Dream Team Camp: Libero Invitees

In the final week leading up the annual Dream Team Camp, I will be breaking down each position pool of the Huskers’ next generational talents. This camp has been integral in many players recruiting journeys, who fell in love with the team culture and campus as a whole. This is a year of innovation – in the midst of a major coaching transition, it is a question of whether Busboom-Kelly will choose to maintain old traditions or embed her own unique legacy within the program. I have no doubt that this year will win over plenty of recruits – just like it did the year prior with Shaye Witherspoon and the year prior to that with Ryan Hunter. Even just a mere taste of what it feels like to be a Nebraska Volleyball player is enough to have them coming back for more, an innate urge to chase that adrenaline rush and fulfillment. This year, if anything, there is an abundance of talent – and while the coaching staff may have remained conservative in their pursuit in prior years – the newly increased scholarship opens up some leeway for teams to cultivate depth and take more recruiting risks. Today, I’m breaking down a highly talented trio of liberos that will undoubtedly carry on the Huskers defensive tradition. 

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‘28 Bella Osborn: A 5-4 libero out of Plano, Texas, Osborne is a 3-time Triple Crown Champion with her Madfrog Volleyball team, and a key contributor in those victories. She contributes from the service line, on serve receive, and as a left back defender; patrolling her area of the court and finding ways to convert into transition. Her quick reflexes combined with her swift, small frame allow her to make digs not many her age can – laying outside her body for a cross-court dig, diving in for a pancake, or even popping up a heavy swing with an old-fashioned tomahawk. She has a strong sense of court awareness and knows when to take the balls over her hitters, giving them time to purely focus on their approach instead. Her scrappy digs and perfect passes allow her team to have another opportunity to swing, and even if they hit it into the block – Bella is there waiting to cover. Her statistics back up her value on the court, tallying 267 digs in just her freshman season at Plano Senior High School, averaging 2.5 per set. A regular attendee of NTDP and a recent climber of the rankings, Osborne is catching the eyes of quite a few college programs, in which Nebraska is included. Glimpses of Bella’s game have shown what potential she has to unlock in coming seasons, and some of her digs are eerily reminiscent of a young Lexi Rodriguez – she is certainly a player to keep an eye on. 

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‘29 Grace Hengler: A 5-6 libero out of Frisco, Texas, Hengler is a dynamic athlete on both the sand and court, quick and explosive on both offense and defense. She is incredibly versatile and can be utilized almost anywhere on the court, excelling as a libero, setter, and outside hitter. Most often, when we talk about undersized hitters, it’s about those in the 5-11 to 6-0 range, and yet, here is Grace killing it – at only 5-6. Whether it is a pure abundance of athleticism, an innate sense of court awareness, or both; Hengler is able to find kills you certainly wouldn’t expect, and her vertical is enough to make your jaw-drop. She is an instant highlight reel in the back-row as well, making almost-acrobatic saves to keep the ball up, no regard for her own body as she flings herself to the floor. She even wields a heavy top-spin serve that is practically unprecedented in her age group. Honing an all-around game matured well beyond her years, she played up several age groups at an 18U beach tournament, taking second place and earned a bid to nationals. She was a key part of Oxford Volleyball’s 13 REN National Championship team years ago, where they finished with an 11-2 record and Hengler was awarded MVP for the 13U Aspire Division. One thing's for sure – Hengler is a unique athletic talent and a valuable asset anywhere on the court who makes everyone around her better as well. 

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‘29 Brynli Burgess: A 5-8 libero out of Plano, Texas, Burgess is fresh off of a Girls Junior Nationals 14 Open title and MVP performance with her Skyline Juniors team. For a libero to win such an award is uncommon, and a testament to her value as a defender. The credentials speak for itself, but Brynli has certainly established herself as one of the top talents in the class of 2029, already becoming a highly-sought recruit. She passes in a way that makes it look effortless, directing the ball in a high arc to target and setting up a perfect in-system opportunity. From a defensive standpoint, she is almost always stopped and stable on the dig, absorbing it fully and guiding it to an ideal location. Her play isn’t as flashy as other defenders simply because her positioning is so good, reading the hitters like a book and lining up directly in their field of attack. Her digs are so well-controlled that whenever Brynli contacts the ball, her setter barely has to even move, thus facilitating the offense to be as efficient as possible. Her ball control is enough to win her over as a prospect, but it's the addition of her other skills and intangibles that will make her so highly-desired. As a program known for its legacy defense, Burgess would certainly be a perfect fit to carry on Nebraska’s back-row reign.