2025 Rankings Full Stock Report
Over the past few days, we’ve talked a lot about new additions to our latest 2025 watch list update. However, we obviously had a lot of athletes on last year’s initial rankings that also made a big impact on the…
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Continue ReadingOver the past few days, we’ve talked a lot about new additions to our latest 2025 watch list update. However, we obviously had a lot of athletes on last year’s initial rankings that also made a big impact on the high school stage. Many of these players will make some noise in club ball, too.
So, we’re going to take one last tour around the 2025 rankings and give you a look at even more players that impressed us last fall. Better yet, we can tell you who to watch out for this winter.
On to the stock report.
Frontcourt Dominance
Truthfully, it was hard to know what to expect when we published our first Nebraska 2025 watch list before last fall’s high school season. We had a list of players who had made some headlines on a national club stage, and we also had some freshman names trickling onto varsity rosters. Even still, it was going to be interesting to see how our first group of watch-list athletes panned out.
Luckily, there were several names from this group that jumped out over and over in late 2021. We can start with Elle Heckenlively Elle Heckenlively 5'10" | OH Gretna | 2025 State NE , who had a stellar freshman campaign with Gretna. This middle blocker stepped into an experienced and talented Dragons lineup and never looked out of place. Her excellent attacking efficiency on the year aptly demonstrates the kind of dominant middle blocker she can become.
Shay Heaney Shay Heaney 6'2" | OH Elkhorn North | 2025 State NE is another player who belongs in the “stock up” category. It might be easy to compare Heaney to her older sister, Grace, but this 2025 outside hitter is carving out a path of her own. She’s developing a lethal swing on the left side and will surely become a leader for this Elkhorn North program very soon.
Speaking of leaders, Tia Traudt Tia Traudt 6'0" | OH Grand Island | 2025 State NE is probably a leader right now. She took central Nebraska by storm with her floor-denting kills and all-around skills with Grand Island Senior High. We saw her make those plays while playing a year up with VCNebraska last year, so this was all according to plan.
Also, keep an eye on Omaha Skutt middle blocker Kiera Link Kiera Link 6'1" | MB Omaha Skutt Catholic | 2025 State NE , who broke into the starting lineup several times for the Class B champion SkyHawks. Her physical traits undoubtedly make her a force at the net, but don’t lose sight of her work ethic and fearlessness — especially as a young player in a storied volleyball program.
Ball Control Phenoms
This is where we had a lot of “hits” from our initial 2025 list. There are some serious impact players here.
Keri Leimbach Keri Leimbach 5'4" | DS/L Lincoln Lutheran | 2025 State #40 Nation NE arrived at Lincoln Lutheran, claimed the libero jersey, and was one of the best passers and defenders at the state tournament regardless of class. Winning a Class C1 in her first year with the Warriors wasn’t bad, either! This libero is the real deal.
We could pile on to the list of defensive specialists who had a successful debut season. Anna Jelinek Anna Jelinek 5'9" | DS/L Norris | 2025 State NE emerged as the backcourt leader for Norris and quickly became a serve-receive anchor as a freshman. Similarly productive was Sierra Pokharel Sierra Pokharel 5'4" | DS/L Millard West | 2025 State NE , who took on a pivotal DS role with Millard South.
Don’t forget about the setters. Isabel Campie Isabel Campie 5'7" | S Omaha Marian | 2025 State NE looked very comfortable running the Omaha Marian offense as a first-year player. “Izzy” always has the drive to improve and will be a great leader for future Crusader teams.