Although Nebraska high school volleyball is still a few weeks out from district play, we have decided to crunch the numbers and determine which Cornhusker State volleyball programs have improved the most over a year ago.
With an incredible leap of 141 spots in MaxPreps' Nebraska Volleyball Rankings over last fall, Wallace earns top honors this week. The Wildcats concluded the 2021 season ranked 208th in the state of Nebraska after producing a 9-14 record. Krystal Sauser's program, however, has opened the 2022-23 season having won 17 of 20 matches.
Led by senior
Karlie Finley and junior
Kendyl Flaming, who have 166 and 157 kills, respectively, Wallace lists four players with at least 58 kills in 2022. Junior
Brooke Bryant is credited with 85 aces, while junior
Skyler Kuhlman has produced 58 kills. Flaming and Finley have combined for 33 total blocks to lead the way, while freshman
Kaley Sauser has been good for 315 set assists.
Kaley Sauser and Finley lead the Wallace defense with 139 and125 digs, respectively. Junior
Reagan Pelster, Kuhlman and Flaming have combined to dig up 273 enemy smacks.
Hartington Cedar Catholic recovered from a 10-23 mark a year ago and climbs 124 spots to 50th, claiming the No. 2 spot so far in 2021-22. Potter-Dix improved 116 spots and sits 112th as of Tuesday's ratings.
Paxton and Freeman round out the Top 5 with 112 and 110-rung improvements respectively. The Tigers are off to a 15-3 start, following a 13-16 campaign a year ago, and climbed to 85th in Tuesday's rankings. Freeman, meanwhile, has improved to 71st.
Classes A, C2, D1 and D2 are all represented in this week's Top 10. But that doesn't mean volleyball programs in Classes B and C1 aren't climbing the Nebraska Volleyball Rankings. Crete represents Nebraska's second largest classification with a 59-rung jump to 104th and is the 19th most improved volleyball program in the Cornhusker State this fall. Class C1's Ainsworth, meanwhile, improved 54 rungs to 79th.
Nebraska's Top 10 most improved high school volleyball teams
1. Wallace, +141 Final 2021 MaxPreps Rating (Record): 208th (9-14)
2022-23 MaxPreps Rating (Record): 67th (17-3)
2. Cedar Catholic (Hartington), +124 Final 2021 MaxPreps Rating (Record): 174th (10-23)
2022-23 MaxPreps Rating (Record): 50th (15-6)
3. Potter-Dix (Potter.), +116 Final 2021 MaxPreps Rating (Record): 228th (11-18)
2022-23 MaxPreps Rating (Record): 112th (17-2)
4. Paxton, +112 Final 2021 MaxPreps Rating (Record): 197th (13-16)
2022-23 MaxPreps Rating (Record): 85th (15-3)
5. Freeman (Adams), +110 Final 2021 MaxPreps Rating (Record): 181st (11-18)
2022-23 MaxPreps Rating (Record): 71st (13-7)
6. Dorchester, +107 Final 2021 MaxPreps Rating (Record): 253rd (7-20)
2022-23 MaxPreps Rating (Record): 146th (12-5)
7. Summerland [Clearwater/Ewing/Orchard] (Clearwater), +105 Final 2021 MaxPreps Rating (Record): 180th (12-18)
2022-23 MaxPreps Rating (Record): 75th (16-6)
8. St. Mary's (O'Neill), +93 Final 2021 MaxPreps Rating (Record): 166th (17-13)
2022-23 MaxPreps Rating (Record): 73rd (13-2)
9. Bayard, +92 Final 2021 MaxPreps Rating (Record): 152nd (20-12)
2022-23 MaxPreps Rating (Record): 60th (17-1)
10. Lincoln Southeast (Lincoln), +84 Final 2021 MaxPreps Rating (Record): 153rd (4-30)
2022-23 MaxPreps Rating (Record): 69th (11-10)
