full of players who will have a tremendous opportunity to play college ball. They just haven’t committed…yet.
Yes, there are two big names I haven’t mentioned yet. I’m getting there. Indeed, we got to see two #1-ranked players in their respective classes — and they’re both committed to Nebraska. Saturday’s tournament was one of the most complete performances I’ve seen Lindsay Krause Lindsay Krause 6'3" | OH Skutt Catholic | 2021 State NE put together. That says a lot. Her onslaught of floor-denting hits was just amazing. Speaking of big arms, we also saw Iowa’s #1 2022 prospect in Hayden Kubik Hayden Kubik 6'1" | OH West Des Moines Valley | 2022 State #11 Nation IA . Her attacks are surely incredible, but this future Husker needs to get a lot of credit for her passing. It’s spectacular. It was only fitting that we wrapped up the day with a duel between these two future teammates. Another slice of Husker Heaven in Omaha.
The pass and HEAT from Hayden Kubik Hayden Kubik 6'1" | OH West Des Moines Valley | 2022 State #11 Nation IA ! #Huskers @WDMValleyVB pic.twitter.com/19yYUgcZVz
— Austin Kingsley (@KingsleyATK) October 10, 2020
Uncommitted Talent
That’s a lot about the committed players, but what about the uncommitted talents? I could talk about this one forever.
Lincoln East has a pair of long, athletic front-row players to watch. Annalee Ventling-Brown Annalee Ventling-Brown 6'1" | MB Lincoln East | 2021 State NE and Brooklyn Fuchs Brooklyn Fuchs 6'2" | MB Lincoln East | 2023 State NE paired up for plenty of blocks throughout the event. Their size and strength paired well with the hard-hitting attack of players like Brooke Peltz Brooke Peltz 5'8" | S Lincoln East | 2021 State NE and Delaney Novy Delaney Novy 5'7" | OH Lincoln East | 2021 NE on the outside.
Nice swing on the right from Annalee Ventling-Brown Annalee Ventling-Brown 6'1" | MB Lincoln East | 2021 State NE for @LincolnEastVol1! pic.twitter.com/k6YHczFeCr
— Austin Kingsley (@KingsleyATK) October 10, 2020
For St. Teresa’s Academy, 2023 outside hitter Reagan Fox Reagan Fox 6'2" | OH St. Teresa's Academy | 2023 State #104 Nation MO was hard to miss. She’s already very seasoned in the way she approaches and swings. Fox gets up high, and she is only going to get better. Being six-foot-two doesn’t hurt, either.
West Des Moines Valley largely runs their offense through the pins, but don’t forget about Brenna Gion Brenna Gion 5'11" | MB West Des Moines Valley | 2023 IA and Anna Bernhard Anna Bernhard RS Valley | 2021 State IA in the middle. These middles were particularly disruptive in stuffing all of the strong pin hitters that were in the gym Saturday. Big celebrations usually followed those massive blocks.
Another middle that impressed all day was senior Aliah Clarke Aliah Clarke 5'10" | OH Papillion-LaVista South | 2021 State NE for Papio South. Like Gion and Bernhard, Clarke was a blocking machine. A roofing company, if you prefer. In any case, she was the anchor to a very stout Titan defense.
Aliah Clarke Aliah Clarke 5'10" | OH Papillion-LaVista South | 2021 State NE hammers the overpass for @PLSouthTitanVb! pic.twitter.com/JGyU5Jedq6
— Austin Kingsley (@KingsleyATK) October 10, 2020
The last name I’ll mention here is Morgan Burke Morgan Burke 5'10" | S Skutt Catholic | 2023 State #132 Nation NE . This 2023 prospect has found a solid and vital role in the Skutt offense. She’s just so versatile that you can’t keep her off the floor. Burke crushed balls on the left, right, and I know she can also set. I’ve seen it all. Skutt has a ton of seniors, of course, but be on the lookout for their rising young stars.
Stingy Defense
My one last shoutout goes to the defense!
What else can I say? The defensive effort and skill on display Saturday was tremendous. It comes from a combination of talented defensive specialists and do-it-all six-rotation hitters. The tournament had a lot of both.
Papio South always makes great use of its corps of amazing defenders that includes Harlei Cole Harlei Cole 5'6" | DS/L Papillion-La Vista South | 2022 State NE , Andjelija Petrovic Andjelija Petrovic 5'5" | MB Papillion-LaVista South | 2021 NE , Kynley Sis Kynley Sis 5'8" | DS/L Papillion-La Vista South | 2021 NE , and libero Delanie Vallinch Delanie Vallinch 5'7" | DS/L Papillion-LaVista South | 2021 State NE . They’ve all been so steady this year. Lincoln East gets great passing from Novy and Peltz at the outside hitter spot.
Overall, the long rallies I saw on Saturday were indicative of some incredibly strong defensive rosters.
This rally 😳😳@PLSouthTitanVb @STAsports pic.twitter.com/4OxspB8v5L
— Austin Kingsley (@KingsleyATK) October 10, 2020
After all that excitement, you know I can’t wait to hit the road again. See you then.