By Dave Link
Webb School graduate Nicklin Hames wasted no time getting started with her volleyball career at Nebraska, defending NCAA national champion.
Hames has been on the campus in Lincoln, Neb., for more than a month.
“She went when she finished classes and flew back (to Knoxville) for graduation,” said her mom, Webb coach Chris Hames.
Nicklin Hames, a setter at Nebraska, is one of the most decorated volleyball players to come out of Knoxville. She played for the U.S. Youth National Team at the U-18 Junior World Championships in Argentina last summer, earned Under Armour first-team All-America honors, and was the Gatorade Player of the Year in Tennessee in 2017-18.
Hames was ranked the No. 4 overall prospect in the nation and the No. 1 setter in the Class of 2018 by PrepVolleyball.com.
Chris Hames said Nebraska’s starting setter in 2017 was a senior and another setter transferred.
“Nicklin has a good chance to play,” Chris Hames said. “It’s pretty cool considering they won the national championship last year.”
Hames joins former Bearden and Maryville player Chesney McClellan at Nebraska. McClellan is a 6-foot-4 sophomore middle blocker.
The Cornhuskers play home matches in front of sellout crowds in Bob Devaney Sports Center, which seats almost 8,000.
“They fill it up,” Chris Hames said. “You can’t get a ticket.”
Hames and her husband, Jason, co-director of K2 Volleyball, will take in as many Nebraska matches as possible.
“We’ll go to some, but it overlaps with high school season,” Chris said.
The Lady Spartans will be a favorite to win their sixth consecutive Division II-A state volleyball championship this fall. They’re led by Nicklin’s sister, Kayleigh, a rising senior outside hitter who has committed to Pepperdine.