Skyler Pierce looking to 鈥榣eave a legacy鈥� at Nebraska
OLATHE, Kan. (BVM) 鈥� Skyler Pierce has already put together an impressive list of accomplishments during her volleyball career, but the best is likely still to come.
Possessing elite talent that has her , Pierce already has her sights set on playing professionally someday.聽
鈥淚 want to get the opportunity to play nationally or pro,鈥� Pierce said. 鈥淚鈥檓 sure that I鈥檒l still have this love for volleyball that I have now.鈥�
Pro volleyball could be in Pierce鈥檚 future, but her focus right now is on the start of her college career. The Olathe Northwest High School standout had plenty of college options to choose from, but one school always stood above the rest: Nebraska.
Pierce attended camps at Nebraska when she was younger and was drawn to the culture of the program. If the Cornhuskers extended an offer, she knew that would likely be her next volleyball stop.
馃尳鉂わ笍馃尳
— Sky Pierce 馃悵 (@SkyPierce21)
鈥淔rom the beginning, I was around the Nebraska community,鈥� Pierce said. 鈥淏eing around them so much across the years at camps, I think that helped me build that connection with them.
鈥淚 wanted to go somewhere that felt like home and I knew from the beginning that Nebraska definitely had that feeling for me. Being in that arena, having that feeling of, 鈥榃ow, I think I could really play here,鈥� was something surreal. I knew if I got that call I couldn鈥檛 pass up that opportunity.鈥�
Another draw to Nebraska for Pierce was being able to stay relatively close to home as Lincoln is just over a three-hour drive from her hometown, Lenexa, Kansas.
鈥淲hat it came down to really was how far away did I want to be from home,鈥� Pierce said. 鈥淢y family, my village are really my big supporters and I wanted to make sure that they can come to any of the games that they wanted to.鈥�
Sky鈥檚 flying high! 鉁堬笍鈦扳伆Husker Nation, let鈥檚 give a Big Red welcome to Kansas native, outside hitter !鈦扳伆Welcome to the Good Life, Sky. 馃馃尳
— Nebraska Volleyball (@HuskerVB)
While playing close to home, Pierce will relish the opportunity to represent where she is from and those around her.
鈥淚t means a lot to be able to represent Kansas,鈥� Pierce said. 鈥淜nowing that I鈥檒l be representing Kansas City, my family, the clubs I played for, it definitely is a great feeling.鈥�
Being a role model for the next generation of volleyball stars is something that comes along with that which is one of Pierce鈥檚 main focuses on and off the court.
鈥淏eing able to be that role model for them, it鈥檚 always a great feeling to know that you鈥檙e not just playing for yourself, but you鈥檙e being a role model for the younger girls and the younger kids that play volleyball,鈥� Pierce said.
Pierce has already been representing the Kansas City area in a positive light for several years. After getting her start in the sport around 8 years old while playing on a rec team led by her mom and aunt, the 6-foot-2 outside hitter got her first taste of club volleyball with KC Power when she was 10, immediately realizing her love for the sport.
鈥淎fter that first official club experience and club practice at KC Power, I really knew that this was a sport that I wanted to keep pursuing,鈥� Pierce said.
Eventually, Pierce moved on to join Mavs KC and played with Team Dynasty Volleyball throughout her high school years. At the same time, she was making an immediate impact on the court at Olathe Northwest.
Despite a unique season that was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, Pierce helped guide a young team to the state championship game as just a freshman while being named a first-team all-state performer.
鈥淚t definitely was a weird year,鈥� Pierce said. 鈥淚t was a big adjustment not just for me, but for everyone.
鈥淚t definitely was a change of pace so I had to adjust to that, new coaches and new things that they were wanting me to work on and focus on that season. But it was really nice to have those upperclassmen that kind of help you figure out what high school is really about and help you on and off the court.鈥�
As things became more normalized during her sophomore and junior years, Pierce鈥檚 play only got better. She led the Ravens back to state as a sophomore, and while she continued to put up strong numbers, the biggest growth in her game came through her leadership.
鈥淚t kind of helped me step into a leadership role,鈥� Pierce said. 鈥淚t was a big step in finding my leadership role, finding my voice.鈥�
That set the stage for her final season at Olathe Northwest this past fall. With seven seniors on the roster, Pierce鈥檚 main focus was a state title as she and her team left everything they had on the court.
鈥淥ur plan was to go to state this year,鈥� Pierce said. 鈥淲e needed to put in the work, be even better than we were last year and really come out strong this season.
鈥淭his was the last time we鈥檙e all going to be together and probably have this level of a team so we needed to make sure we go out strong. That was the mindset throughout the whole season.鈥�
The 31-5 Ravens would make it back to state but again came up just short of a championship. Still, Pierce had a tremendous year, setting the program record for kills after recording 457 this season while also racking up 238 digs, 68 aces and 45 blocks with a .404 hitting percentage.聽
Congrats to for breaking the ONW career record for kills AND counting!!! So proud!馃挋馃彁
— Olathe Northwest Volleyball (@OlatheNWVBall)
Her performance earned her the Evelyn Gates Award, a prestigious honor given to the top high school volleyball player in the Kansas City area.
Olathe Northwest鈥檚 Skyler Pierce won the 2023 Evelyn Gates award Wednesday as the top girls high school volleyball player in Kansas City.
— KSHB 41 News (@KSHB41)
鈥淭he Evelyn Gates Award isn鈥檛 just about your volleyball skill or how good you are as a volleyball player,鈥� Pierce said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 also about who you are off the court and what you do for your community. It was a great and awesome honor to have because it just means so much more than the game of volleyball.鈥�
In addition to the Evelyn Gates Award, Pierce鈥檚 game also received national recognition as she was named an Under Armour All-American.
Olathe Northwest senior Skyler Pierce () was surprised at a school assembly today with her 2024 Under Armour Next All-America Volleyball Game jersey 馃彁
Pierce is just one of 24 players nationally to be selected to , high school volleyball's premier鈥�
— 810 Varsity (@810varsity)
鈥淚鈥檓 so excited just being named one of the All-Americans and am blessed by God to have these opportunities to play with these girls, be with these coaches and just have so much fun,鈥� Pierce said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a really exciting experience.鈥�
Playing in the Under Armour All-America Game will not be the first time the Olathe Northwest senior has competed on a big stage. Over the last few years, Pierce has also had the opportunity to represent her country with USA Volleyball.
鈥淚t means everything just to be able to wear that red, white and blue on your chest and stand out on the court with the others standing next to you, knowing that you’re representing your country and where you鈥檙e from,鈥� Pierce said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 just something so much bigger than yourself.鈥�
While Pierce is known for her calm demeanor on the court, she admits that there can be pressure when it comes to the expectations of the big moments and high rankings. However, one of her main objectives is being able to block out the noise.
鈥淚t鈥檚 kind of hard to ignore those statuses or awards,鈥� Pierce said. 鈥淏ut on the court, that鈥檚 when you have to block out all that noise. That鈥檚 something I鈥檝e been working on is my mindset to make sure that when I step on the court, all the stress leaves my body and I just completely focus on volleyball and perform at a level I can perform at.鈥�
The expectations will only increase as Pierce arrives in Lincoln, particularly as the Huskers are coming off a tough loss to Texas in the national championship game, and continue to seek their first national title since 2017.聽
鈥淚 know the girls definitely have the mindset of we鈥檙e hungry, we want it now,鈥� Pierce said. 鈥淚 know that they all have that feeling that we want to come back next season even stronger. I hope that when I get there I鈥檒l be able to contribute to that and help the team get to where we want to be.鈥�
Thanks to her winning mindset, Pierce should be a perfect fit at Nebraska. She鈥檚 excited to become the best player she can be in Lincoln which she hopes leads to a lasting legacy with the Huskers.
鈥淚鈥檓 so excited to go to Nebraska,鈥� Pierce said. 鈥淭hey recruit the best athletes that they can and I know when I step in that gym I鈥檓 going to surround myself with the best athletes and that I鈥檒l get better from being around them. You can鈥檛 become the best without being around the best.
鈥淚鈥檓 excited to leave my mark at Nebraska and hopefully leave a legacy there.鈥�
