2021 Season Retrospective: Star Seniors Make Their Mark at State
In this article:
Nebraska’s Class of 2022 is special. It’s time to give a nod to the seniors who helped pave the way throughout their high school careers. Heavy-Hitting Outsides There are so many names we could cover here. The Class of…
Access all of Prep Dig
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingNebraska’s Class of 2022 is special. It’s time to give a nod to the seniors who helped pave the way throughout their high school careers.
Heavy-Hitting Outsides
There are so many names we could cover here. The Class of 2022 had no shortage of high-impact outside hitters that dominated the high school scene for a long time.
Kali Jurgensmeier Kali Jurgensmeier 6'1" | MB Bishop Neumann | 2022 State NE wrapped up her career at the state championships this year. The Bishop Neumann product is an exciting outside-middle hybrid player who will add plenty more kills to her total at the next level.
Jurgensmeier is part of a great group of 2022 outside hitters that hail from places not named Lincoln or Omaha. Ashley Keck Ashley Keck 5'9" | OH Kearney Catholic | 2022 State NE displayed her ability to take over matches last week when she shined in Kearney Catholic’s tournament run. Of course, Bailey Helzer Bailey Helzer 5'11" | OH Oakland-Craig | 2022 State NE did the same for C2 champion Oakland-Craig, and Shayla Meyer Shayla Meyer 6'1" | OH Superior | 2022 State #185 Nation NE helped her Superior team to the big stage on multiple occasions. Mead also had a great year and an appearance in the tournament behind several big performances from Brianna Lemke Brianna Lemke 6'0" | MB Mead | 2022 State NE .
Venture into the big-city metros and you’ll obviously find more senior outsides who have put together years of standout moments. Ella Waters Ella Waters 6'3" | OH Norris | 2022 State NE helped her team to multiple Class B championship match appearances at Norris. Shaylee Myers Shaylee Myers 6'0" | OH Lincoln Southwest | 2022 State #199 Nation NE was a gamechanger for Lincoln Southwest, and Skylar McCune Skylar McCune 5'9" | DS/L Gretna | 2022 State #53 Nation NE had a similar impact on Gretna.
Duos, Trios, and More
We spend a lot of time highlighting individual performances here, but volleyball is obviously a team sport. Groups of players come together and make each other better. We can demonstrate that with some of the great 2022 teammates that had tons of success playing on the same side of the net.
Elkhorn South owes a lot to its group of seniors. Madi Woodin Madi Woodin 5'6" | S Elkhorn South | 2022 State NE rewrote the record book several times during her career. She was assisted by great backcourt play from Estella Zatechka Estella Zatechka 5'8" | DS/L Elkhorn South | 2022 State #54 Nation NE and Katie Galligan Katie Galligan 5'6" | DS/L Elkhorn South | 2022 State #162 Nation NE . The middle blocker spot was experienced, too, with Mia Mroczek Mia Mroczek 6'2" | MB Elkhorn South | 2022 State NE and Kaitlin Thiebauth Kaitlin Thiebauth 5'10" | RS Elkhorn South | 2022 State NE making big strides during the 2021 season.
Millard West will think back fondly on the careers of their departing seniors. Sadie Millard Sadie Millard 5'9" | MB Millard West | 2022 State NE , Ella Hazen Ella Hazen 5'8" | DS/L Millard West | 2022 State NE , Maddie MacTaggart Maddie MacTaggart 5'10" | OH Millard South | 2022 State NE , Kylah Brewer, Sidney Linder, and Lulu Ahl helped put the Wildcats on the map and ended their tenures in the state championship match. That should serve as a launching point for future Wildcats to carry on this success.
Class B champion Omaha Skutt showed plenty of senior cohesion, too. The connection between Abby Schomers Abby Schomers 6'0" | S Skutt Catholic | 2022 State #94 Nation NE and Ava Heyne Ava Heyne 6'1" | OH Skutt Catholic | 2022 State NE was so fluid throughout the tournament. These two are sure to find success at their Division 1 destinations.
Of course, Skutt faced some heavy resistance in pursuit of that title. In the semifinal round, the senior trio of Bekka Allick Bekka Allick 6'3" | MB Waverly | 2022 State #7 Nation NE , Hannah Allick Hannah Allick 5'6" | S Waverly | 2022 State NE , and Karsen VanScoy Karsen VanScoy 5'4" | DS/L Waverly | 2022 State NE showed that they can step up in a big match with their season on the line.
The Class B runner-up also had a large senior contingent. I’ve already mentioned Waters, but Maisie Boesiger Maisie Boesiger 5'5" | S Norris | 2022 State #198 Nation NE and Sydney Jelinek Sydney Jelinek 5'10" | OH Norris | 2022 State NE were equally impactful in Norris’ long stretch of success. Their production will be difficult to replace, even for an elite Titans program.
Sutton’s senior class cannot be overlooked as the Fillies made a huge charge to the C2 title match. Reagan Vavricek had a particularly productive week as she helped her team overcome several big deficits throughout the tournament.
Then, there’s the Class D1 and D2 stars that I’ve been raving about all week. Ellie Baumert Ellie Baumert 6'1" | S Malcolm | 2022 State #159 Nation NE had a perfect conclusion to her great career as a setter-hitter for Howells-Dodge. I also think back to the crucial serving run from senior captain Brooklyn Macholan that lifted the Jaguars to a five-set win in the semifinal match against Nebraska Christian.
In D2, the success of Falls City Sacred Heart’s senior corps has been well-documented. Erison Vonderschmidt Erison Vonderschmidt 6'0" | RS Falls City Sacred Heart | 2022 State NE and Rachel Magdanz Rachel Magdanz 5'8" | S Falls City Sacred Heart | 2022 State NE connected so well throughout. Taylor Frederick, Emma Frederick, and Lauren Malone were also indispensable contributors who were always there to make a big play in clutch moments. That is, after all, what seniors do.