By Lincoln Arneal
The 2023 Nebraska volleyball recruiting class officially signed letters of intent and finished with the top-ranked group according to PrepVolleyball.com. Not only did they cover all positions, but each is amongst the top three players at their position. The group has played matches with the Junior national team playing at the 2021 U18 World Championships, the 2022 Pan Am Cup.
NU coach John Cook called this class special and thanked assistant coaches Jaylen Reyes and Kelly Hunter for pulling together the Huskers’ second No. 1 class in the past three years.
“The bonds they formed on those teams have run deep,” he said. “We have been inspired being around them as they have big goals and they ‘Dream Big’. This group of athletes are super competitive, fun to watch, and they will raise the level of our gym.
Here are the current high school seniors who will join the Huskers in January after they all play in the Under Armour All-America game:
Harper Murray
6-2, outside hitter
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Skyline HS/Legacy Club
No. 2-ranked player by PrepVolleyball.com
Murray is an athletic outside hitter who can do everything on the court. She’s amassed more than 2,000 kills in her prep career. In addition, she has a quick arm and big hops. She’s averaging more than six kills and three digs per set this season.
She is one of 14 finalists for MaxPrep’s Volleyball Player of the Year, along with fellow Husker recruit Bergen Reilly. She handles the attention that comes with being a top prospect with poise and putting in work in the gym. Murray was named the best spiker at the 2022 U19 Pan Am Cup.
Coach Speak
“She’s the kind of player that gets so high that she has enough time to decide what to do with it, especially if she’s being double-teamed. She’s able to adjust. She’s very dynamic and when she gets up there so high, she can change the direction of the shot.”
– Chris Cristian, Skyline coach, to the Detroit Free Press
Cook’s Comments
“From a young age, she has been one of the top six-rotation outside hitters in this class. Coming from a Big Ten family (her late father, Vada, played football at Michigan and her sister currently plays volleyball at Michigan), she understands and thrives in a space where there are high expectations. We expect Harper to come in right away and push to be a six-rotation outside hitter from the day she steps on campus.”
Bergen Reilly
6-1, setter
Sioux Falls, South Dakota
O’Gorman HS/Kairos Club
No. 4-ranked player by PrepVolleyball.com
Reilly can do it all on the court. She sets for her club and the USA national teams, including the senior national team, but has played outside hitter for her high school. A finalist for MaxPreps Volleyball Player of the Year, she’s won two state titles at O’Gorman and is seeking a third this fall. She’s recorded 1,500 assists, 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs in her career.
Coach Speak
“The players were really, really excited to see how well she fit into the USA system and excited about the level of player that the USA is bringing through the pipeline to eventually get to that level. And so it was just really cool to see. … I expressed how proud I was of her for stepping into the role and excited I am for her future.”
– Michelle Chatman, U.S. women’s senior national team coach
Cook’s Comments
“Not only is Bergen a phenomenal technical setter, but what sets her apart is her demeanor on the court. She has a very calm presence and is a great leader. The setter position requires a lot of intangible skills, and we can see those in Bergen. We expect her to be the leader and glue of our 2023 class and to fight for the starting setter position next fall.”
Laney Choboy
5-3, libero/defensive specialist
Raleigh, North Carolina
Leesville Road HS/NC VB Academy
No. 5-ranked player by PrepVolleyball.com
Choboy joined the Huskers’ class last week after switching her commitment from Minnesota, which will undergo a coaching change after the season. She is the top libero in the country and was the starter for the junior national team in both the World Championships and Pan Am Cup, where she was named the best serve receiver.
She’s also flexing her offensive skills for her high school team where she plays the front row and is averaging 3.6 kills per set. She has great quickness and covers the floor well. She will have the inside track to playing time in the back row for the Huskers next season.
Laney’s Speaks
“I’ve never been scared to hurt my body. I had surgery and the minute I was cleared, I was going all out again. I think I was built for this position… Being younger, I’ve always been a leader. I see the game at a different level. I can help my teammates by telling them what I’m seeing.”
– Laney Choboy to WRAL
Cook’s Comments:
“Laney was a very recent addition to our class, but she’s a very important addition. All of our best teams the last eight years have had two great liberos on our roster. As a top-five recruit and the No. 1 libero in this class, once Laney decided to re-open her recruiting, we jumped at the chance to get her to Lincoln. Her competitiveness and work ethic will be contagious to the rest of our team.”
Caroline Jurevicius
6-2, opposite
Chardon, Ohio
Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin HS/Academy Volleyball Cleveland
No. 7-ranked player by PrepVolleyball.com
Jurevicius is a strong athlete with a heavy arm. Her intensity and passion for the sport made her among the best attackers in the Ohio prep scene. She played with the U.S. U18 team at the 2021 World Championships.
Jurevicius has impressive bloodlines. Her father, Joe, played wide receiver at Penn State and in the NFL for 11 seasons, earning a Super Bowl ring with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2003. Her mother, Meagan Dewey Jurevicius, was an impressive athlete and ran track at Princeton.
Coach Speak
“Just off the very first swing, I’m like, ‘OK, this kid is pretty special,’ She’s got a million-dollar arm. Probably the best I’ve seen in 20 years of coaching.”
– Tom Ray, Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin coach
Cook’s Comments
“Caroline is one of the best opposites in this class. In recruiting, finding a player who can play opposite at an international level can be difficult. She brings a physicality that will instantly raise the level of our program and we expect her to push to play once she gets to Lincoln.”
Andi Jackson
6-3, middle blocker
Brighton, Colorado
Brighton HS/The Diff Club
No. 13-ranked player by PrepVolleyball.com
Jackson largely flew under the radar early in the recruiting process. Still, Nebraska had an inside edge because of former Nebraska All-American Christina Houghtelling Hudson, Jackson’s club coach. After watching her workout, Hudson called Cook and told him to watch her film.
She finally emerged on the national scene as part of the 2022 U19 Pan Am Cup gold-medal winning team and earned her first national ranking going into her senior year. She touches 10’5” with her vertical and is a physical presence at the net.
Coach Speak
“She’s tall. She’s lean. She looks like a Husker. … Her arm just blew me away. I think she hits way harder than I ever did. She has this mindset every time you give her feedback. She just processes it differently. She has it, whatever ‘it’ is that we all look for. She’s got it.”
– Christina Houghtelling Hudson, The Diff director of coaching
Cook’s Comments
“Andi is a once-in-a-decade type of athlete and has only gotten more and more physical the older she’s gotten. What is so interesting is she reminds me a lot of Christina and has tons of potential for development just like Christina did. Andi is a fun player who works hard and does it all with a smile. We expect her to come in and make a big impact on our team from day one and compete hard for playing time.”
