Huskers Sign Top-Ranked Volleyball Class

The Nebraska volleyball program announced its top-ranked recruiting class according to PrepVolleyball.com on National Letter of Intent Signing Day on Wednesday. 

Head Coach John Cook and the Huskers secured the signings of five prospects, all ranked in the top 13 nationally by PrepVolleyball.com. The 2023 signing class includes outside hitter Harper Murray (No. 2 overall), setter Bergen Reilly (No. 4 overall), libero Laney Choboy (No. 5 overall), opposite hitter Caroline Jurevicius (No. 7 overall) and middle blocker Andi Jackson (No. 13 overall). 

Led by assistant coach and recruiting coordinator Jaylen Reyes, the Huskers have now signed the No. 1 class twice in the last three years, and they had the second-ranked class last year. 

"The class of 2023 is a special class," Cook said. "We fill our needs at every position, and they all have very high-level international experience representing the USA. The bonds they formed on those teams have run deep and they all plan to start school in January. All five of them are also exceptional students. We have been inspired being around them as they have big goals and they 'Dream Big'. This group of athletes are super competitive, fun to watch, and they will raise the level of our gym. I want to thank Kelly Hunter and Jaylen Reyes for their hard work on this class, along with all the people at Nebraska who work with our program. This is why we say, 'There is No Place Like Nebraska.'"

All five signees will enroll at Nebraska in January, and all five have been chosen to play in the 2022 Under Armour All-America Game. The signing class already has experience playing with each other and with current Huskers. Choboy, Jackson, Murray and Reilly all played on the U.S. Girls U19 Team that won gold at the Pan American Cup this summer in Tulsa, Okla. Reilly was the tournament MVP and Best Setter, while Murray was the Best Spiker and Choboy was the Best Receiver. Nebraska freshman Maggie Mendelson was also on the team, giving the Huskers five of the 13 roster spots. 

In 2021, Choboy, Jurevicius, Murray and Reilly joined Mendelson and Bekka Allick on the U.S. Girls U18 Team that took home the bronze medal from the FIVB World Championships in Mexico. 

2023 Nebraska Volleyball Signing Class
Laney Choboy, 5-3, Libero, Raleigh, N.C. (Leesville Road)
• Ranked No. 5 overall and the No. 1 libero by PrepVolleyball.com
• Won gold with the U.S. Girls U19 Team at the 2022 Pan American Cup and was named the Best Receiver at the tournament
• Competed on the U.S. Girls U18 Team at the 2021 FIVB World Championships, earning the bronze medal
• Selected to play in the 2022 Under Armour All-America Game 
• Attends Leesville Road High School in Raleigh, N.C.
• Playing as a hitter for her high school team, averaging a team-best 3.6 kills per set and 4.3 digs per set as a senior in 2022
• Plays club volleyball for NC VB Academy and was a three-time club MVP

Cook Quote
"Laney was a very recent addition to our class, but she's a very important addition. All of our best teams the last eight years have had two great liberos on our roster. As a top-five recruit and the No. 1 libero in this class, once Laney decided to re-open her recruiting, we jumped at the chance to get her to Lincoln. She has played with the rest of her classmates the past couple summers on the U.S. Under 18 and 19 Teams as the starting libero. As a solid serve receiver and an elite defender, Laney will come in and compete for a spot on the court. Her competitiveness and work ethic will be contagious to the rest of our team."

Caroline Jurevicius, 6-2, Opposite Hitter, Chardon, Ohio (Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin)
• Ranked No. 7 overall and the No. 1 opposite hitter by PrepVolleyball.com
• Competed on the U.S. Girls U18 Team at the 2021 FIVB World Championships, earning the bronze medal
• Selected to play in the 2022 Under Armour All-America Game 
• Attends Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin High School in Chardon, Ohio
• Averaging 4.7 kills per set with a .350 hitting percentage as a senior in 2022, along with 157 digs, 31 blocks and 26 service aces
• Led Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin to the Ohio DII state championship match as a sophomore in 2020
• Plays club volleyball for AVC
• Father is Joe Jurevicius, who was a Super Bowl champion wide receiver with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2002 

Cook Quote
"Caroline is one of the best opposites in this class. In recruiting, finding a player who can play opposite at an international level can be difficult. Caroline played on the U.S. Under 18 Team that went to the World Championships in 2021, so she brings invaluable international experience as well. Having a mom who was a college track star and a father who played in the NFL, CJ has the physicality to be an international level opposite, and we are excited that she chose to be a Husker so we can help her achieve her goals. She brings a physicality that will instantly raise the level of our program and we expect her to push to play once she gets to Lincoln."

Andi Jackson, 6-3, Middle Blocker, Brighton, Colo. (Brighton)
• Ranked No. 13 overall and the No. 3 middle blocker by PrepVolleyball.com
• Won gold with the U.S. Girls U19 Team at the 2022 Pan American Cup
• Selected to play in the 2022 Under Armour All-America Game 
• Attends Brighton High School in Brighton, Colo. 
• As a senior in 2022, averaging 3.4 kills per set with a .382 hitting percentage
• Leading the Bulldogs with 63 service aces and 194 digs
• Played club volleyball for The Diff 
• A standout athlete, qualified for the USATF National Championships in the long jump at age 10

Cook Quote
"Andi comes from a family of elite athletes. Her mom was a high jumper and her dad played hockey in Alaska where she was born. Andi is a once-in-a-decade type of athlete and has only gotten more and more physical the older she's gotten. She played outside hitter for both her club and high school teams but has spent time as a middle blocker with the U.S. Under 19 Team this summer. We discovered Andi when Christina Houghtelling sent me a video of her as she was giving her lessons and told me she could be a special player for Nebraska, but we would have to work to get her. What is so interesting is she reminds me a lot of Christina and has tons of potential for development just like Christina did. Andi is a fun player who works hard and does it all with a smile. We expect her to come in and make a big impact on our team from day one and compete hard for playing time."

Harper Murray, 6-2, Outside Hitter, Ann Arbor, Mich. (Skyline)
• Ranked No. 2 overall and the No. 2 outside hitter by PrepVolleyball.com
• Won gold with the U.S. Girls U19 Team at the 2022 Pan American Cup and received the Best Spiker award at the tournament
• Had 13 kills and two blocks in the 3-0 win over Brazil in the championship match 
• Competed on the U.S. Girls U18 Team at the 2021 FIVB World Championships, earning the bronze medal
• Selected to play in the 2022 Under Armour All-America Game 
• Named an AVCA High School First-Team All-American
• Attends Skyline High School in Ann Arbor, Mich.
• As a senior in 2022, averaging 6.0 kills per set with a .410 hitting percentage 
• Leading the Eagles with 73 aces and 372 digs
• Older sister, Kendall Murray, is a junior outside hitter at Michigan 
• Plays club volleyball for Legacy
• Won the AAU U16 National Championship with Legacy in 2021

Cook Quote
"We have recruited Harper for a very long time, going back to when she was 13 years old. From a young age she has been one of the top six-rotation outside hitters in this class. Coming from a Big Ten family (her late father, Vada, played football at Michigan and her sister currently plays volleyball at Michigan), she understands and thrives in a space where there are high expectations. Harper has played on the U.S. Under 18 and Under 19 Teams the past couple of summers, so she is coming to Lincoln with some valuable international experience. We expect Harper to come in right away and push to be a six-rotation outside hitter from the day she steps on campus."

Bergen Reilly, 6-1, Setter, Sioux Falls, S.D. (O'Gorman)
• Ranked No. 4 overall and the No. 1 setter by PrepVolleyball.com
• Won gold with the U.S. Girls U19 Team at the 2022 Pan American Cup and was named MVP and Best Setter of the tournament
• Competed on the U.S. Girls U18 Team at the 2021 FIVB World Championships, earning the bronze medal
• Was called up to the U.S. Women's National Team in September of 2022 for the Pan Am Final Six and appeared in 11 sets and made two starts to help the Americans earn the silver medal
• Selected to play in the 2022 Under Armour All-America Game
• Named an AVCA High School First-Team All-American 
• Attends O'Gorman High School in Sioux Falls, S.D.
• Is a two-time South Dakota Gatorade Player of the Year after leading O'Gorman to back-to-back Class AA state championships in 2020 and 2021
• As a senior outside hitter for the Knights, leads the team with 4.6 kills per set with a .307 hitting percentage, as well as 55 service aces and 258 digs
• Plays club volleyball for Kairos 

Cook Quote
"Bergen is from Sioux Falls and is the top-ranked setter in this class. She has a ton of high-level experience playing on the U.S. Under 18 and 19 Teams, where she won Best Setter and Tournament MVP at the Pan Am Cup this summer. She also got to compete with the U.S. National Team in the Dominican Republic, which is extremely rare for a high school player to be called up to the senior national team. Not only is Bergen a phenomenal technical setter, but what sets her apart is her demeanor on the court. She has a very calm presence and is a great leader. The setter position requires a lot of intangible skills, and we can see those in Bergen. We expect her to be the leader and glue of our 2023 class and to fight for the starting setter position next fall."