Mavericks Open 2014 Campaign With Omaha Classic
Aug 28, 2014 | Volleyball
This Weekend
The Omaha volleyball team opens the 2014 season this weekend, hosting the DoubleTree Suites by Hilton Omaha Classic at Sapp Fieldhouse, Aug. 29-30. The four-team, six-match tournament includes Central Michigan, Drake and UMKC. The Mavericks open play on Friday at 6 p.m. with Central Michigan, followed by two Saturday matches against Drake at Noon and UMKC at 5 p.m. Links to live stats and live video will be available on OMavs.com, and the webcast will include commentary from Jon Green.
Omaha Classic Tournament Schedule Set
The schedule for this weekend's DoubleTree Suites by Hilton Omaha Classic has been set, and it includes six matches for four teams over two days:
Friday, Aug. 29
Match #1 (3 p.m.): Drake vs. UMKC
Match #2 (6 p.m.): Omaha vs. Central Michigan
Saturday, Aug. 30
Match #3 (10 a.m.): UMKC vs. Central Michigan
Match #4 (Noon): Omaha vs. Drake
Match #5 (3 p.m.): Central Michigan vs. Drake
Match #6 (5 p.m.): Omaha vs. UMKC
Scouting the Central Michigan Chippewas
Central Michigan finished the 2013 season with an overall record of 11-17 and a 5-11 mark in MAC play, landing at sixth in the MAC West Division standings. Head coach Erik Olson enters his 11th year with the Chippewas in 2014, carrying a career mark of 145-154.
CMU is led by senior outside hitter Kaitlyn McIntyre, who was a first-team All-MAC selection last season after ranking second in the MAC with 3.93 kills per set.
This weekend marks the first meeting in history between Omaha and Central Michigan.
Scouting the Drake Bulldogs
Drake comes off a 2013 season in which it finished 2-28 overall and 0-18 in MVC play. Head coach Darrin McBroom is in his second season at the helm of the Bulldog program, and he holds a career record of 2-28. DU returns eight letterwinners from 2013, including six with starting experience, and Drake was picked 10th in the MVC's preseason coaches' poll released earlier this month.
The all-time series between Omaha and Drake is tied at 8-8. The Mavericks won the most recent meeting with a 3-0 sweep in Des Moines, Iowa, on Sept. 25, 2013.
Scouting the UMKC Kangaroos
UMKC enters 2014 after going 15-14 overall and 9-7 in conference play in 2013, during which time it tied for fifth in the WAC standings. Head coach Christi Posey is in her fourth season in Kansas City, holding a career mark of 44-44.
The Kangaroos return 11 letterwinners, including six who started a year ago. They were picked fourth in the preseason WAC coaches' poll earlier this month, while junior rightside hitter Sydney Crimmins and junior middle hitter Emma Hagedorn were both named to the Preseason All-WAC team.
Omaha leads the all-time series with UMKC, 5-4-1. The Mavericks last faced the 'Roos on Nov. 8, 2012, taking a 3-1 win at home.
Quick Hits
•Junior middle blocker Megan Schmale was Omaha's first Division I all-conference pick, earning All-Summit honorable mention status last season. A native of Murdock, Neb., she led the conference in blocking and ranked in the top 100 nationally for blocks per set. Schmale also earned Academic All-Summit accolades for the first time.
•Head coach Rose Shires is in her 25th year steering the Maverick program, and she is the winningest coach in UNO volleyball history with a record of 442-311.
•Junior Michaela Schimmer's nine double-doubles and two triple-doubles led the Mavericks in 2013.
•The Mavericks were 7-1 last year when leading in hitting percentage and 4-0 when their opponents hit .100 or lower.
What Makes Up the Mavericks
•Omaha returns 10 letterwinners from the 2013 season, including five juniors with starting experience: defensive specialist/libero Kimberly Bailey, middle blockers Diane Banderas and Megan Schmale, setter/rightside hitter Michaela Schimmer and outside hitter Kelley Wollak.
•UNO returns 86 percent of its total offensive production from last season, as this year's returners accounted for 948 of the Mavericks' 1,099 kills.
•Omaha lost just two letterwinners from the 2013 squad, setter Bailey Baxter (5.02 assists and 0.38 service aces per set) and middle blocker Kristy Wieser (1.45 kills and 0.32 blocks per set).
•UNO's top returning hitter is Wollak, who averaged 2.58 kills per set last year. At the net, Schmale returns after leading the Summit League with 1.16 blocks per set.
•The Mavericks are made up of five freshmen, one redshirt freshman, two sophomores, six juniors and two seniors.
League Leaders
Junior middle blocker Megan Schmale led the Summit League in three categories last season with 1.16 blocks per set, 106 total blocks and 106 block assists, and her .293 hitting percentage ranked fifth. Junior defensive specialist Kimberly Bailey was also fifth in the conference in digs per set (3.65) and total digs (365).
Triple Trouble
Junior Michaela Schimmer tallied her fifth career triple-double during last season's Nov. 15 matchup with South Dakota, finishing with 12 kills, 26 assists and 20 digs. With her three triple-doubles as a freshman in 2012 and two more last season, Schimmer has accounted for the last five triple-doubles in Maverick history. Prior to her, the last triple-double came from Krista Niezwaag in 1999.
The High School All-America Duo
Omaha's five-member freshman class is highlighted by a pair of high school All-Americans as named by PrepVolleyball.com: setter Sydney O'Shaughnessy and outside hitter Mackenzie Horkey. O' Shaughnessy, from Omaha Marian High School, helped the Crusaders to the Class A state title in 2013 and was honorary captain of the Omaha World-Herald's All-State Team. Horkey was a three-time all-state pick at Southwest Christian High School and also won a state championship in 2013 with her team.
2013-14 Squad Earns 15th Straight AVCA Academic Award
UNO earned the American Volleyball Coaches Association Team Academic Award for the 15th straight year and the 18th time overall, it was announced in July. As a team, the Mavericks recorded a 3.65 GPA during the 2013-14 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 138 Division I women's squads to meet the academic standards last year.
Shires Guides Mavericks as Winningest Coach in School History
Head coach Rose Shires is the all-time winningest coach in 44 years of UNO volleyball history. In her 25th year at the helm of the Maverick program, Shires owns a career record of 442-311 (.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 24th season with UNO, and assistant coach Tanya Cate, who is in her fifth year on the Maverick staff.
Fresh Faces
The Mavericks have welcomed five true freshmen to the roster this season: setter Sydney O'Shaughnessy (Omaha, Neb.), defensive specialists Marisa Moseman (Hickman, Neb.) and Aftyn Johnson (Lincoln, Neb.), libero Emily Leichner (Omaha, Neb.) and outside hitter Mackenzie Horkey (Jordan, Minn.).
O'Shaughnessy was an all-state selection at Omaha Marian, where she helped the Crusaders to the 2013 Class A state championship and was named a high school All-American by PrepVolleyball.com. Horkey, also an All-America pick by PrepVolleyball.com, was a three-time all-state player at Southwest Christian High School, which won a state title in her senior year.
Leicher, a product of Millard West, was Nebraska's Class A leader in digs per set as a senior, when she helped the Wildcats to a state runner-up finish. Moseman joins the Mavericks from Norris High School, where she was a second-team all-state honoree and helped Norris to a Class B state title. Johnson, who comes from Lincoln Southwest, was part a Silver Hawk program that won four consecutive district championships.
Mixed Schedule Takes Mavericks Around the Nation
Omaha's 2013 schedule includes 29 matches against 21 different opponents, and the team has played in 10 states across the country. UNO have squared off with opponents from 10 different conferences. Two foes -- IUPUI and Iowa State were 2013 NCAA Tournament qualifiers. The Jags were dropped 3-0 by Missouri in the first round, while the Cyclones lost 3-1 to Colorado in the first round.
The Mavericks have never faced five of their 2014 opponents: Central Michigan, Tennessee, Canisius, Texas A&M Corpus Christi and Boise State. Omaha holds a combined all-time record of 150-110-2 over all teams on the slate entering this season.
No Longer the Newcomers
Omaha is in its fourth and final year as a reclassifying Division I school in 2014-15 and its third as a member of the Summit League. In 2013, the Mavericks went 2-12 in conference play, picking up a 3-0 sweep of North Dakota State and a 3-2 win over South Dakota, both at Sapp Fieldhouse.
UNO is ineligible for the league tournament and NCAA postseason play until 2015-16 but will play a full regular-season conference schedule in its last transitional year.
Summit League Preseason Poll Announced
The Omaha volleyball team was picked to finish ninth in the 2014 Summit League Preseason Poll released by the conference office on Aug. 21. The poll was determined by a vote of the league's head coaches.
Denver was tabbed as the preseason favorite after finishing runner-up in both the regular season and at the league tournament a year ago. Fort Wayne claimed second by edging out IUPUI, the 2013 Summit League regular season and tournament champions. South Dakota was picked fourth after finishing third in the regular season last year, and Oral Roberts was fifth as the Golden Eagles return for their first season in the conference since 2011. North Dakota State came in sixth, while the poll was rounded out by Western Illinois in seventh followed by South Dakota State and UNO.
Up Next
Omaha returns to action next weekend at the Cyclone Classic hosted by Iowa State, Sept. 4-6, in Ames, Iowa. The Mavericks face ISU on Thursday at 6:30 p.m., followed by a Friday match with Northern Illinois at 4 p.m. and a Saturday finale with Tennessee at 6:30 p.m. Links to live stats will be available on OMavs.com.
The Omaha volleyball team opens the 2014 season this weekend, hosting the DoubleTree Suites by Hilton Omaha Classic at Sapp Fieldhouse, Aug. 29-30. The four-team, six-match tournament includes Central Michigan, Drake and UMKC. The Mavericks open play on Friday at 6 p.m. with Central Michigan, followed by two Saturday matches against Drake at Noon and UMKC at 5 p.m. Links to live stats and live video will be available on OMavs.com, and the webcast will include commentary from Jon Green.
Omaha Classic Tournament Schedule Set
The schedule for this weekend's DoubleTree Suites by Hilton Omaha Classic has been set, and it includes six matches for four teams over two days:
Friday, Aug. 29
Match #1 (3 p.m.): Drake vs. UMKC
Match #2 (6 p.m.): Omaha vs. Central Michigan
Saturday, Aug. 30
Match #3 (10 a.m.): UMKC vs. Central Michigan
Match #4 (Noon): Omaha vs. Drake
Match #5 (3 p.m.): Central Michigan vs. Drake
Match #6 (5 p.m.): Omaha vs. UMKC
Scouting the Central Michigan Chippewas
Central Michigan finished the 2013 season with an overall record of 11-17 and a 5-11 mark in MAC play, landing at sixth in the MAC West Division standings. Head coach Erik Olson enters his 11th year with the Chippewas in 2014, carrying a career mark of 145-154.
CMU is led by senior outside hitter Kaitlyn McIntyre, who was a first-team All-MAC selection last season after ranking second in the MAC with 3.93 kills per set.
This weekend marks the first meeting in history between Omaha and Central Michigan.
Scouting the Drake Bulldogs
Drake comes off a 2013 season in which it finished 2-28 overall and 0-18 in MVC play. Head coach Darrin McBroom is in his second season at the helm of the Bulldog program, and he holds a career record of 2-28. DU returns eight letterwinners from 2013, including six with starting experience, and Drake was picked 10th in the MVC's preseason coaches' poll released earlier this month.
The all-time series between Omaha and Drake is tied at 8-8. The Mavericks won the most recent meeting with a 3-0 sweep in Des Moines, Iowa, on Sept. 25, 2013.
Scouting the UMKC Kangaroos
UMKC enters 2014 after going 15-14 overall and 9-7 in conference play in 2013, during which time it tied for fifth in the WAC standings. Head coach Christi Posey is in her fourth season in Kansas City, holding a career mark of 44-44.
The Kangaroos return 11 letterwinners, including six who started a year ago. They were picked fourth in the preseason WAC coaches' poll earlier this month, while junior rightside hitter Sydney Crimmins and junior middle hitter Emma Hagedorn were both named to the Preseason All-WAC team.
Omaha leads the all-time series with UMKC, 5-4-1. The Mavericks last faced the 'Roos on Nov. 8, 2012, taking a 3-1 win at home.
Quick Hits
•Junior middle blocker Megan Schmale was Omaha's first Division I all-conference pick, earning All-Summit honorable mention status last season. A native of Murdock, Neb., she led the conference in blocking and ranked in the top 100 nationally for blocks per set. Schmale also earned Academic All-Summit accolades for the first time.
•Head coach Rose Shires is in her 25th year steering the Maverick program, and she is the winningest coach in UNO volleyball history with a record of 442-311.
•Junior Michaela Schimmer's nine double-doubles and two triple-doubles led the Mavericks in 2013.
•The Mavericks were 7-1 last year when leading in hitting percentage and 4-0 when their opponents hit .100 or lower.
What Makes Up the Mavericks
•Omaha returns 10 letterwinners from the 2013 season, including five juniors with starting experience: defensive specialist/libero Kimberly Bailey, middle blockers Diane Banderas and Megan Schmale, setter/rightside hitter Michaela Schimmer and outside hitter Kelley Wollak.
•UNO returns 86 percent of its total offensive production from last season, as this year's returners accounted for 948 of the Mavericks' 1,099 kills.
•Omaha lost just two letterwinners from the 2013 squad, setter Bailey Baxter (5.02 assists and 0.38 service aces per set) and middle blocker Kristy Wieser (1.45 kills and 0.32 blocks per set).
•UNO's top returning hitter is Wollak, who averaged 2.58 kills per set last year. At the net, Schmale returns after leading the Summit League with 1.16 blocks per set.
•The Mavericks are made up of five freshmen, one redshirt freshman, two sophomores, six juniors and two seniors.
League Leaders
Junior middle blocker Megan Schmale led the Summit League in three categories last season with 1.16 blocks per set, 106 total blocks and 106 block assists, and her .293 hitting percentage ranked fifth. Junior defensive specialist Kimberly Bailey was also fifth in the conference in digs per set (3.65) and total digs (365).
Triple Trouble
Junior Michaela Schimmer tallied her fifth career triple-double during last season's Nov. 15 matchup with South Dakota, finishing with 12 kills, 26 assists and 20 digs. With her three triple-doubles as a freshman in 2012 and two more last season, Schimmer has accounted for the last five triple-doubles in Maverick history. Prior to her, the last triple-double came from Krista Niezwaag in 1999.
The High School All-America Duo
Omaha's five-member freshman class is highlighted by a pair of high school All-Americans as named by PrepVolleyball.com: setter Sydney O'Shaughnessy and outside hitter Mackenzie Horkey. O' Shaughnessy, from Omaha Marian High School, helped the Crusaders to the Class A state title in 2013 and was honorary captain of the Omaha World-Herald's All-State Team. Horkey was a three-time all-state pick at Southwest Christian High School and also won a state championship in 2013 with her team.
2013-14 Squad Earns 15th Straight AVCA Academic Award
UNO earned the American Volleyball Coaches Association Team Academic Award for the 15th straight year and the 18th time overall, it was announced in July. As a team, the Mavericks recorded a 3.65 GPA during the 2013-14 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 138 Division I women's squads to meet the academic standards last year.
Shires Guides Mavericks as Winningest Coach in School History
Head coach Rose Shires is the all-time winningest coach in 44 years of UNO volleyball history. In her 25th year at the helm of the Maverick program, Shires owns a career record of 442-311 (.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 24th season with UNO, and assistant coach Tanya Cate, who is in her fifth year on the Maverick staff.
Fresh Faces
The Mavericks have welcomed five true freshmen to the roster this season: setter Sydney O'Shaughnessy (Omaha, Neb.), defensive specialists Marisa Moseman (Hickman, Neb.) and Aftyn Johnson (Lincoln, Neb.), libero Emily Leichner (Omaha, Neb.) and outside hitter Mackenzie Horkey (Jordan, Minn.).
O'Shaughnessy was an all-state selection at Omaha Marian, where she helped the Crusaders to the 2013 Class A state championship and was named a high school All-American by PrepVolleyball.com. Horkey, also an All-America pick by PrepVolleyball.com, was a three-time all-state player at Southwest Christian High School, which won a state title in her senior year.
Leicher, a product of Millard West, was Nebraska's Class A leader in digs per set as a senior, when she helped the Wildcats to a state runner-up finish. Moseman joins the Mavericks from Norris High School, where she was a second-team all-state honoree and helped Norris to a Class B state title. Johnson, who comes from Lincoln Southwest, was part a Silver Hawk program that won four consecutive district championships.
Mixed Schedule Takes Mavericks Around the Nation
Omaha's 2013 schedule includes 29 matches against 21 different opponents, and the team has played in 10 states across the country. UNO have squared off with opponents from 10 different conferences. Two foes -- IUPUI and Iowa State were 2013 NCAA Tournament qualifiers. The Jags were dropped 3-0 by Missouri in the first round, while the Cyclones lost 3-1 to Colorado in the first round.
The Mavericks have never faced five of their 2014 opponents: Central Michigan, Tennessee, Canisius, Texas A&M Corpus Christi and Boise State. Omaha holds a combined all-time record of 150-110-2 over all teams on the slate entering this season.
No Longer the Newcomers
Omaha is in its fourth and final year as a reclassifying Division I school in 2014-15 and its third as a member of the Summit League. In 2013, the Mavericks went 2-12 in conference play, picking up a 3-0 sweep of North Dakota State and a 3-2 win over South Dakota, both at Sapp Fieldhouse.
UNO is ineligible for the league tournament and NCAA postseason play until 2015-16 but will play a full regular-season conference schedule in its last transitional year.
Summit League Preseason Poll Announced
The Omaha volleyball team was picked to finish ninth in the 2014 Summit League Preseason Poll released by the conference office on Aug. 21. The poll was determined by a vote of the league's head coaches.
Denver was tabbed as the preseason favorite after finishing runner-up in both the regular season and at the league tournament a year ago. Fort Wayne claimed second by edging out IUPUI, the 2013 Summit League regular season and tournament champions. South Dakota was picked fourth after finishing third in the regular season last year, and Oral Roberts was fifth as the Golden Eagles return for their first season in the conference since 2011. North Dakota State came in sixth, while the poll was rounded out by Western Illinois in seventh followed by South Dakota State and UNO.
Up Next
Omaha returns to action next weekend at the Cyclone Classic hosted by Iowa State, Sept. 4-6, in Ames, Iowa. The Mavericks face ISU on Thursday at 6:30 p.m., followed by a Friday match with Northern Illinois at 4 p.m. and a Saturday finale with Tennessee at 6:30 p.m. Links to live stats will be available on OMavs.com.
Players Mentioned
DS
/ Volleyball
MB
/ Volleyball
S
/ Volleyball
OH
/ Volleyball
DS
/ Volleyball
L
/ Volleyball
DS
/ Volleyball
S
/ Volleyball
S/RS
/ Volleyball
MB
/ Volleyball
MB
/ Volleyball
OH
/ VolleyballTuesday, September 01
Wednesday, August 26
Friday, August 21
Tuesday, April 21
