Shires Seeks Win Number 400 as Mavs Open MIAA Play
Sep 15, 2009 | Volleyball
Complete Release
A busy week awaits the 20th-ranked Mavericks as they play their first three MIAA matches of the season and head coach Rose Shires will enter the week three wins shy of her 400th victory. Nebraska-Omaha (10-3) will start the week Wednesday at 5 p.m. at Missouri Southern and then host No. 22 Pittsburg State at Sapp Fieldhouse Friday at 7 p.m. A match against Southwest Baptist Saturday at 5 p.m. will close the week.
The Mavericks are coming off a 4-1 week in which they remained undefeated at Sapp Fieldhouse at 8-0 with four wins in the UNO Volleyball Classic Friday and Saturday. Wednesday they fell in five sets at then-No. 9 Nebraska-Kearney.
MSSU (5-4) and SBU (5-7) will be playing their first MIAA matches of the season as well, while PSU (9-4) is 1-0 in the league.
Shires 3 Wins From 400 in 20th Season at UNO
UNO head coach Rose Shires, who has coached all 20 of her seasons at Nebraska-Omaha, will enter the first week of MIAA play three wins shy of 400. She begins the week 397-218 (.646) after coaching UNO to a 10-3 start this year. Shires is first at UNO in terms of total wins and second with a .646 winning percentage. Shires coached UNO to a national championship in 1996 and she boasts three conference championships and 10 trips to the NCAA tournament since taking over the program in 1990.
Another Big Week Pushes Thommes Into 1,000 Kills Club
Senior middle blocker Ellen Thommes became the 17th member of the 1,000 kills club after another big week for the Mavericks. She averaged 3.17 kills per set, hit .348 and averaged 4.08 points per set as UNO went 4-1. She had 57 kills during the week and now has 1,035 in her four years. She also tied a school single-match record during the week with 14 blocks at UNK on Wednesday. Against Missouri S&T Saturday she had 17 kills with one error to hit .727 in the match.
Mavericks Move Up In Top 25 Poll
After earning their first ranking of the season last week, the Mavericks moved up three spots to No. 20 in the American Volleyball Coaches Association top 25 poll. Nebraska-Omaha debuted at No. 23 last week and then went 4-1 during the week to move up. UNO is one of six MIAA teams in the top 25 and overall, eight of UNO's 2009 opponents are in the ranking.
About This Week's Opponents
The Mavericks will face their fifth ranked opponent of the season when No. 22 PSU comes to Sapp Fieldhouse on Saturday. The Gorillas are 9-3 overall and 1-0 in the MIAA and they have won six straight since starting the year 3-3. Wednesday's opponent, MSSU is 5-4 and has lost four of its last six matches. SBU, UNO's Saturday opponent, is 5-7.
Mavericks Stay Undefeated at Home, Fall in Close Battle at UNK
The Mavericks went 4-0 in their own UNO Volleyball Classic last weekend and dropped just one set in the process. The led the tournament field with a .317 attack percentage and 15.23 kills per game and Ellen Thommes led everyone with a .429 attack percentage while sophomore setter Emily Myers had a tournament-high 12.54 assists per set.
On Wednesday at Nebraska-Kearney Thommes tied a school blocking record and the Mavericks took set one but the Lopers won the next two and later a deciding fifth set for a 3-2 win. Thommes blocked 14 Loper attacks with 11 assisted blocks and three solo efforts to tie a school single-match record that has stood since 1987. The match featured 44 tie scores and 17 lead changes. Myers had 51 assists and 15 digs for a double-double for the Mavs and Reicks led a busy back row with a career-high 37 digs. That total tied for the third highest single-match dig total in school history.
Coming Up Next
Nebraska-Omaha will host No. 6 Washburn on Wednesday, September 23, at 7 p.m. in Lee Arena and then play three straight MIAA matches on the road, starting Friday, September 26, at Fort Hays State and Sunday, September 27, at No. 3 Emporia State.
A busy week awaits the 20th-ranked Mavericks as they play their first three MIAA matches of the season and head coach Rose Shires will enter the week three wins shy of her 400th victory. Nebraska-Omaha (10-3) will start the week Wednesday at 5 p.m. at Missouri Southern and then host No. 22 Pittsburg State at Sapp Fieldhouse Friday at 7 p.m. A match against Southwest Baptist Saturday at 5 p.m. will close the week.
The Mavericks are coming off a 4-1 week in which they remained undefeated at Sapp Fieldhouse at 8-0 with four wins in the UNO Volleyball Classic Friday and Saturday. Wednesday they fell in five sets at then-No. 9 Nebraska-Kearney.
MSSU (5-4) and SBU (5-7) will be playing their first MIAA matches of the season as well, while PSU (9-4) is 1-0 in the league.
Shires 3 Wins From 400 in 20th Season at UNO
UNO head coach Rose Shires, who has coached all 20 of her seasons at Nebraska-Omaha, will enter the first week of MIAA play three wins shy of 400. She begins the week 397-218 (.646) after coaching UNO to a 10-3 start this year. Shires is first at UNO in terms of total wins and second with a .646 winning percentage. Shires coached UNO to a national championship in 1996 and she boasts three conference championships and 10 trips to the NCAA tournament since taking over the program in 1990.
Another Big Week Pushes Thommes Into 1,000 Kills Club
Senior middle blocker Ellen Thommes became the 17th member of the 1,000 kills club after another big week for the Mavericks. She averaged 3.17 kills per set, hit .348 and averaged 4.08 points per set as UNO went 4-1. She had 57 kills during the week and now has 1,035 in her four years. She also tied a school single-match record during the week with 14 blocks at UNK on Wednesday. Against Missouri S&T Saturday she had 17 kills with one error to hit .727 in the match.
Mavericks Move Up In Top 25 Poll
After earning their first ranking of the season last week, the Mavericks moved up three spots to No. 20 in the American Volleyball Coaches Association top 25 poll. Nebraska-Omaha debuted at No. 23 last week and then went 4-1 during the week to move up. UNO is one of six MIAA teams in the top 25 and overall, eight of UNO's 2009 opponents are in the ranking.
About This Week's Opponents
The Mavericks will face their fifth ranked opponent of the season when No. 22 PSU comes to Sapp Fieldhouse on Saturday. The Gorillas are 9-3 overall and 1-0 in the MIAA and they have won six straight since starting the year 3-3. Wednesday's opponent, MSSU is 5-4 and has lost four of its last six matches. SBU, UNO's Saturday opponent, is 5-7.
Mavericks Stay Undefeated at Home, Fall in Close Battle at UNK
The Mavericks went 4-0 in their own UNO Volleyball Classic last weekend and dropped just one set in the process. The led the tournament field with a .317 attack percentage and 15.23 kills per game and Ellen Thommes led everyone with a .429 attack percentage while sophomore setter Emily Myers had a tournament-high 12.54 assists per set.
On Wednesday at Nebraska-Kearney Thommes tied a school blocking record and the Mavericks took set one but the Lopers won the next two and later a deciding fifth set for a 3-2 win. Thommes blocked 14 Loper attacks with 11 assisted blocks and three solo efforts to tie a school single-match record that has stood since 1987. The match featured 44 tie scores and 17 lead changes. Myers had 51 assists and 15 digs for a double-double for the Mavs and Reicks led a busy back row with a career-high 37 digs. That total tied for the third highest single-match dig total in school history.
Coming Up Next
Nebraska-Omaha will host No. 6 Washburn on Wednesday, September 23, at 7 p.m. in Lee Arena and then play three straight MIAA matches on the road, starting Friday, September 26, at Fort Hays State and Sunday, September 27, at No. 3 Emporia State.
Players Mentioned
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