<p>Maisie Boesiger’s earliest volleyball memories happened in the Norris gym. </p>
<p>Her mom, Christina, is the head volleyball coach at Norris and has been teaching there for 21 years. Maisie called herself a “volleyball baby” — she was born in September and Christina gave birth to her a day after coaching her team in a tournament. </p>
<p>“Gym rat” is an overused sports cliché, but Maisie, a junior setter at Norris, certainly fits the bill.</p>
<p>“I just remember pretty much growing up here,” she told Hail Varsity. “Every day after school I’d be here at practice and I always wanted to jump in with the big girls playing on the court but normally got demoted to playing on the wall or with another friend who’d come to practice with me and we’d pepper on the side. Then I remember playing club as soon as I could. I just wanted to play. I grew up around the game and I just always wanted to play.”</p>
<p>That love for the game has driven her throughout her life. Countless hours spent in that gym have gotten her to where she is now, leading one of the best teams in Class B and committed to play at Nebraska.</p>
<p>After watching from the sidelines growing up, Maisie finally got to suit up for the Titans in 2018, earning a varsity role as a freshman and helping Norris qualify for the state tournament. </p>
<p>“I knew that going into freshman year that I wanted to make sure that I earned the spot and I didn’t want anybody to be able to say that I was just playing because I’m the coach’s daughter,” Maisie said. “I really knew that I had to work super hard to be able to earn that spot and show others that I deserved to be out on the court.”</p>
<div class=”mod mod-photo mod-right” data-size=”large”><img alt=”” data-mediaitemid=”48236″ src=”https://f5s002media.blob.core.windows.net/photos/0048236-rglg-320×180.jpg” style=”width: 320px;” />
<div class=”mod-photo-credit”>John S. Peterson</div>
<div class=”mod-photo-caption” style=”width: 320px;”>Maisie Boesiger speaks with her mom and coach, Christina, during a match.</div>
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<p>The parent-child coaching dynamic at the high school level can be difficult for both sides, but Maisie’s work ethic made it pretty easy, and the two had plenty of practice by the time Maisie started high school. Christina coached her club team from second grade up to high school.</p>
<p>“I coached her early on, then her freshman year she went to Premier for club because I knew I would still be coaching her in high school,” Christina said “She’s been a really easy one to coach and it’s been really easy to separate, coach in practice and at home I’m her mom. If she wants to talk volleyball, we’ll talk volleyball and stuff, but she is just a really dedicated and respectful person where I feel it’s made the transition really easy.”</p>
<p>Maisie said she loves playing for her mom, including the extra strategy and scouting sessions they share outside of the practice gym.</p>
<p>Norris played a 6-2 in 2018 which utilized both Maisie and senior Michaela Boon as setters, taking some of the pressure off the freshman and allowing her to ease into her role. Boon averaged 4.9 assists and 2.4 digs per set while Maisie chipped in 3.8 assists and 1.7 digs per set as the Titans went 24-12.</p>
<p>“It was a great adjustment,” Maisie said. “Michaela was the best; she was a great role model for me to look up to and she made the adjustment so easy for me and we became so close during the season.”</p>
<p>Norris switched to a 5-1 in 2019 and Maisie settled into her role as the starting setter. She dished out 10.3 assists and 2.3 digs per set while leading the Titans back to the state tournament. Norris went 27-10 and advanced to the Class B state semifinals before falling to the eventual champions, Omaha Skutt.</p>
<p>The Titans have had a great season thus far and Maisie added a new title to her résumé: future Husker. She announced her commitment to Nebraska Sept. 5, but her journey to become a Husker began a long time ago. When she was in fourth grade, she went to a Nebraska match at the old Coliseum and was blown away by the atmosphere.</p>
<p>“All I knew was Norris high school before that,” Maisie said. “I went there with my parents and we showed up a little bit late. The Huskers had scored a point and the crowd was just roaring as we were walking into the Coliseum. It was just echoing and I was in awe. We sat down and we were watching the game for a while, and I turned to my dad and I asked him, ‘What do you have to do to play here?’ He said, ‘A lot of hard work,' so that’s always been in the back of my mind since that day.”</p>
<div class=”mod mod-photo mod-left” data-size=”large”><img alt=”” data-mediaitemid=”48235″ src=”https://f5s002media.blob.core.windows.net/photos/0048235-uxqe-320×180.jpg” style=”width: 320px;” />
<div class=”mod-photo-credit”>John S. Peterson</div>
<div class=”mod-photo-caption” style=”width: 320px;”>Maisie Boesiger signals a call before a serve.</div>
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<p>Talent aside, it was that work ethic that convinced her parents that she had what it takes to play at a high level in college.</p>
<p>“That girl is in the gym all the time and she asks random nights and days and weekends and mornings,” Christina said. “I think when we saw that desire and work ethic that she had at a young age and she’s super goal-oriented, so I think then and just as her skills were coming along, I think we knew that was a possibility and we just have tried to support her. If she wants to go to the gym, we’ll go to the gym. Over quarantine, we couldn’t go to the gym so we put a volleyball court in our backyard. I think just trying to give her every opportunity. Whatever she wanted, we wanted to support her and let her dream big.”</p>
<p>Maisie got her first letter from Nebraska in eighth grade. She attended camps and communicated with John Cook’s staff through her club coaches until June 15 of this year when college coaches were allowed to contact 2022 recruits directly. Jaylen Reyes, Nebraska’s recruiting coordinator, sent her a text at 12:01 a.m. on that first day and then she had a Zoom call with the whole staff in the morning. Nebraska extended an offer in August and a few weeks later she pulled the trigger. </p>
<p>Maisie called it a “big relief” to have her decision out of the way. It was a relief for her family as well.</p>
<p>“Of course, we were super excited, being close to home,” Christina said. “Through this whole process we’ve just tried to support her with pros and cons and this is what we see, but we’ve always wanted it to be fully her decision which at times I think was frustrating for her because I think she wanted to hear ‘Well, what do you think?’ We just truly wanted it to be her decision and know if it was San Diego or if it was Louisville or wherever she was going to be, we were going to support her 100%. So when she decided, of course we were super ecstatic; little sister was balling, was in tears. To have her close to home will mean a lot, just with me coaching especially, that would be hard during the season.”</p>
<p>Nebraska is looking at the 5-foot-6 junior as a defensive specialist. Though she’s been a setter throughout her entire volleyball career, Maisie said she’s focused a lot on improving her defensive skills over the last couple of years, and her experience at setter should give her a unique perspective as a full-time back-row player.</p>
<div class=”mod mod-photo mod-right” data-size=”large”><img alt=”” data-mediaitemid=”48233″ src=”https://f5s002media.blob.core.windows.net/photos/0048233-jlly-320×180.jpg” style=”width: 320px;” />
<div class=”mod-photo-credit”>John S. Peterson</div>
<div class=”mod-photo-caption” style=”width: 320px;”>Maisie Boesiger is averaging over 10 kills per set for Norris, but she’ll play defensive specialist at Nebraska.</div>
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<p>“She’s gone to Dream Team Camp now the last couple years and they've had her in those roles, like a libero role, a DS role,” Christina said. “So I think they know what she’s capable of doing in that role. Her work ethic, they know that she’s in the gym. She trains with [former Husker and long-time coach] Gwen Egbert all the time and she’s a phenomenal person to be training with. I think they just know that she’s willing to put in that time. She’s kind of in a unique position where she’s set and played defense; she knows both which I think raises her IQ level for the game.”</p>
<p>Nebraska is Maisie’s future, however. Mother and daughter still have the stretch run of this season and next year together, and Christina is happy to have a court side seat to see everything Maisie has accomplished and will accomplish in the future.</p>
<p>“It’s been great, so meaningful,” Christina said. “It’s going fast. I feel very fortunate to be in that situation and I love the fact that she’s grown up in the gym where she’s watched all these amazing Norris athletes come through. We’ve had lots of girls that went on to play college volleyball … I truly feel like they just planted a seed for her.”</p>
<p>Before too long, Maisie will be joining the Norris alumni she idolized as a girl in the college ranks. For now, however, the Titans are 14-4 and have their sights set on another postseason run.</p>
Jacob Padilla has been writing for Hail Varsity since 2015. He covers football, volleyball men’s basketball and prep sports. He also co-hosts the Nebraska Preps Postgame and Nebraska Shootaround podcasts for the Hurrdat Media and Hail Varsity podcast networks. His love of basketball can best be described as an obsession and if you need to find him, he’s probably in a gym somewhere watching, coaching or playing hoops.
