Straube readies for national tournament
Jamie Straube will have once-in-a-lifetime experiences twice this week.
Starting Friday, the 6-foot-2 Johnson County senior middle blocker will be playing in the first-ever Junior Volleyball Directors Association national tournament in Louisville, Ky. It’s one more opportunity for Straube to go against some of the nation’s top high school players as a member of the Nebraska Volleyball Academy’s 18-and-under Red team.
But before the Iowa State volleyball recruit can focus on kills and blocks, Straube has to finish up a 4-H leadership workshop/convention she’s been attending since late last week. She first went to New York before going to Washington, D.C., for the second part of it. She flies from Washington to Louisville on Thursday, two days before the end of the 4-H event.
Her final practice with the team was last Thursday, meaning Straube missed the last week of workouts before nationals.
Two completely different events, “and I’m excited about both,” Straube said last week before leaving town. “(Coach) Gwen’s (Egbert of Papillion-La Vista South) a little worried about me missing a whole week of practice, but she’s got tons of stuff for me to stay in shape, like running, doing lunges and working with exercise bands.”
Juggling club volleyball with other activities is nothing new for Straube. She managed to play tournaments and get to Lincoln three times a week from Tecumseh for practices, despite competing in both basketball (honorable mention all-stater, averaging 13 points, 13 rebounds and five blocked shots per game) and track (middle distance runner) for Johnson County Central.
This summer, Straube has found time to attend volleyball and basketball camps with her high school, play softball on a summer team and still practice every day at the Nebraska academy.
“It’s been busy, but it’s all made me a better volleyball player,” Straube said.
Straube became a Division I volleyball recruit before she started playing for the academy in January. She played four seasons for the Lincoln Juniors coached by former Lincoln Northeast coach Sandi Genrich, who helped Straube sort out schools and make her decision. Straube chose Iowa State over Creighton.
Straube was a third-team Super-Stater and first-team Class C-1 all-stater last fall when she had 313 kills and 68 ace blocks for the Thunderbirds.
She’s been on a club team this spring that features four other Division I recruits — first-team Super-State seniors Gina Mancuso of Papillion-La Vista (outside hitter, Nebraska) and Lincoln Pius X’s Lauren Cook (setter, UCLA), second-team Super-State senior Hayley Thramer of Ewing (Wisconsin) and honorable mention all-state libero Jill Dawson, a Lincoln Southwest graduate (Northern Colorado). It’s a challenge that’s made Straube better.
“The speed of the game was a lot quicker than what I was used to, but I’ve gotten a lot better at it,” Straube said. “I can’t tell you how many times Gwen’s worked on my arm swing this season, making me reach higher and come through faster.”
Two other second-team Super-Staters, Pius X middle blocker graduate Mollie Lacy (Washburn recruit) and Grand Island Central Catholic outside hitter grad Tali Fredrickson (Wayne State), are also on the roster. Also on the squad are all-staters Taylor Krejci of Norris (Central Missouri) and Anna Wagner of Lincoln (Iowa Western), both of whom also graduated last month.
The NVA 18s, which won its own tournament in April, owns a 37-9 record during the club season.
“The great thing about this team is you always know the pass will be right there and with Lauren (Cook), you’re always going to get an incredible set to swing at,” Straube said. “When you have that kind of passing, setting and defense, you can be as aggressive as you want on the attack.”
Reach Ron Powell at 473-7437 or rpowell@journalstar.com.
Starting Friday, the 6-foot-2 Johnson County senior middle blocker will be playing in the first-ever Junior Volleyball Directors Association national tournament in Louisville, Ky. It’s one more opportunity for Straube to go against some of the nation’s top high school players as a member of the Nebraska Volleyball Academy’s 18-and-under Red team.
But before the Iowa State volleyball recruit can focus on kills and blocks, Straube has to finish up a 4-H leadership workshop/convention she’s been attending since late last week. She first went to New York before going to Washington, D.C., for the second part of it. She flies from Washington to Louisville on Thursday, two days before the end of the 4-H event.
Her final practice with the team was last Thursday, meaning Straube missed the last week of workouts before nationals.
Two completely different events, “and I’m excited about both,” Straube said last week before leaving town. “(Coach) Gwen’s (Egbert of Papillion-La Vista South) a little worried about me missing a whole week of practice, but she’s got tons of stuff for me to stay in shape, like running, doing lunges and working with exercise bands.”
Juggling club volleyball with other activities is nothing new for Straube. She managed to play tournaments and get to Lincoln three times a week from Tecumseh for practices, despite competing in both basketball (honorable mention all-stater, averaging 13 points, 13 rebounds and five blocked shots per game) and track (middle distance runner) for Johnson County Central.
This summer, Straube has found time to attend volleyball and basketball camps with her high school, play softball on a summer team and still practice every day at the Nebraska academy.
“It’s been busy, but it’s all made me a better volleyball player,” Straube said.
Straube became a Division I volleyball recruit before she started playing for the academy in January. She played four seasons for the Lincoln Juniors coached by former Lincoln Northeast coach Sandi Genrich, who helped Straube sort out schools and make her decision. Straube chose Iowa State over Creighton.
Straube was a third-team Super-Stater and first-team Class C-1 all-stater last fall when she had 313 kills and 68 ace blocks for the Thunderbirds.
She’s been on a club team this spring that features four other Division I recruits — first-team Super-State seniors Gina Mancuso of Papillion-La Vista (outside hitter, Nebraska) and Lincoln Pius X’s Lauren Cook (setter, UCLA), second-team Super-State senior Hayley Thramer of Ewing (Wisconsin) and honorable mention all-state libero Jill Dawson, a Lincoln Southwest graduate (Northern Colorado). It’s a challenge that’s made Straube better.
“The speed of the game was a lot quicker than what I was used to, but I’ve gotten a lot better at it,” Straube said. “I can’t tell you how many times Gwen’s worked on my arm swing this season, making me reach higher and come through faster.”
Two other second-team Super-Staters, Pius X middle blocker graduate Mollie Lacy (Washburn recruit) and Grand Island Central Catholic outside hitter grad Tali Fredrickson (Wayne State), are also on the roster. Also on the squad are all-staters Taylor Krejci of Norris (Central Missouri) and Anna Wagner of Lincoln (Iowa Western), both of whom also graduated last month.
The NVA 18s, which won its own tournament in April, owns a 37-9 record during the club season.
“The great thing about this team is you always know the pass will be right there and with Lauren (Cook), you’re always going to get an incredible set to swing at,” Straube said. “When you have that kind of passing, setting and defense, you can be as aggressive as you want on the attack.”
Reach Ron Powell at 473-7437 or rpowell@journalstar.com.
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