Claire Knust | Age 17 | Skutt High School
Originally a soccer player, Claire Knust was introduced to volleyball by a friend as a middle school student. Now as a senior in high school, Claire is weighing her college options and hopes to play Division I volleyball.
Having a late introduction to competitive volleyball compared to other girls her age, Claire put in a lot of extra time and effort to improve and succeed. From participating in clinics, attending lessons, and practicing in her own driveway she was determined to hone her skills. That dedication paid off and as a freshman at Skutt High School, she was a starter on the junior varsity team and also played with the varsity team. That year she earned the Outstanding Red Shirt award.
In both her sophomore and junior years, Claire was a starter on the varsity team and amassed a number of volleyball awards. During her sophomore season, she broke the school record for hitting above .900 and won multiple honorable mentions including from the Omaha World-Herald and Lincoln Journal Star. Her junior season included being named Nebraska Prep Volleyball Super 25, Omaha World-Herald All Area First Team and All State Tournament Team, River City Conference (RCC) All Conference, and Lincoln Journal Star All State Honorable Mention.
As a senior this year, Claire is once again a starter on the varsity team at Skutt and is hoping to bring home even more awards to close out her high school career. Volleyball has become a year round sport for Claire and when she isn’t playing for her high school team she plays club for Nebraska Elite and club level sand volleyball in the summer. She has even trained with USA volleyball.
Claire carries her drive to succeed into her scholastic and service work as well. With a 3.8 GPA, Claire has multiple academic awards: RCC Academic All-Conference the last two years, Silver Key in the state art competition, and the Service Award all three years of high school. Her volunteer time has been spent at the Ronald McDonald House, HETRA, Children’s Hospital, St. Stephens, and Big Sister, Little Sister.
When not on the court, in the classroom, or volunteering, Claire enjoys spending time with her family and friends, playing sports with her brothers, biking, art, and playing the violin. She is the daughter of Tim and Jody Knust and has two younger brothers, Benjamin (14) and Charlie (11).
A note of thanks from Claire that she wanted to include: “I want to thank my family, friends, community, Skutt Catholic, coaches, and teammates for helping me grow as an individual by showing me such incredible love and support to help me get to where I am today, on and off the court.”
