Mavs Close Season With South Dakota, Denver
Nov 14, 2013 | Volleyball
This Weekend
The Omaha volleyball closes the 2013 season this weekend, hosting South Dakota on Friday, Nov. 15 and Denver on Sunday, Nov. 17 at Sapp Fieldhouse. Friday's match is set for 7 p.m., while Sunday's action starts at 2 p.m. Links to live stats and live video will be available on OMavs.com, and the webcast will include commentary from Jon Green.
Scouting the South Dakota Coyotes
League leader South Dakota enters Friday with a record of 18-10 (9-3 Summit League) coming off a pair of losses at Iowa State and Denver. This weekend, the Coyotes first travel to Omaha and then head to Western Illinois on Sunday to close their regular season.
The Coyotes went 14-14 in 2012 with a record of 8-8 in Summit League play. Head coach Matt Houk is in his sixth season at South Dakota with a career mark of 78-72.
UNO leads the all-time series against South Dakota, 54-11. The Coyotes won this season's first meeting by a score of 3-0 at the DakotaDome on Oct. 20. In last year's match at Sapp Fieldhouse, South Dakota won 3-2.
Scouting the Denver Pioneers
Denver enters the weekend with a record of 14-11 (8-4 Summit League) after two league win over South Dakota State and South Dakota. This weekend, the Pioneers face Western Illinois on Friday before closing the regular season in Omaha on Sunday.
The Pioneers went 17-13 in 2012 with a record of 10-8 in the WAC. Head coach Jesse Mahoney is in his second year at Denver and holds a career mark of 31-24
Denver leads the all-time series against Omaha, 2-0. The Pioneers took a 3-0 win in Denver earlier this season on Oct. 18.
Quick Hits
•Sophomore Bailey Baxter ranks 51st nationally with 0.38 service aces per set, and sophomore Megan Schmale is 97th in the country with 1.15 blocks per set.
•Sophomore Michaela Schimmer's nine double-doubles and one triple-double lead the Mavericks this season.
•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 6-1 this season when leading in hitting percentage, and UNO is 4-0 when its opponents hit .100 or lower.
League Leaders
In its second year of Summit League play in 2013, Omaha has ranked among the top five in the Summit League in a variety of categories, including blocks, digs and aces. As a team, UNO is second in block assists (351), third in digs per set (14.75) and blocks per set (2.19), fourth in service aces per set (1.32) and total blocks (202) and fifth in total aces (121) and total digs (1,357).
Individually, Megan Schmale leads the league with 1.15 blocks per set, 106 total blocks and 96 block assists, and her .293 hitting percentage ranks fifth. Bailey Baxter comes in second with 0.38 service aces per set and third with 35 total aces, and Kimberly Bailey is fifth with 336 total digs and 3.65 digs per set.
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.
Triple Trouble
Sophomore Michaela Schimmer tallied her fourth career triple-double at Denver on Oct. 18, finishing with 12 kills, 16 assists and 11 digs. With her three triple-doubles as a freshman in 2012, Schimmer has accounted for the last four triple-doubles in Maverick history. Prior to her, the last triple-double came from Krista Niezwaag in 1999.
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.
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.
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 441-310 (.587), 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 has played in 10 states across the country. UNO have squared 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.
The Omaha volleyball closes the 2013 season this weekend, hosting South Dakota on Friday, Nov. 15 and Denver on Sunday, Nov. 17 at Sapp Fieldhouse. Friday's match is set for 7 p.m., while Sunday's action starts at 2 p.m. Links to live stats and live video will be available on OMavs.com, and the webcast will include commentary from Jon Green.
Scouting the South Dakota Coyotes
League leader South Dakota enters Friday with a record of 18-10 (9-3 Summit League) coming off a pair of losses at Iowa State and Denver. This weekend, the Coyotes first travel to Omaha and then head to Western Illinois on Sunday to close their regular season.
The Coyotes went 14-14 in 2012 with a record of 8-8 in Summit League play. Head coach Matt Houk is in his sixth season at South Dakota with a career mark of 78-72.
UNO leads the all-time series against South Dakota, 54-11. The Coyotes won this season's first meeting by a score of 3-0 at the DakotaDome on Oct. 20. In last year's match at Sapp Fieldhouse, South Dakota won 3-2.
Scouting the Denver Pioneers
Denver enters the weekend with a record of 14-11 (8-4 Summit League) after two league win over South Dakota State and South Dakota. This weekend, the Pioneers face Western Illinois on Friday before closing the regular season in Omaha on Sunday.
The Pioneers went 17-13 in 2012 with a record of 10-8 in the WAC. Head coach Jesse Mahoney is in his second year at Denver and holds a career mark of 31-24
Denver leads the all-time series against Omaha, 2-0. The Pioneers took a 3-0 win in Denver earlier this season on Oct. 18.
Quick Hits
•Sophomore Bailey Baxter ranks 51st nationally with 0.38 service aces per set, and sophomore Megan Schmale is 97th in the country with 1.15 blocks per set.
•Sophomore Michaela Schimmer's nine double-doubles and one triple-double lead the Mavericks this season.
•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 6-1 this season when leading in hitting percentage, and UNO is 4-0 when its opponents hit .100 or lower.
League Leaders
In its second year of Summit League play in 2013, Omaha has ranked among the top five in the Summit League in a variety of categories, including blocks, digs and aces. As a team, UNO is second in block assists (351), third in digs per set (14.75) and blocks per set (2.19), fourth in service aces per set (1.32) and total blocks (202) and fifth in total aces (121) and total digs (1,357).
Individually, Megan Schmale leads the league with 1.15 blocks per set, 106 total blocks and 96 block assists, and her .293 hitting percentage ranks fifth. Bailey Baxter comes in second with 0.38 service aces per set and third with 35 total aces, and Kimberly Bailey is fifth with 336 total digs and 3.65 digs per set.
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.
Triple Trouble
Sophomore Michaela Schimmer tallied her fourth career triple-double at Denver on Oct. 18, finishing with 12 kills, 16 assists and 11 digs. With her three triple-doubles as a freshman in 2012, Schimmer has accounted for the last four triple-doubles in Maverick history. Prior to her, the last triple-double came from Krista Niezwaag in 1999.
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.
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.
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 441-310 (.587), 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 has played in 10 states across the country. UNO have squared 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.
Players Mentioned
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