Nebraska's early season top prep volleyball performances of 2015

Video: Grace Volk's highlights vs. Nebraska City High

With the first weekend of volleyball in the books in the state of Nebraska, we have decided to comb through the MaxPreps volleyball stat leaderboard to see what kind of numbers popped out.

While Alexa Mustard of Lincoln North Star and Arlington's Grace Volk were inspiring the fans of their respective schools with some rather large numbers, equally impressive was the play of Aurora standout Keri Oswald, who posted numbers large enough to get recognized twice on this very early September Top 10.

And who could forget Omaha Concordia setter Jenna Spellerberg's performance as she and her teammates were finishing off Columbus Scotus 3-0 last weekend? We know we won't. But there are still other performances that have raised the bar on the competition in the early going, and below is a rundown of Nebraska's Top 10 volleyball performances.


1. Alexa Mustard, North Star (Lincoln), 5-6, junior, setter
Mustard's performance in a 3-2 loss to Lincoln Southwest on Sept. 3 gets our nod as the Cornhusker State's finest single-match performance to date because she put up some mind-boggling numbers, especially in her areas of expertise. The 5-foot-6 junior was responsible for digging up 26 enemy attacks while also setting up her own attackers for 43 kills. Mustard wasn't content to stop there. She added a couple of blocks, an ace and a pair of kills to her stat line.

2. Grace Volk, Arlington, 5-9, sophomore, setter
One could argue that Volk's outing in a 3-2 loss to Platteview on Sept. 3 was every bit as dominant as Mustard's. And it was really close. The sophomore dished out 47 assists to Eagle attackers and dug up 16 enemy balls. Volk buried seven kills herself and was credited with a block and three aces.

3. Jenna Spellerberg, Concordia (Omaha), 5-5, junior, setter
Similar to her team's dominant three-set sweep of Columbus Scotus on Sept. 3, Spellerberg was unstoppable. Kiley Hansen's junior setter was credited with 45 set assists, 11 digs, a block, an ace, nine points scored at the service line and a pair of kills as her team jumped out to another fast start.

4. Keri Oswald, Aurora, 5-8, junior, setter/right side
As Aurora was getting its season off to a quick start, Oswald was dominating York in a 3-0 win on Sept. 3. She set up Husky hitters with 40 set assists and contributed three kills of her own, an ace, seven points served and 12 digs.

5. Keri Oswald, Aurora, 5-8, junior, setter/right side
This is not a typo. Oswald has been double good early in the year. Just one day after hounding the Dukes, Oswald helped batter Lincoln Pius X 2-1 in third-round action of the Beatrice Invitational on Sept. 4. Coach Lois Hixson's junior setter added 36 more set assists to her season total and was credited with three kills, eight service points, a pair of blocks and 10 digs.

6. Taylor Crandall, Papillion-LaVista South, 5-7, senior, setter
The Titans staked their claim to No. 1 with a 2-1 win over No. 2 North Platte on Sept. 5, and Crandall played a huge role in the giant early season win. Coach Brad Reichmuth's senior setter denied the Bulldogs by setting up 35 Titan kills and slapped a pair of her own points to the floor. Crandall also put up a couple of aces, a pair of blocks, nine digs and served up eight points for the state's No. 1 team.

7. Macey Mathis, Valentine, 5-6, senior, middle hitter
Valentine may have come up short in a 3-1 loss to Winner (S.D.) on Sept. 3, but it wasn't because of a lack of effort from Mathis. And the senior probably had the floor burns to prove it after digging up 36 enemy attacks. Mathis was also credited with nine blocks, an ace, five points from the service line and six kills.

8. Abbey Rohde, Wallace, 5-9, senior
Rohde was on top of her game from the service line, at the net and in the back row during Wallace's 3-0 sweep of South Platte on Sept. 4. While getting a hand under 31 enemy attacks and serving up eight points for the Wildcats, Rohde swatted home 13 kills for coach Elizabeth Hock. The senior was also credited with an assist and a pair of blocks.

9. Olivia Nicholson, North Platte, 6-0, senior, middle hitter
Nicholson and her Bulldog teammates are off to a fast start in 2015 partly because of the huge stat line the senior put up on two-time defending Class A champion Omaha Marian in a 2-1 North Platte triumph on Sept. 4. The Colorado State commit slammed 15 kills to the floor and was credited with 13 digs and 13 points from the service line during the crucial early-season win. Scorekeepers also chalked up a pair of blocks and an assist to Nicholson's line.

10. Ashlyn Power, Lincoln Christian, 5-8, junior, setter
Power did a little bit of everything in Lincoln Christian's 2-1 loss to Grand Island Central Catholic in a battle of Crusaders on Sept. 3. Vikki Power's junior setter hounded GICC for 16 kills, a pair of aces, four points from the service line, a block and seven digs.