Volleyball Recruiting Class Earns National Acclaim
5/7/2020 1:30:00 PM | Volleyball
PrepVolleyball and VolleyballMag.com both recognize CU's recruits
This year's class, ranked 27th by PrepVolleyball.com, features libero/defensive specialist Ellie Bolton (Lenexa, Kan.), setter Katie Maser (Grand Island, Neb.), middle blocker Kiara Reinhardt (Cedarburg, Wis.) and outside hitter/defensive specialist/libero Megan Skovsende (Omaha, Neb.). The ranking does not factor in the arrival of senior transfer Mahina Pua'a (Arizona).
"I think it's a really talented group physically," said head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth when the prep quartet signed in November. "In addition to what they'll bring to the court, I think these are also strong culture kids. We pride ourselves on having incredible culture and these young women understand the importance of playing for each other and how that can lead to a team's success."
PrepVolleyball.com ranks Reinhardt as the No. 46 recruit in its Senior Ace listings, with Bolton coming in at No. 97. The duo join four other former top-100 recruits on the Bluejay roster: Erica Kostelac (No. 77 in 2016), Naomi Hickman (No. 98 in 2017), Keeley Davis (No. 42 in 2018) and Jaela Zimmerman (No. 49 in 2018).
The 2018 recruiting class that includes current Bluejays Davis, Zimmerman, Annika Welty and former Bluejay Kari Zumach was ranked 10th-best in the country. Five years, ago, a class featuring top-50 recruits Taryn Kloth and Jaali Winters was named 11th-best in the country, with both women going on to earn All-America honors as a Bluejay. CU's 2017 recruits were tabbed as the No. 25 class. Creighton previously has earned "highest honorable-mention" for its recruiting classes five times (2008, 2009, 2011, 2014, 2019 ), "high honorable-mention" three times (2010, 2012, 2016), "honorable-mention" once (2005) and "best of the rest" once (2004) in the PrepVolleyball.com recruiting rankings.
Last year's Creighton team finished 25-6 and was ranked 16th in the final AVCA poll after making an eighth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance. The Bluejays graduated Megan Sharkey as well as All-BIG EAST selections Megan Ballenger, Madelyn Cole and Brittany Witt from their 2019 team.
Below is the write-up from PrepVolleyball.com on Creighton's recruiting class:
27. CREIGHTON: Ellie Bolton, 5-7 DS/Libero, St. James (Lenexa, Kansas); Katie Maser, 5-9 S, Grand Island Central Catholic (Grand Island, Nebraska); Kiara Reinhardt, 6-3 MB, Cedarburg (Wisconsin); Megan Skovsende, 5-11 OH/DS, Skutt Catholic (Omaha, Nebraska)
THE DISH: Creighton's class checks all the boxes to make an impact on the program. Coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth said, "This is a physically talented class that covers hitting, passing, defense, and setting. I think some of them could contribute right away because of the high level of club they have played. They are a competitive group of young women, that will also add to our culture." Each of Creighton's recruits has made an impact on their high school programs with First Team All-State honors. One panelist said that Reinhardt "became a beast after she committed" and noted that she'll dominate both on offense and defense. The MKE Sting athlete is the No. 46 Senior Ace and a Volleyball Mag Fab 50 selection. Bolton, Senior Ace No. 97 and an AVCA Second Team Under Armour All-American, has competed with KC Power VBC and is one of the premier liberos in the class. Maser of Nebraska Juniors is a state champion and owns the state record for career assists (3,912). Versatile and stable, Skovsende has the ability to be a great L2 or defender for the Jays. Skovsende plays for nationally-ranked programs year-round at Skutt, where she is a four-time state champion, and Premier Nebraska.
To view the complete list, visit https://prepvolleyball.com/rankings/top-recruiting-classes/top-30-college-recruiting-classes-of-2020-21-30/426474. A subscription may be required.The VolleyballMag.com list of the nation's top recruiting hauls ranked 10 classes. While Creighton was not among that top-10, it was included in the group of 11 schools in the subsequent category called "Honorable Mention". The story and list can be viewed at https://volleyballmag.com/ncaa-recruiting-ranking-050120/.
PrepVolleyball.com Recruiting Rankings (list started in 2004)
Year   Rank   Freshman Recruits
2004   Best of the Rest   (Baumann, Decker, Goc, Lahm, Mehal)
2005   Honorable-Mention   (Cvejdlik, Houts, Lebeda)
2006   None   (Bloemke, Schulze, Workman)
2007   None   (Feldman, Oelke, Vrbicky)
2008   Highest Honorable-Mention   (Almgren, Bober, Sanford)
2009   Highest Honorable-Mention   (Boggs, Greisch, Moon, Templeton, Thorson)
2010   High Honorable-Mention   (Fliss, Hackbarth, Malm, Mandolfo, S. Smith)
2011   Highest Honorable-Mention   (Browning, McNary, Neisler, Sicner, Stivers)
2012   High Honorable-Mention   (Elman, Jansen, Jereb, L. Smith)
2013   None   (Bird, Crawford, Foje)
2014   Highest Honorable-Mention   (Lawrence, Tupper, Wilkinson)
2015   11th   (Ballenger, Bohnet, Kloth, O'Connell, Winters)
2016   High Honorable-Mention   (Conlon, Taylor, Witt)
2017   25th   (Gaston, Hickman, Roumeliotis)
2018   10th   (Davis, Welty, Zimmerman, Zumach)
2019   Highest Honorable-Mention   (Bressman, Krause, Schmitt, Van Eekeren)
2020   27th   (Bolton, Maser, Reinhardt, Skovsende)
Â
