High school volleyball: Grand Island tops Nebraska's most improved programs

Although Nebraska high school volleyball is still a few weeks out from district play, we have decided to go ahead and crunch the numbers to determine which Cornhusker State volleyball programs have improved the most over a year ago.

With an incredible climb of 147 spots in MaxPreps' Nebraska Volleyball Rankings over last fall, Grand Island earns top honors this week. The Islanders concluded the 2020 season ranked 200th in the state of Nebraska after producing a 2-24 record. Marcus Ehrke's program, however, has opened the 2021-22 season having won 13 of 24 matches.

Led by freshman Tia Traudt and sophomore Haedyn Hoos, who have 249 kills apiece, Grand Island lists five players with at least 76 kills in 2021. Senior Emma Smith is credited with 98 ace swats, while juniors Rylie Huff and Kaiden Dahmer have produced 97 and 76 kills respectively. Dahmer and Huff have combined for 61 total blocks, while senior Claire Kelly has been good for 646 set assists.

Sophomore Jaylen Hansen and Traudt lead the Grand Island defense with 265 and 225 digs respectively. Sophomore Lauren Taylor and Hoos have combined to dig up 301 enemy smacks.

Sumner-Eddyville-Miller recovered from a 9-16 mark from a year ago and climbs 122 spots to 65th, claiming the No. 2 spot so far in 2021-22. Chase County also climbed 122 spots and sits 26th as of Tuesday's ratings. The Mustangs claim the No. 2 spot due to improving their won-loss record 9 ½ games compared to Chase County's 6-game improvement in wins and losses.

Fairbury and Omaha Nation round out the Top 5 with 113 and 112-rung improvements respectively. The Jeffs are off to a 14-6 start, following a 7-22 campaign a year ago, and climbed to 75th in Tuesday's rankings. Omaha Nation, meanwhile, has climbed to 159th.

Classes A, C1, C2, D1 and D2 are all represented in this week's Top 10. But that doesn't mean volleyball programs in Class B aren't climbing the Nebraska Volleyball Rankings. Holdrege represents Nebraska's second largest classification with an 80-rung jump to 104th and is the 15th most improved volleyball program in the Cornhusker State this fall.

Nebraska's most improved volleyball programs

1. Grand Island, +147
Final 2020 MaxPreps Rating (Record): 200th (2-24)
2021-22 MaxPreps Rating (Record): 53rd (13-11)

2. Sumner-Eddyville-Miller (Sumner), +122
Final 2020 MaxPreps Rating (Record): 187th (9-16)
2021-22 MaxPreps Rating (Record): 65th (16-4)

3. Chase County (Imperial), +122
Final 2020 MaxPreps Rating (Record): 148th (15-14)
2021-22 MaxPreps Rating (Record): 26th (17-4)

4. Fairbury, +113
Final 2020 MaxPreps Rating (Record): 188th (7-22)
2021-22 MaxPreps Rating (Record): 75th (14-6)

5. Omaha Nation (Macy), +112
Final 2020 MaxPreps Rating (Record): 271st (2-10)
2021-22 MaxPreps Rating (Record): 159th (3-14)

6. St. Mary's (O'Neill), +106
Final 2020 MaxPreps Rating (Record): 240th (5-23)
2021-22 MaxPreps Rating (Record): 134th (12-5)

7. Winnebago, +106
Final 2020 MaxPreps Rating (Record): 241st (5-12)
2021-22 MaxPreps Rating (Record): 135th (7-8)

8. Minden, +94
Final 2020 MaxPreps Rating (Record): 139th (11-22)
2021-22 MaxPreps Rating (Record): 45th (17-7)

9. Bayard, +91
Final 2020 MaxPreps Rating (Record): 230th (12-18)
2021-22 MaxPreps Rating (Record): 139th (12-8)

10. Elmwood-Murdock (Murdock), +90
Final 2020 MaxPreps Rating (Record): 170th (14-19)
2021-22 MaxPreps Rating (Record): 80th (14-6)