Before Lauren Cook starts wearing a volleyball jersey with UCLA on the front, the Lincoln Pius X graduate has one more tournament in a uniform with Nebraska on the back.

The three-time Super-State setter ends her junior club career this week as the Lincoln-based Nebraska Juniors plays in the 28-team 18-and-under open division at the USA Volleyball Junior Olympic National Tournament in Miami. Pool play begins Wednesday, with the finals slated for Saturday.

"This won't be the last time I'll be representing Nebraska, I feel I'll be representing the state every time I play at UCLA," said the 5-foot-8 Cook, who received the Andi Collins Award for being the nation's top high school setter after leading the Thunderbolts to their third straight Class B state title.

"But this will be the last time I'll play with this particular group of girls," added Cook, the daughter of NU volleyball coach John Cook. "That's something I'll definitely miss."

And that's understandable, especially with a lineup that includes four other NCAA Division I recruits and first-team Super-Staters. Two are headed to Nebraska - Gatorade National Player of the Year Gina Mancuso, a 6-foot outside hitter from Papillion-La Vista, and 6-2 middle blocker Hayley Thramer of Ewing. Cook's high school teammate, 5-9 outside hitter Natalie Braun, is headed to Furman, while the other middle blocker is 6-2 Johnson County Central grad Jamie Straube, who's going to Iowa State.

Two other graduated all-staters on the squad are Jessica Fey of Crete and Lincoln East's Natalie Ebke.

The Nebraska Juniors team has not been tournament-tested like some of its past squads. The team won the Colorado Crossroads National Qualifier tournament in March to earn the open bid (open is the top division at nationals, followed by the two club divisions - National and American). The Nebraska Juniors also finished fourth this spring at the Big South Classic and fourth earlier this month in a pre-national tournament in Chicago.

Those are the only three tournaments the team has played since the end of basketball season.

"We've had to create match-type situations in practice; it's been hard," said Nebraska Juniors coach Gwen Egbert, who leads the Papillion-La Vista South squad during high school season.

No Nebraska team has ever won an 18 open division national championship, but this squad "is capable of doing whatever they want to do, they're that talented," Egbert said. "We've beaten a lot of the top teams (at nationals), but we've also lost to some of them as well."

Cook's ability to run a fast, high-level college attack sets Egbert's team apart. During club season, Cook has been honing her skills doing setter training with her father and playing indoor sand volleyball with some of the Huskers at the Hawks Championship Center. Regular workouts with personal trainer Ty Peterson have increased her vertical jump and her speed around the court.

Cook sprained her left ankle last week, but she's expected to be close to full-speed for nationals. Before Cook reports to UCLA on Aug. 9, she plans to play two beach volleyball tournaments with 2010 Bruin recruit Kelly Reeves in July, then return for the Nebraska Coaches Association All-Star match July 28 at Lincoln North Star.

Briefly

* Two Omaha teams are also in the open division in their respective age groups - Premier Gold in the 15s and Nebraska Elite Tonka in the 16s.

*The Lincoln Elite Lasers went 7-3 and finished 26th in the 16s national division that concluded Monday in Miami. The Lasers were second in Flight 2, which is under the gold, silver, bronze and Flight 1 divisions.

Reach Ron Powell at 473-7437 or rpowell@journalstar.com.