2024 Setters to Follow after Nebraska’s State Championships

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Like the <a href="https://prepdig.com/2022/11/more-liberos-to-follow-after-nebraskas-state-championships/" data-type="URL" data-id="https://prepdig.com/2022/11/more-liberos-to-follow-after-nebraskas-state-championships/">state championship liberos</a> we just featured, quality setters could be found in every quadrant of this year's postseason bracket.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In case you missed it, we've finished up our discussions of state title-winning teams and expanded our scope to find the best talent throughout Nebraska's state championships. There's a reason why I camp out to watch postseason volleyball for four straight days. Standouts are not limited to the teams that win it all!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>So, it's time to give a few more setters their due credit.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>2024s Back in the Spotlight</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"align":"right","id":247790,"width":462,"height":303,"sizeSlug":"full","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image alignright size-full is-resized"><img src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2022/11/IMG_0949-scaled-crop-1851x1216-1668799646.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-247790" width="462" height="303"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Hickey sets for Papillion-La Vista in the 2022 state championships.</figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Many of the best setters in the 2022 state tournament had already been on this championship stage, and the Class of 2024 is well represented here.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='109586' first='Reagan' last='Hickey'] of Papillion-La Vista is a good example. The junior standout has been in a starting role since the dawn of her prep career, and Hickey's Monarch team is still a mainstay in postseason action. Papio was on the cusp of earning a bid to the Class A title match this November. It feels way too early to look ahead to next year, but Hickey might lead a championship frontrunner in 2023.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Nebraska Christian continued its run of tournament appearances behind the steady hands of junior setter [player_tooltip player_id='152907' first='Ali' last='Bruning']. This remarkable consistency has come even as the Eagles recently climbed the classification ladder from D2 to D1. Bruning's name has been a regular sight atop Nebraska's assists leaderboard, and her continued leadership could keep Nebraska Christian in the postseason conversation next year.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Bruning's club teammate, [player_tooltip player_id='187798' first='Caylee' last='Rowley'], set Waverly to another tournament appearance despite a new-look Vikings lineup. You can draw a lot of parallels between Rowley and Bruning in the way they're both able to push the tempo and play outstanding floor defense in the right-back area.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>And the list of 2024 prospects just keeps growing. We just talked about how stacked Nebraska's 2024 libero class is, but the setter position deserves a similar distinction.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Lincoln Southwest junior [player_tooltip player_id='104989' first='Malayah' last='Long'] took a huge step forward in 2022--a year that included her commitment to Marquette. We've all heard that chatter about Omaha metro schools dominating Class A for a while now. Still, Lincoln Southwest has evolved into a persistent championship contender behind Long's multi-year leadership. The junior has added another tournament appearance to her resume, and she's not done yet.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Like Long, Elkhorn North setter [player_tooltip player_id='109593' first='Reese' last='Booth'] has already made it known that she's D1-bound in 2024. The Northern Iowa commit ran the dynamic, up-tempo Wolves offense that few teams could slow down this fall. Regardless of what next season brings, Booth will always be considered one of the key engineers to Elkhorn North's rise to the top in just a few years.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>And how about Gothenburg junior <strong>Ashlyn Richeson</strong>? A couple of years ago, it would have been unthinkable to mention a Gothenburg athlete in a section about players returning to the state championships. But the Swedes made their first-ever state tournament appearance in 2021 and followed that up with a berth in this year's Class C1 title match. Richeson showed a knack for setting up Gothenburg's wealth of talented hitters and deserves a lot of credit for this unprecedented surge.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='172600' first='Keira' last='Hennerberg'] of Diller-Odell is another small-town talent to keep an eye on. The Griffins have had a great run of skilled setters in the program over the past few years, and Hennerberg has helped keep the team's winning tradition alive.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"align":"right","id":247794,"width":462,"height":303,"sizeSlug":"full","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image alignright size-full is-resized"><img src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2022/11/IMG_1978-scaled-crop-1503x987-1668800203.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-247794" width="462" height="303"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Florell sets for Overton in the 2022 Class D2 state championship match.</figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='105005' first='Ashlyn' last='Florell']</strong> of Overton is yet another 2024 setter in Class D2 who has seen a wealth of success in postseason play. This year is certainly the best outing of Florell's career, as she set the Eagles to an appearance in the state championship match and catalyzed Overton's strong, balanced offense. It's safe to say that we'll have many more repeat appearances from this Class of 2024 group in next year's tournament, so learn all these names while you can!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Tournament Newcomers</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We've already covered a broad list of 2024 setters who made a repeat appearance on the postseason stage, but several others were new additions to this year's bracket.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Lincoln East made an appearance in the state tournament for the first time in nearly a decade and a half, and junior setter [player_tooltip player_id='109601' first='Aaliyah' last='Bradford'] had a lot to do with this breakthrough. Bradford led a steady offense that got production from every frontcourt position, giving opposing blockers a lot to think about when facing the Spartans. A similar core group, led by Bradford, will be back in the blue and white next season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A pair of Class B teams broke through to this year's tournament behind junior setters. Seward's <strong>Libby Kratochvil</strong> and Bennington's <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='179361' first='Madelyn' last='Uhlir']</strong> faced off in a fascinating quarterfinal match this season after both tallied over 10 assists per set in the regular season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The small-town teams are well-represented here, too. <strong>Alissa Brabec</strong> of St. Mary's elevated her team to the #7 seed in this year's D2 bracket, and <strong>Kaira Niederklein</strong> represented sixth-seeded Meridian in the D1 tournament. Up in Class C2, Southwest's <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='104990' first='Bryn' last='Lampe']</strong> was another one of this year's persistent frontrunners on Nebraska's assists leaderboard. If you want to claim that this was the year of the junior setter, I'm not about to argue with you.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->