Mavericks Prepare for Denver, South Dakota
Oct 16, 2013 | Volleyball
This Weekend
The Omaha volleyball team returns to action this weekend, traveling to Denver on Friday, Oct. 18 and South Dakota on Sunday, Oct. 20. Friday's match is set for 8 p.m. (CT) at Hamilton Gymnasium in Denver, Colo., while Sunday's contest is slated for 7 p.m. at the DakotaDome in Vermillion, S.D. Links to live stats will be available for both matches on OMavs.com, and live video and audio will be streamed for the DU match only.
Scouting the Denver Pioneers
League newcomer Denver enters Friday with a record of 13-10 (4-1 Summit League) coming off a 3-0 loss to conference leader South Dakota last week. This weekend, the Pioneers face Omaha at 8 p.m. (CT) on Friday, then host Western Illinois on Sunday.
DU went 17-13 in 2012 with a mark of 11-8 in WAC play and was picked third in the 2013 Summit League Preseason Poll. Head coach Jesse Mahoney is in his second season at Denver with a record of 30-23. Over seven years of coaching, Mahoney holds a career record of 120-61.
This weekend marks the second meeting all-time between Omaha and Denver. The Pioneers took the last meeting, 3-0, on Sept. 25, 1992 at the Colorado Premier Tournament in Greeley, Colo.
Scouting the South Dakota Coyotes
Conference leader South Dakota enters the weekend with a record of 14-6 (5-0 Summit) after coming off a pair of league wins over Denver (3-0) and South Dakota State (3-1) last week. This weekend, the Coyotes host Western Illinois on Friday at 7 p.m. and Omaha on Sunday at 7 p.m.
In 2012, the Coyotes went 14-14 overall and 8-8 in Summit League play and were picked fourth in the 2013 preseason poll. Head coach Matt Houk is in his sixth year at South Dakota with a career mark of 92-78.
Omaha leads the all-time series over South Dakota, 54-10. In the last meeting, USD defeated the Mavericks, 3-2, on Nov. 10, 2012 at Sapp Fieldhouse.
Quick Hits
•UNO's sweep of North Dakota State last Friday was its first sweep of a Summit League opponent since joining the conference officially in 2012.
•In matches that Omaha has secured a sweep this season -- against Stetson, Southern, Drake and North Dakota State -- the Mavericks have outhit the opposition .219 to .095. They have also totaled 166 kills to their opponents' 124, as well as posted 2.2 blocks to the other teams' 1.7 and 15.6 digs to 14.0.
•Omaha is 4-2 this year when it wins the first set of a match.
•The Mavericks are a perfect 6-0 this season when leading in hitting percentage, and UNO is 4-0 when its opponents hit .100 or lower.
League Leaders
In its first year of Summit League play in 2012, Omaha made its presence known with its strong serving. As a team, the Mavericks ranked first in the conference with 153 total service aces and 1.47 aces per set.
This season, the Mavericks rank in the top five in multiple categories for serving and blocking: second in aces per set (1.38), block assists (293), total blocks (166) and blocks per set (2.40), fourth in aces (95) and digs (988) and fifth in digs per set (14.32).
Individually, Megan Schmale leads the league in block assists (79) and blocks per set (1.23), is second in total blocks (85), and her .288 hitting percentage ranks fifth. Bailey Baxter comes in second with 0.41 service aces per set and 28 total aces, and Kimberly Bailey is fourth in total digs (252) and fifth in digs per set (3.65).
Mavericks Garner All-Tournament Recognition
Sophomores Kelley Wollak and Kimberly Bailey both earned spots on the all-tournament team at the Tangi Tourism Lion Classic, Sept. 14-15. Wollak averaged a team-leading 2.47 kills per set, along with 0.27 service aces, 1.93 digs and 0.40 blocks per set, and she led the Mavs in kills in three out of four matches. Bailey averaged a team-best 3.33 digs per set, along with 1.13 assists per set.
Before that, sophomore middle blocker Megan Schmale was named to an all-tournament team two weekends in a row, first at the Marriott Houston Westchase Classic (Aug. 30-31) and again at the Omaha Marriott Classic (Sept. 6-7). Over three matches at the Omaha Marriott Classic, the Murdock, Neb., native averaged 2.50 kills, 1.33 blocks and 0.25 service aces per set. She had an outstanding performance against Southern Utah with career highs of 13 kills and nine blocks, hitting .480 with just one attack error.
What Makes Up the Mavericks
•Omaha returns nine letterwinners from the 2012 season, including four starters in sophomores Bailey Baxter, Megan Schmale, Kelley Wollak and Michaela Schimmer.
•UNO returns 62 percent of its total offensive production from last season, as this year's returners accounted for 732 of the Mavericks' 1,183 kills.
•Omaha lost four letterwinners from the 2012 squad, most notably Natalie Ebke, who ranked 10th all-time for career digs and was the Mavs' leader in total kills (284) and kills per set (2.73). Amy Roberts, UNO's defensive specialist, also finished due to graduation and had a team-leading 4.19 digs per set in her final season.
•UNO's top returning hitter is sophomore Kelley Wollak, who averaged 2.64 kills per set as a freshman, just behind Ebke. At the net, sophomore Megan Schmale returns after averaging 0.86 blocks per set in her inaugural season.
•The Mavericks are primarily a young squad, with four freshmen, seven sophomores and two juniors making up the roster. Omaha has no seniors in 2013, and four members of the sophomore class were starters last season.
Triple Trouble
Sophomore Michaela Schimmer tallied three triple-doubles as a freshman in 2012, accounting for the last three triple-doubles in Maverick history. Prior to Schimmer, the last triple-double came from Krista Niezwaag in 1999.
Against Tulsa at the Nike Invitational, the Grand Island, Neb., native narrowly missed her next triple-double, finishing with 10 kills, nine assists and nine digs.
Schimmer's first career triple-double came against Arkansas State with 16 kills, 15 assists and 22 digs. She followed with two in conference play: 12 kills, 22 assists and 16 digs against Western Illinois and 19 kills, 21 assists and 12 digs against South Dakota in the season finale.
2012-13 Squad Earns 14th Straight AVCA Academic Award
UNO earned the American Volleyball Coaches Association Team Academic Award for the 14th straight year, it was announced in July. As a team, the Mavericks recorded a 3.74 GPA during the 2012-13 academic year to garner the annual honor.
The award, which was initiated in 1992-93, honors collegiate and high school volleyball teams that have displayed excellence in the classroom during the school year by maintaining at least a 3.30 cumulative team GPA on a 4.0 scale or a 4.10 cumulative team GPA on a 5.0 scale. Omaha was among 130 Division I women's squads to meet the academic standards last year.
UNO's academic effort was highlighted by 13 volleyball student-athletes making the Dean's List or Chancellor's List and five who held 4.0 GPAs for the academic year. The 2012-13 year marks the 14th straight time the team has earned the AVCA's annual honor and its 17th overall award.
Shires Guides Mavericks as Winningest Coach in School History
Head coach Rose Shires is the all-time winningest coach in 43 years of UNO volleyball history. In her 24th year at the helm of the Maverick program, Shires owns a career record of 441-303 (.593), with the most wins of the five coaches who have served at Omaha.
The 1996 AVCA National Coach of the Year and a two-time conference coach of the year, Shires has enjoyed tremendous success as UNO's guide. The 1996 campaign saw her lead UNO to a national championship as well as its first North Central Conference championship since 1987, followed by an Elite Eight appearance in 1997. In NCAA Tournament play, Shires' squads have combined for 11 appearances and a 10-10 postseason mark.
Shires is assisted by associate head coach Karen Povondra, who is in her 23rd season with UNO, and assistant coach Tanya Cate, who is in her fourth year on the Maverick staff.
Fresh Faces
The Mavericks have welcomed four freshmen to the roster this season: middle blocker Kristy Wieser (Lincoln, Neb.), setter and rightside hitter Nicki Carson (Ord, Neb.), outside hitter Elise Brown (Des Moines, Iowa) and middle blocker Amanda Conlin (Glendale, Ariz.).
Wieser was an all-state selection at Lincoln Pius X, where she helped the Thunderbolts to the 2011 Class B state championship. Carson, also an in-state product, was a two-time all-state pick and led Ord to an appearance in the Class C-2 state championship match as a junior.
Brown was part of the first Dowling High School team in school history to qualify for the state tournament and was a two-time first-team all-conference honoree. Conlin also comes to Omaha with a host of awards: the 2012 AIA Division II Player of the Year and all-state honors, as well as three AIA Division I regional shot put championships. An accomplished track & field athlete, Conlin will also compete as a thrower for the UNO track & field program.
Mixed Schedule Takes Mavericks Around the Nation
Omaha's 2013 schedule includes 29 matches against 22 different opponents, and the team will play in 10 states across the country. UNO will square off with opponents from 12 different conferences.
Five foes were 2012 NCAA Tournament qualifiers: Fort Wayne, LIU Brooklyn, Miami (Fla.), Oklahoma and Tulsa. The Sooners were the only team to play more than one postseason match after defeating Arizona State, 3-2, to advance to the NCAA second round.
The Mavericks have never faced 11 of their 2013 opponents: Houston Baptist, UT-Pan American, Louisiana, SIUE, Southern Utah, Louisiana Tech, Southeastern Louisiana, Stetson, Southern, Oklahoma, Miami (Fla.) and LIU Brooklyn. Omaha holds a combined all-time record of 141-85 over all teams on the slate entering this season.
No Longer the Newcomers
Omaha is in its third year as a reclassifying Division I school in 2013-14 and its second as a member of the Summit League. In 2012, the Mavericks played their first full season as a member of the conference, picking up their first official Summit League win, 3-2 over Western Illinois.
UNO is ineligible for the league tournament and NCAA postseason play until 2015-16 but will play a full regular-season conference schedule through its transitional years.
Summit League Preseason Poll Announced
Omaha was picked to finish eighth in the Summit League Preseason Poll released by the conference office on Aug. 22. The poll was determined by a vote of the league's head coaches, media and media relations personnel.
Defending tournament champion Fort Wayne, received three first-place votes and tied with reigning regular season champion IUPUI, who earned four first-place tallies. The Mastodons won their second league crown in four years, while the Jaguars claimed their first outright regular season title and second overall a year ago.
League newcomer Denver was picked third and collected the final first-place vote. South Dakota finished fourth, while South Dakota State edged out North Dakota State by three points for fifth place. Rounding out the poll were Western Illinois and Omaha.
Next Up
Omaha returns to action next weekend, traveling to Western Illinois on Saturday, Oct. 26 for a 3 p.m. match in Macomb, Ill. Links to live stats and live video will be available on OMavs.com.
The Omaha volleyball team returns to action this weekend, traveling to Denver on Friday, Oct. 18 and South Dakota on Sunday, Oct. 20. Friday's match is set for 8 p.m. (CT) at Hamilton Gymnasium in Denver, Colo., while Sunday's contest is slated for 7 p.m. at the DakotaDome in Vermillion, S.D. Links to live stats will be available for both matches on OMavs.com, and live video and audio will be streamed for the DU match only.
Scouting the Denver Pioneers
League newcomer Denver enters Friday with a record of 13-10 (4-1 Summit League) coming off a 3-0 loss to conference leader South Dakota last week. This weekend, the Pioneers face Omaha at 8 p.m. (CT) on Friday, then host Western Illinois on Sunday.
DU went 17-13 in 2012 with a mark of 11-8 in WAC play and was picked third in the 2013 Summit League Preseason Poll. Head coach Jesse Mahoney is in his second season at Denver with a record of 30-23. Over seven years of coaching, Mahoney holds a career record of 120-61.
This weekend marks the second meeting all-time between Omaha and Denver. The Pioneers took the last meeting, 3-0, on Sept. 25, 1992 at the Colorado Premier Tournament in Greeley, Colo.
Scouting the South Dakota Coyotes
Conference leader South Dakota enters the weekend with a record of 14-6 (5-0 Summit) after coming off a pair of league wins over Denver (3-0) and South Dakota State (3-1) last week. This weekend, the Coyotes host Western Illinois on Friday at 7 p.m. and Omaha on Sunday at 7 p.m.
In 2012, the Coyotes went 14-14 overall and 8-8 in Summit League play and were picked fourth in the 2013 preseason poll. Head coach Matt Houk is in his sixth year at South Dakota with a career mark of 92-78.
Omaha leads the all-time series over South Dakota, 54-10. In the last meeting, USD defeated the Mavericks, 3-2, on Nov. 10, 2012 at Sapp Fieldhouse.
Quick Hits
•UNO's sweep of North Dakota State last Friday was its first sweep of a Summit League opponent since joining the conference officially in 2012.
•In matches that Omaha has secured a sweep this season -- against Stetson, Southern, Drake and North Dakota State -- the Mavericks have outhit the opposition .219 to .095. They have also totaled 166 kills to their opponents' 124, as well as posted 2.2 blocks to the other teams' 1.7 and 15.6 digs to 14.0.
•Omaha is 4-2 this year when it wins the first set of a match.
•The Mavericks are a perfect 6-0 this season when leading in hitting percentage, and UNO is 4-0 when its opponents hit .100 or lower.
League Leaders
In its first year of Summit League play in 2012, Omaha made its presence known with its strong serving. As a team, the Mavericks ranked first in the conference with 153 total service aces and 1.47 aces per set.
This season, the Mavericks rank in the top five in multiple categories for serving and blocking: second in aces per set (1.38), block assists (293), total blocks (166) and blocks per set (2.40), fourth in aces (95) and digs (988) and fifth in digs per set (14.32).
Individually, Megan Schmale leads the league in block assists (79) and blocks per set (1.23), is second in total blocks (85), and her .288 hitting percentage ranks fifth. Bailey Baxter comes in second with 0.41 service aces per set and 28 total aces, and Kimberly Bailey is fourth in total digs (252) and fifth in digs per set (3.65).
Mavericks Garner All-Tournament Recognition
Sophomores Kelley Wollak and Kimberly Bailey both earned spots on the all-tournament team at the Tangi Tourism Lion Classic, Sept. 14-15. Wollak averaged a team-leading 2.47 kills per set, along with 0.27 service aces, 1.93 digs and 0.40 blocks per set, and she led the Mavs in kills in three out of four matches. Bailey averaged a team-best 3.33 digs per set, along with 1.13 assists per set.
Before that, sophomore middle blocker Megan Schmale was named to an all-tournament team two weekends in a row, first at the Marriott Houston Westchase Classic (Aug. 30-31) and again at the Omaha Marriott Classic (Sept. 6-7). Over three matches at the Omaha Marriott Classic, the Murdock, Neb., native averaged 2.50 kills, 1.33 blocks and 0.25 service aces per set. She had an outstanding performance against Southern Utah with career highs of 13 kills and nine blocks, hitting .480 with just one attack error.
What Makes Up the Mavericks
•Omaha returns nine letterwinners from the 2012 season, including four starters in sophomores Bailey Baxter, Megan Schmale, Kelley Wollak and Michaela Schimmer.
•UNO returns 62 percent of its total offensive production from last season, as this year's returners accounted for 732 of the Mavericks' 1,183 kills.
•Omaha lost four letterwinners from the 2012 squad, most notably Natalie Ebke, who ranked 10th all-time for career digs and was the Mavs' leader in total kills (284) and kills per set (2.73). Amy Roberts, UNO's defensive specialist, also finished due to graduation and had a team-leading 4.19 digs per set in her final season.
•UNO's top returning hitter is sophomore Kelley Wollak, who averaged 2.64 kills per set as a freshman, just behind Ebke. At the net, sophomore Megan Schmale returns after averaging 0.86 blocks per set in her inaugural season.
•The Mavericks are primarily a young squad, with four freshmen, seven sophomores and two juniors making up the roster. Omaha has no seniors in 2013, and four members of the sophomore class were starters last season.
Triple Trouble
Sophomore Michaela Schimmer tallied three triple-doubles as a freshman in 2012, accounting for the last three triple-doubles in Maverick history. Prior to Schimmer, the last triple-double came from Krista Niezwaag in 1999.
Against Tulsa at the Nike Invitational, the Grand Island, Neb., native narrowly missed her next triple-double, finishing with 10 kills, nine assists and nine digs.
Schimmer's first career triple-double came against Arkansas State with 16 kills, 15 assists and 22 digs. She followed with two in conference play: 12 kills, 22 assists and 16 digs against Western Illinois and 19 kills, 21 assists and 12 digs against South Dakota in the season finale.
2012-13 Squad Earns 14th Straight AVCA Academic Award
UNO earned the American Volleyball Coaches Association Team Academic Award for the 14th straight year, it was announced in July. As a team, the Mavericks recorded a 3.74 GPA during the 2012-13 academic year to garner the annual honor.
The award, which was initiated in 1992-93, honors collegiate and high school volleyball teams that have displayed excellence in the classroom during the school year by maintaining at least a 3.30 cumulative team GPA on a 4.0 scale or a 4.10 cumulative team GPA on a 5.0 scale. Omaha was among 130 Division I women's squads to meet the academic standards last year.
UNO's academic effort was highlighted by 13 volleyball student-athletes making the Dean's List or Chancellor's List and five who held 4.0 GPAs for the academic year. The 2012-13 year marks the 14th straight time the team has earned the AVCA's annual honor and its 17th overall award.
Shires Guides Mavericks as Winningest Coach in School History
Head coach Rose Shires is the all-time winningest coach in 43 years of UNO volleyball history. In her 24th year at the helm of the Maverick program, Shires owns a career record of 441-303 (.593), with the most wins of the five coaches who have served at Omaha.
The 1996 AVCA National Coach of the Year and a two-time conference coach of the year, Shires has enjoyed tremendous success as UNO's guide. The 1996 campaign saw her lead UNO to a national championship as well as its first North Central Conference championship since 1987, followed by an Elite Eight appearance in 1997. In NCAA Tournament play, Shires' squads have combined for 11 appearances and a 10-10 postseason mark.
Shires is assisted by associate head coach Karen Povondra, who is in her 23rd season with UNO, and assistant coach Tanya Cate, who is in her fourth year on the Maverick staff.
Fresh Faces
The Mavericks have welcomed four freshmen to the roster this season: middle blocker Kristy Wieser (Lincoln, Neb.), setter and rightside hitter Nicki Carson (Ord, Neb.), outside hitter Elise Brown (Des Moines, Iowa) and middle blocker Amanda Conlin (Glendale, Ariz.).
Wieser was an all-state selection at Lincoln Pius X, where she helped the Thunderbolts to the 2011 Class B state championship. Carson, also an in-state product, was a two-time all-state pick and led Ord to an appearance in the Class C-2 state championship match as a junior.
Brown was part of the first Dowling High School team in school history to qualify for the state tournament and was a two-time first-team all-conference honoree. Conlin also comes to Omaha with a host of awards: the 2012 AIA Division II Player of the Year and all-state honors, as well as three AIA Division I regional shot put championships. An accomplished track & field athlete, Conlin will also compete as a thrower for the UNO track & field program.
Mixed Schedule Takes Mavericks Around the Nation
Omaha's 2013 schedule includes 29 matches against 22 different opponents, and the team will play in 10 states across the country. UNO will square off with opponents from 12 different conferences.
Five foes were 2012 NCAA Tournament qualifiers: Fort Wayne, LIU Brooklyn, Miami (Fla.), Oklahoma and Tulsa. The Sooners were the only team to play more than one postseason match after defeating Arizona State, 3-2, to advance to the NCAA second round.
The Mavericks have never faced 11 of their 2013 opponents: Houston Baptist, UT-Pan American, Louisiana, SIUE, Southern Utah, Louisiana Tech, Southeastern Louisiana, Stetson, Southern, Oklahoma, Miami (Fla.) and LIU Brooklyn. Omaha holds a combined all-time record of 141-85 over all teams on the slate entering this season.
No Longer the Newcomers
Omaha is in its third year as a reclassifying Division I school in 2013-14 and its second as a member of the Summit League. In 2012, the Mavericks played their first full season as a member of the conference, picking up their first official Summit League win, 3-2 over Western Illinois.
UNO is ineligible for the league tournament and NCAA postseason play until 2015-16 but will play a full regular-season conference schedule through its transitional years.
Summit League Preseason Poll Announced
Omaha was picked to finish eighth in the Summit League Preseason Poll released by the conference office on Aug. 22. The poll was determined by a vote of the league's head coaches, media and media relations personnel.
Defending tournament champion Fort Wayne, received three first-place votes and tied with reigning regular season champion IUPUI, who earned four first-place tallies. The Mastodons won their second league crown in four years, while the Jaguars claimed their first outright regular season title and second overall a year ago.
League newcomer Denver was picked third and collected the final first-place vote. South Dakota finished fourth, while South Dakota State edged out North Dakota State by three points for fifth place. Rounding out the poll were Western Illinois and Omaha.
Next Up
Omaha returns to action next weekend, traveling to Western Illinois on Saturday, Oct. 26 for a 3 p.m. match in Macomb, Ill. Links to live stats and live video will be available on OMavs.com.
Players Mentioned
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