Nebraska commit Tiani Reeves leads Gothenburg volleyball toward uncharted land

Trying to slow down Gothenburg Super-State hitter Tiani Reeves can be a tall, intimidating task. Even Swede coach Jim Clark shutters at the thought.

"It's been so enjoyable coaching her," Clark said. "It's much better than having to coach against her, that's for sure. I'd be scared just because I wouldn't have an answer for her. I guess I could always hope for a roster full of 6-foot girls that can jump out of the gym and can get a hand on the ball."

Having known Reeves since she was young, Clark watched her grow up and develop on and off of the volleyball court. He had known for some time that Reeves was going to be a special player.

However, Clark was caught off guard, one day, when former Gothenburg volleyball player Emily Max showed up for a between seasons practice session. The eventual three-time All American, at Doane College, was steadily working on her game, when Reeves strutted into the gym.

Clark volunteered Reeves to play the role of menace as Max continued to slap at volleyballs. Clark's intent was to give Max someone to hit over and around. Reeves had other ideas and began to continuously block the Doane standout's attacks.

"Emily was so good," Clark reminisced. "She was one of the best. She was the best player to come through here. And there was Tiani – blocking her. I had no idea Tiani's hand height was that high at that time."

Skyscraper reach

Reeves has long arms and a skyscraper reach. The 6-1 senior also has a hammer for an arm and the tremendous hand speed to go with it.

Although a stress fracture early in her prep career kept the University of Nebraska walk-on out of the national limelight at the time, Reeves has since played club volleyball for Nebraska ‘One.'

"Honestly, I think it helped with my patience and I think it ultimately helped my game," Clark's latest star said of sitting the bench. "I guess it was an opportunity to take a step back and learn by watching. I didn't have to learn on the fly. But it was so hard. I wanted to play so bad."

Following the national exposure, Reeves did receive full ride scholarship offers from Iowa State, Kansas and Arkansas. But the lure of Nebraska volleyball, one of the nation's more intimidating programs, was far too much. Reeves turned down those scholarship offers for the opportunity to walk-on at the Big Ten power.

"I took the recruiting process very seriously," Reeves said. "We decided we were going to take it slow and take a good, long look at all of my opportunities. But, ‘there is no place like Nebraska,' right? It's hard to walk away from a program like that. It's home. I grew up here. I really liked that they place an emphasis on life after sports."

Reeves, who also competed in track and field at the high school and national level, through the Junior Olympics, said she thought Nebraska liked her athleticism and outgoing personality.

"I think they probably like my jumping ability and my reach," Reeves said. "I have really long arms. It's kind of weird. I think they liked it that I'm personable too. That I get along with people. I'm not shy. I think it helped that I was willing to put myself out there."

Fast start

Reeves and the Swedes are off to a fast 3-0 start in 2014-15. Having posted wins over Broken Bow (3-0) and Sutherland (2-0) and Southwest (2-1). The Nebraska scholarship hopeful has recorded 44 kills and is hitting .412 in this her final prep season.

She is second on the team in ace serves with seven, has dug up 30 balls and has 12 blocks. For her career, Reeves is hitting .288 and has 751 kills. Reeves has also dug up 494 balls, blocked 235 enemy attacks and rifled 80 ace serves to the floor.

Clark, who has been coaching at Gothenburg with his wife Mary for about 30 years, said he is still amazed at how quickly Reeves can cover the court.

"I can't speak for others," Clark said. " But what amazes me about Tiani is her speed on the court. If you're sitting there watching and you don't know anybody on the court, Tiani is the one you're going to notice. You can't help but notice her. She is so much quicker than anybody else out there.

"I know her. And I know what she is capable of. But she still amazes me with some of the balls she is able to get to."

Clark said that over the years he has been afforded the opportunity to coach and befriend some great athletes at Gothenburg, including Super Bowl champion Jay Novacek. He places Reeves in that same category of competitor.

"Never ever, ever underestimate a kid with the heart to go after her dreams," Clark said. "Tiani has drive. She has the ‘IT' factor. She has such drive that there is no doubt if she puts her mind to something, there is no road she can't travel.

"Tiani has had that drive from a very young age. She was that type of competitor when she was in grade school."

Kryptonite

In a way, her competitiveness may be her one weak link.

"If she has an Achilles heel it would have to be her desire and expectation to pound the ball for a kill on every play," Clark said. "That may be her kryptonite – that she doesn't score on every play. She jumps so high and she comes down on the ball so hard."

One of Reeves' finer moments at Gothenburg was helping her teammates upend volleyball super-power Ogallala for the first time last year. Although the Swedes finished 1-3 against their annual nemesis, they knew for the first time that Ogallala could be beaten.

"I think we finally got over the fact that they were Ogallala," Reeves said. "The coaches asked us if they were in different jerseys what would we think. We just went out and played hard and things happened."

As luck would have it, the Swedes have one more source of irritation to deal with. Clark's program has never qualified for the Nebraska state volleyball tournament, which will be held once again at the Devaney Center, in November.

"It's always a huge goal," Reeves said. "And it's always fun to be the first to do something. But it's always one step at a time. We just want to work hard and get better everyday in practice. If we can do that then our goal will be within reach.

"That would be crazy though. I could not imagine that. It'd be great to end my high school career at Devaney and then go there and play."