The week leading up to June 15 was a stressful one for Reagan Wallraff.
The converted outside hitter for Elkhorn North had set a 24-hour timeframe for herself to decide on a destination once the calls started rolling in. After some reflection — and a handful of tension-breaking tactics from her aunt, Alyssa — Wallraff called Creighton head coach Brian Rosen and told him she had accepted his offer to stay home and play for the Bluejays.
“It feels great to stay close to home,” Wallraff said. “My entire family is here. All of my grandparents are here. If I would have gone somewhere else, it would have been hard for them and all of my family to come to matches. It’s good that I’m here so that all my friends and family that are already here can come watch me. I can come home whenever, not just once or twice or year. That’s really important.”
Family was a key reason for her decision, but it also helped her make it. While Wallraff was parsing through her options, she had to pause to answer the front door. When she opened it, there stood Aunt Alyssa on the front porch. She was wearing an inflatable personal trainer suit with music blaring into the house.
“My aunt is a really funny person and helps me not be nervous,” Wallraff said. “She asked me if I liked the colors, if I liked the food, just random things like that to make me laugh. That helped me stay calm the whole time.”
While making her niece crack up was half of her objective. The other half was the sign she was holding in her hands. It read “Follow your heart.”
Wallraff’s aunt holding a sign saying “Follow your heart.” (Courtesy photo)
Though she had several other schools attempting to sway her, the teenager’s heart kept coming back to the one she has watched closer and closer ever since her family moved to Omaha.
“When [Kirsten Bernthal Booth] was the head coach, I always said I would love to play for her and that program,” Wallraff said. “It always looks like they get along so well. All the players and coaches bond together. I’m not really a fan of when coaches are not really in it with their players. I like them to have a really good connection, and I think Kirsten, and even Brian, had a really good culture within their team.”
Despite only knowing a version of Creighton that is led by Booth, Wallraff sees new head coach Brian Rosen as someone she can count on in a multitude of ways at the next level.
“I see him as someone who will not only help me if I’m struggling with volleyball, but also if I’m struggling academically. He’ll always find a way to help me as a person not only in volleyball, but outside of volleyball. Kirsten was really good at that with her players, and I see that in Brian too.”
In Wallraff, Creighton is getting an already highly decorated prospect. After moving to outside hitter her last year, Wallraff enjoyed the best year of her career. She recorded 662 kills, averaging 6.1 kills per set on a .403 attack percentage. She led Class B in all three categories and was the only player to finish in the top five in the entire state in each.
Wallraff was named a MaxPreps Sophomore All-American for her efforts last season. A performance that sends her into the summer as the 23rd-best overall prospect on PrepVolleyball.com.
In Creighton, Wallraff is getting a program that is striving to reach new heights. Barriers she wants to help them break when she gets to campus in two years.
“I love their winning mentality. Their only losses last year were Nebraska, Louisville, and Penn State. Those are the top schools. The fact that they went to five sets with all of them, I saw how much they want to win. I saw how competitive they are. How much they love competing was really important to me.”