Huskers Announce Volleyball Recruiting Class

Lincoln ? University of Nebraska volleyball coach John Cook announced Thursday that a pair of high school standouts have decided to join the Husker program for the 2010 season. The recruiting class includes right side hitter/setter Morgan Broekhuis (Colorado Springs, Colo.) and setter Kristen Kelsay (Wheaton, Ill.).

“Even though our class is small, it fills huge needs for our program, not only next year but for the future,” Cook said. “Both kids have all of the qualities we are looking for in a recruit that will allow them to be exceptional on and off the court at Nebraska. Both are 4.0 students who come from great families.”

Name<?xml:namespace prefix="o" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"?>	Pos.	Ht.	Hometown (School)
Kristen Kelsay	S	5-10	Wheaton, Ill. (St. Francis)
Morgan Broekhuis	RS/S	6-5	Colorado Springs, Colo. (Colorado Springs Christian School)

Morgan Broekhuis

Broekhuis is one of the nation’s top recruits playing for her father, Mike, at Colorado Springs Christian School. The No. 2 player in the country by Prepvolleyball.com, Broekhuis has been a dominant player in Colorado, leading her team to three consecutive Class 3A state crowns. This year, C.S. Christian is 25-0 and has dropped three sets all season heading into this weekend’s state tournament. A three-time first-team all-state performer, Broekhuis totaled 474 kills, 440 assists and 201 digs as a junior en route to earning Gatorade Colorado Player-of-the-Year honors in 2008. She is a two-time Denver Post Class 3A Player of the Year and spent last summer with the U.S. Junior National Team, starting several matches at opposite on a team of top seniors and college-level players. Broekhuis also plays basketball in high school and carries better than a 4.0 GPA. The daughter of Mike and Lisa Broekhuis, she has an older brother, Taylor, who plays basketball at the Air Force Academy. Morgan looked at a host of programs, but chose Nebraska over Texas and Washington.

“We thought that Morgan was the top player in this class because she is the rare player that can be exceptional in all of the skills, including setting. She ran a 6-2 offense in high school and club and is a 6-foot-5 left-hander who can attack, pass play defense and block. Morgan is also athletic, and we feel that she still has a lot of potential to develop in college. Her talents will allow us to run a very creative system.”

Kristen Kelsay

Kristen Kelsay was one of the best setters in the Midwest playing for Coach Peg Kopec at St. Francis (Ill.) High School. She was chosen as one of Prepvolleyball.com Senior Aces, signifying one of the top 250 seniors in the country earlier this fall. Kelsay is a two-year starter and co-captain, totaling 1,673 assists, 261 digs, 148 kills and 118 aces in that span. As a senior, she guided St. Francis to a 33-3 record, a state sectional finals appearance and a national ranking, dishing out 906 assists and adding 121 digs, 75 kills, 49 blocks and 65 aces to earn first-team all-conference and all-area recognition. In her first year as a starter, she totaled 767 assists, 140 digs and 63 aces en route to earning all-area honors and honorable-mention all-state accolades.  She played her club volleyball for Sports Performance and Rick Butler, earning JVDA All-America honors at the 16 Club National Championships in 2008. Last summer, she helped her 18-Elite team to a third-place showing at AAU Nationals and a runner-up finish at JVDA Nationals. The daughter of Bruce and Mary Kelsay, Kristen also is a standout student, carrying a 4.0 GPA and serves as her school’s National Honor Society Vice President. She looked at Northwestern, Notre Dame and Virginia before selecting Nebraska.

“One of our first priorities was to recruit a setter knowing that we have two setters graduating next year. Kristen has a tremendous gift with her hands and ability to set, and she is a great leader and competitor. She comes from a Sports Performance program that produces many of the top setters in the country, so she will have the experience to come in and contribute in practice and potentially play as a freshman. She was under the radar because she was the backup on Sports Performance’s top team last year, but we saw her play in a win over the Nebraska Juniors in a tournament. Not only is she a great student and understands the importance of education, but has lot of confidence and is someone who looks for ways to make her teammates better.”

Cook said the Huskers will look to add a walk-on to fill out this year’s class.