Husker Sign Bartek to National Letter-of-Intent

Lincoln ? University of Nebraska Volleyball Coach John Cook announced Thursday the signing of Brooke Bartek (Lincoln, Neb./Northeast High School) to a National Letter-of-Intent to play volleyball for the Husker program.

A 6-foot-2 outside hitter/middle blocker, Bartek is ranked as one of the nation’s top 25 recruits by Volleyball Magazine, while Prepvolleyball.com rated Bartek 13th nationally among the players in this year’s senior class. She finished her four-year varsity career at Lincoln Northeast with a school-record 337 blocks and is second all-time at Lincoln Northeast with 1,190 kills.

“Brooke continues the tradition of great athletes from the state,” Cook said. “She is the top recruit in the class and one of the best seniors in the country. We love the fact that she is a multi-sport athlete who has played both middle blocker and outside hitter and brings that versatility to our program. Athletically, she has quick feet and a fast arm swing, and we are excited about her potential to develop as she joins our program.”

“She also has the experience of playing club with some of the players who are already here at Nebraska (Jordan Larson, Amanda Gates and Rachel Schwartz), and that should help her in the transition to the college game next year.”

This season, Bartek helped Lincoln Northeast and coach Michelle Leising to a 19-11 record and a district final appearance. Bartek totaled 406 kills on .359 hitting while adding 74 blocks, 33 aces and 290 digs. She was also the only underclassmen on the Nebraska Juniors Club program that placed third at the 2005 Junior Olympics in Salt Lake City. Bartek also trained with the A-2 Junior National Team in Colorado Springs last summer.

In 2004, Bartek earned first-team Super-State honors from the Lincoln Journal Star, producing 411 kills on .325 hitting, 93 blocks and 257 digs after leading Northeast to its first state tournament appearance in four years. She was the only underclassman on the 2004 Super-State team, a squad that included current Huskers Jordan Larson, Amanda Gates and Rachel Schwartz, and was also a first-team All-Nebraska selection by the Omaha World-Herald.

She committed to Nebraska following her sophomore season in which she totaled 212 kills on .322 hitting and 4.1 digs per game. Bartek also earned All-America honors at the 2004 Junior Olympics in the 17-and-under category, helping the Nebraska Juniors to a fifth-place showing.

In addition to her volleyball honors, Bartek played basketball for Coach Rich Olson helping Lincoln Northeast to an undefeated record and a Class A state title in 2004-05. She also is a member of the Rockets’ track program. The daughter of Steve and JoAnne Bartek, Brooke’s grandfather, Bertyl Gissler, played football at Nebraska in 1943.

She also excels in the classroom, ranking in the top-five percent of her graduating class and making the honor roll every semester. She plans to major in nutrition, fitness and health promotion at Nebraska.

The No. 1 ranked Huskers are 24-0 on the season and host No. 12 Missouri this Sunday, Nov. 13, at 5 p.m. at the Nebraska Coliseum.