Huskers Announce Three Additions for 2012

Lincoln - Nebraska Head Volleyball Coach John Cook announced Thursday morning the addition of three high school standouts to the Huskers' 2012 roster.

The class includes outside hitter Kelsey Fien (Bakersfield, Calif.), setter/opposite side hitter Alexa Strange (San Clemente, Calif.) and setter Lauren Sieckmann (Omaha, Neb.). All three players rank in Prepvolleyball.com's top-100 Senior Aces.

Name	Position	Height	Hometown (School)
Kelsey Fien	OH/RS	6-3	Bakersfield, Calif. (Frontier)
Alexa Strange	S/RS	5-11	San Clemente, Calif. (San Clemente)
Lauren Sieckmann	S	5-11	Omaha, Neb. (Marian, Elkhorn South)

Kelsey Fien | 6-3, OH/RS (Bakersfield, Calif. - Frontier HS)
Named the No. 19 player in the country by Prepvolleyball.com and among the top five volleyball recruits in California, Fien has led her high school and club team with her natural athletic ability. She was also nominated for the Under Armour All-America team and Gatorade Player of the Year in California.

Fien has led Frontier High School to a 25-11 record heading into the state championships at the end of the month. So far in 2011 she has totaled 414 kills on 948 attacks, while notching 397 digs. She is also the first player in her high school's history to record 1,000 kills.

As a junior, Fien was named to Prepvolleyball.com's Top-50 Junior list after producing 446 kills, 46 blocks and 289 digs.

Kelsey is the daughter of John and Lynn Fien and has a sister, Jennifer, and two brothers, Bradley and Garrett. She was recruited by top programs across the country, but chose Nebraska over UCLA, Hawaii, Oregon, Oregon State and California.

"Kelsey is a taller, more physical left side hitter that we believe will fit in great in the Big Ten Conference," Cook said. "She will provide us with much added depth at the left-side hitter position. One of the attractions to Nebraska for Kelsey is that she lives in a rural area in California and is very involved in 4-H and similar activities. We're hoping she will come in as a freshman and be able to contribute for us. Kelsey fits the mold of a Nebraska player, she is still developing and still growing into her body.  She comes from an agricultural background and almost feels like she is a transplanted Nebraskan in California."

Alexa Strange | 5-11, S/RS (San Clemente, Calif. - San Clemente HS)

Strange is set to join the Huskers from San Clemente High School in San Clemente, Calif., where she has led the Tritons to a 20-9 record and a No. 22 ranking in the state of California. Named the No. 46 player in the country by PrepVolleyball.com, Strange has the assets and abilities to make an impact at NU. 

Strange has 321 kills in her senior season with an additional 307 assists. She was also named to Prepvolleyball.com's Top-50 Junior list.

One of the top young sand players in the country, Strange and teammate Mikayla Tucker competed at the 2011 FIVB Beach Volleyball Swatch Youth (U-19) World Championships in Croatia in June 2011. The team received the only bye of the first round of qualification, but fell to Poland's ninth-seeded team in the second round of the bracket.

Strange has also played club volleyball with Coast Volleyball, the same club that produced such products as Carli Lloyd at California, Juliann Faucette from Texas and many other top players.

"Alexa is an outstanding student-athlete, she is an excellent student and is also our second beach player from California following Lara Dykstra," Cook said. "She is left-handed and we are counting on her to contribute as a freshman. Alexa is what we're going to call a utility player, we feel like she can play outside hitter, left or right side, she is very strong in the back row, has a wicked arm and a very high volleyball IQ. I think her greatest strength is that she can do a lot of things to help our whole team win. Alexa is going to make our gym better in a lot of different ways. Even though she is only 6-0, she plays like she is much bigger than her size. She has a wicked arm, a very fast arm and will fit into our system as we are trying to run a faster tempo offense. Her greatest strength may be her competitive fire; she is very competitive and wants to win."

Lauren Sieckmann | 5-11, S (Omaha, Neb. - Marian HS, Elkhorn South HS)

Sieckmann comes to Nebraska as a two-time Super-State setter who played at both Marian High School and Elkhorn South High School. Considered one of the top prospects nationally in the class of 2012, she has played on the U.S. Youth national team and was part of a Nebraska Junior club team that won the 16-and-under open division at the USA Volleyball junior national tournament last year.

An outstanding all-around player, Sieckmann was picked as a MaxPreps Preseason First Team All-American and has 349 kills as a senior, with 52 aces, 27 blocks, 240 digs and 185 assists. She notched 377 kills with a .353 hitting percentage and 585 assists as a junior while Marian finished as runner-up in the state tournament.

Sieckmann guided Marian High School to the 2009 Class A state championship and was named the top sophomore player in the country that year by PrepVolleyball.com. The Crusaders compiled a 112-16 record during the time Sieckmann guided the squad.

Sieckmann is the daughter of Tom and Deb Sieckmann and has a one brother, Alex. Her father played on the PGA Tour from 1984 to 1994. She was recruited by top programs across the country, but chose Nebraska over Illinois, Texas and Iowa State.

"Lauren has had an outstanding career in Nebraska with her high school team and her club team," Cook said. "She will be starting school in January and will be enrolling early. She is a multi-skilled player, right now she leads Class B in kills, but we've recruited her as a setter. She is very skilled player who can do a lot of things on the volleyball court. I've seen her will her team, whether it is by setting or serving or attacking to perform at a really high level in big-time matches."