Nebraska 2025 Rankings Update: Liberos Dominate Top 50
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Time to start breaking down that top 50. Our latest update on the Nebraska 2025 rankings includes our first numerical rankings for this class. It’s worth mentioning that this is just the beginning of our journey with the state’s 2025,…
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Continue ReadingTime to start breaking down that top 50.
Our latest update on the Nebraska 2025 rankings includes our first numerical rankings for this class. It’s worth mentioning that this is just the beginning of our journey with the state’s 2025, and we’ll have so many more rankings updates in the coming months and years.
For now, our initial top 50 provides a preliminary glimpse at where things stand with Nebraska’s 2025s. As we look for trends in this group, one thing stands out: elite liberos are everywhere.
That warrants its own feature, so let’s do it.
At the Top
Most readers here have probably seen quite a few sets of volleyball rankings before. I know a lot of you are seasoned veterans in that area.
It’s no secret that liberos are not a common sight at the top of a rankings leaderboard. That applies to single-state lists and all-encompassing national rankings. Defensive specialists almost get a “downgrade” just by virtue of being defensive specialists, perhaps due to the position not having as much of a perceived impact as a pin hitter, middle blocker, or setter.
The Nebraska 2025 rankings features five liberos in the top 11. I realized when I submitted this list that it might be seen as simply defying a trend. However, there’s an alternate explanation that I tend to favor here: Nebraska’s 2025 liberos are just that good.
With that meta-discussion out of the way, let’s talk about these defensive specialists. Keri Leimbach Keri Leimbach 5'4" | DS/L Lincoln Lutheran | 2025 State #40 Nation NE checks in as our top-overall player in the 2025 class after she racked up an extraordinary list of accolades dating back to last fall’s high school season. If there’s a libero who could cast aside all those rankings trends and be the #1 player in a class, Leimbach is it. After leading the Lincoln Lutheran backcourt in a championship-winning freshman season last year, Leimbach continued her dominance with a fabulous club showing for Nebraska ONE.
Leimbach’s Nebraska ONE teammate, Anna Jelinek Anna Jelinek 5'9" | DS/L Norris | 2025 State NE , also emerges in our initial top ten. Of course, Jelinek’s role with Nebraska ONE this year was far beyond just back row responsibilities. She passes and defends like a libero but provided a crucial frontcourt spark with her low-error attacking style on the left pin. Like Leimbach, though, Jelinek claimed the starting libero spot as a freshman at a high school volleyball powerhouse. Her ball control skills will continue to shine with Norris this fall.
We’ll keep the club ties going with a couple of Premier Nebraska defenders who made the top ten. Sierra Pokharel Sierra Pokharel 5'4" | DS/L Millard West | 2025 State NE is a can’t-miss athlete who has regularly played up an age group for her Premier. Few 2025s boast as much high-level experience as Pokharel, as she played a pivotal part in helping 16 Gold claim a top-three finish at GJNC this year. The upcoming high school season presents another great opportunity for Pokharel to stay in the spotlight.
On Premier Nebraska’s 15s side, Rya Borer Rya Borer 5'1" | DS/L Norris | 2025 State NE has continued her rapid ascent into the 2025 libero conversation. She is yet another defensive talent for Premier who showed her best stuff at the season finale in Indianapolis, and Borer’s stock could keep rising in further updates.
Nebraska Elite also joins the party with Isabel Junior Isabel Junior 5'8" | DS/L Elkhorn South | 2025 State NE appearing near the top of the rankings in our initial top 50. Her 15 Matrix team showed its amazing potential by securing a 15 Open bid at GJNC, and Junior helped lead that charge in the contrasting jersey. Not only is this libero class stacked, but the talent is being distributed all across Nebraska’s clubs and teams.
More Quick Hitters
Let’s peruse the rest of the top 50 for more excellent defensive talent in Nebraska’s 2025 class.
Olivia Kremer Olivia Kremer 5'11" | DS/L Lincoln Southwest | 2025 State NE gets VCNebraska on the board in this position group. Her value with 15 Elite this year cannot be overlooked, and her impact with Lincoln Southwest could be even greater when the fall season begins.
Nebraska ONE 15 Synergy just keeps getting more defensive entries in these rankings. Lincoln East athlete Zoe Rademacher Zoe Rademacher 5'6" | DS/L Norris | 2025 State NE had a huge backcourt role with Nebraska ONE in 2022 as she built off a strong freshman campaign with the Spartans. Harper Gable Harper Gable 5'10" | DS/L Norris | 2025 State NE is also included in this conversation, and 15 Synergy wasn’t afraid to set her a few balls in the backcourt, either.
We can hop back to Nebraska Elite to find 15 Matrix defender Melody Mayer Melody Mayer 5'7" | DS/L Omaha Marian | 2025 State NE on this list. She specialized in middle-back defense this spring and is a natural choice to sub in for a left-side attacker. Once again, it looks like Omaha Marian will have a lot of young talent to work with this year.
Finally, it’s worth giving a shoutout to a couple of Premier 15 Black defenders who made the top 50. Gabby Lund Gabby Lund 5'7" | DS/L Gretna East | 2025 State NE and Georgia Sinnet worked so well as a backcourt tandem this season, and both of them traded time in the libero jersey, too. While they’ll spend the high school season facing off against each other, Lund and Sinnet have that natural chemistry that is so fun to watch on the club side.