Five Mavericks Collect League Volleyball Honors
Nov 20, 2015 | Volleyball
DENVER, Colo. -- Coming off a third-place regular-season finish in the Summit League, the Omaha volleyball team had four players and its head coach honored with conference accolades at the Summit League Championship banquet Thursday evening.
Senior libero Kimberly Bailey was named Summit League Defensive Player of the Year, and she, senior middle Megan Schmale and sophomore setter Sydney O'Shaughnessy were all named to the 12-member All-Summit Team. Freshman Gessica Gdowski was one of seven players named to the Summit League All-Freshmen Team, and head coach Rose Shires completed the night by being honored as Summit League Coach of the Year by a vote of her conference peers.
Omaha's three All-Summit selections were the most of any team in the league.
Bailey became the first Maverick to collect an individual Summit League player honor and earned the first all-league honor of her career after averaging 4.61 digs per set in her senior campaign. She was twice named Summit League Defensive Player of the Week this season and has climbed to fifth on Omaha's career digs list. The Lincoln, Neb., native ranks second in the conference for digs per set and third for total digs (512), and she owns 14 performances with 20 or more digs in a match, including six straight since Oct. 30. Bailey's efforts have helped Omaha rank second nationally with 17.72 digs per set as a team this season.
Schmale, who was previously named All-Summit Honorable Mention in 2013, has led the league in her senior season in total blocks (146), block assists (134) and blocks per set (1.32) and is third in hitting percentage (.334). The Murdock, Neb., native is also 11th nationally for total blocks and 31st for blocks per set. In the last week of the regular season, Schmale broke Omaha's 27-year-old school record for career block assists and now owns 448 assisted stops over her four-year career. She has 16 matches with five or more blocks this season and 14 double-figure kill performances.
En route to her first All-Summit nod, O'Shaughnessy has averaged 10.22 assists, 3.40 digs, 0.32 aces and 0.48 blocks per set in 2015, and she ranks 35th nationally for total assists (1,134). The Omaha Marian product is third in the Summit League for assists, assists per set and aces (35), and she leads the Mavericks with 21 double-doubles this season. Earlier this year, O'Shaughnessy moved into the top 10 in school history for career assists just two seasons into her Maverick career, spurred by six performances this season with 50 or more assists.
Gdowski has stepped into a starting role over the last nine matches and has averaged 1.57 kills, 2.21 digs and 0.50 blocks per set as a freshman. The Fremont, Neb., native has six double-figure dig performances and posted a career-high 13 kills last Friday at Fort Wayne.
Shires has led Omaha to a remarkable season in its fifth year as a Division I program and its first with full postseason eligibility. The 2015 season is Shires' 26th at the helm of the Maverick program, and she has guided UNO to a record of 17-12 (12-4 Summit League), which doubled the team's conference wins total from a year ago. The winningest coach in school history, Shires carries a career record of 473-342.
Omaha opens the Summit League Championship this Friday, Nov. 20, facing sixth-seeded Oral Roberts in quarterfinal action. The match is set for 8:30 p.m. (CT) at Hamilton Gymnasium in Denver, Colo., and it will be televised on Altitude/Altitude 2 where available. Links to live stats and free live video will be available on OMavs.com.
2015 ALL-SUMMIT LEAGUE VOLLEYBALL TEAMS
All-Summit Team
Kimberly Bailey, Omaha, Sr., L
Lucija Bojanjac, Oral Roberts, So., S
Jenni Fassbender, North Dakota State, Sr., OH
Kaitlyn Hickey, IUPUI, Sr., OH
Brittany Jessen, South Dakota, So., S
Laura Milos, Oral Roberts, So., OH\
Sydney O'Shaughnessy, Omaha, So., S
Kayla Principato, Denver, So., RS
Audrey Reeg, South Dakota, Jr., OH
Megan Schmale, Omaha, Sr., MB
Sarah Schmid, Denver, Sr., MB
Kori Waelbroeck, IUPUI, So., RS
Honorable Mention Team
Cassie Baird, Denver, So., OH
Kelsey Biltoft, South Dakota, Sr., MB
Somer Johnson, IPFW, Jr., OH
Emily Minnick, North Dakota State, Jr., MB
Emily Miron, North Dakota State, Jr., MB
Kelly Wachtel, IUPUI, Sr., OH/RS
All-Freshmen Team
Hayley Dotseth, South Dakota, OH
Gessica Gdowski, Omaha, OH
Madison Jaqua, IPFW, S
Becca Latham, Denver, OH
Lauren Mattison, South Dakota, DS
Mattison Munger, South Dakota State, S
Nicole Rightnowar, IPFW, OH
Player of the Year
Kaitlyn Hickey, IUPUI
Defensive Player of the Year
Kimberly Bailey, Omaha
Setter of the Year
Brittany Jessen, South Dakota
Freshman of the Year
Nicole Rightnowar, IPFW
Coach of the Year
Rose Shires, Omaha
Senior libero Kimberly Bailey was named Summit League Defensive Player of the Year, and she, senior middle Megan Schmale and sophomore setter Sydney O'Shaughnessy were all named to the 12-member All-Summit Team. Freshman Gessica Gdowski was one of seven players named to the Summit League All-Freshmen Team, and head coach Rose Shires completed the night by being honored as Summit League Coach of the Year by a vote of her conference peers.
Omaha's three All-Summit selections were the most of any team in the league.
Bailey became the first Maverick to collect an individual Summit League player honor and earned the first all-league honor of her career after averaging 4.61 digs per set in her senior campaign. She was twice named Summit League Defensive Player of the Week this season and has climbed to fifth on Omaha's career digs list. The Lincoln, Neb., native ranks second in the conference for digs per set and third for total digs (512), and she owns 14 performances with 20 or more digs in a match, including six straight since Oct. 30. Bailey's efforts have helped Omaha rank second nationally with 17.72 digs per set as a team this season.
Schmale, who was previously named All-Summit Honorable Mention in 2013, has led the league in her senior season in total blocks (146), block assists (134) and blocks per set (1.32) and is third in hitting percentage (.334). The Murdock, Neb., native is also 11th nationally for total blocks and 31st for blocks per set. In the last week of the regular season, Schmale broke Omaha's 27-year-old school record for career block assists and now owns 448 assisted stops over her four-year career. She has 16 matches with five or more blocks this season and 14 double-figure kill performances.
En route to her first All-Summit nod, O'Shaughnessy has averaged 10.22 assists, 3.40 digs, 0.32 aces and 0.48 blocks per set in 2015, and she ranks 35th nationally for total assists (1,134). The Omaha Marian product is third in the Summit League for assists, assists per set and aces (35), and she leads the Mavericks with 21 double-doubles this season. Earlier this year, O'Shaughnessy moved into the top 10 in school history for career assists just two seasons into her Maverick career, spurred by six performances this season with 50 or more assists.
Gdowski has stepped into a starting role over the last nine matches and has averaged 1.57 kills, 2.21 digs and 0.50 blocks per set as a freshman. The Fremont, Neb., native has six double-figure dig performances and posted a career-high 13 kills last Friday at Fort Wayne.
Shires has led Omaha to a remarkable season in its fifth year as a Division I program and its first with full postseason eligibility. The 2015 season is Shires' 26th at the helm of the Maverick program, and she has guided UNO to a record of 17-12 (12-4 Summit League), which doubled the team's conference wins total from a year ago. The winningest coach in school history, Shires carries a career record of 473-342.
Omaha opens the Summit League Championship this Friday, Nov. 20, facing sixth-seeded Oral Roberts in quarterfinal action. The match is set for 8:30 p.m. (CT) at Hamilton Gymnasium in Denver, Colo., and it will be televised on Altitude/Altitude 2 where available. Links to live stats and free live video will be available on OMavs.com.
2015 ALL-SUMMIT LEAGUE VOLLEYBALL TEAMS
All-Summit Team
Kimberly Bailey, Omaha, Sr., L
Lucija Bojanjac, Oral Roberts, So., S
Jenni Fassbender, North Dakota State, Sr., OH
Kaitlyn Hickey, IUPUI, Sr., OH
Brittany Jessen, South Dakota, So., S
Laura Milos, Oral Roberts, So., OH\
Sydney O'Shaughnessy, Omaha, So., S
Kayla Principato, Denver, So., RS
Audrey Reeg, South Dakota, Jr., OH
Megan Schmale, Omaha, Sr., MB
Sarah Schmid, Denver, Sr., MB
Kori Waelbroeck, IUPUI, So., RS
Honorable Mention Team
Cassie Baird, Denver, So., OH
Kelsey Biltoft, South Dakota, Sr., MB
Somer Johnson, IPFW, Jr., OH
Emily Minnick, North Dakota State, Jr., MB
Emily Miron, North Dakota State, Jr., MB
Kelly Wachtel, IUPUI, Sr., OH/RS
All-Freshmen Team
Hayley Dotseth, South Dakota, OH
Gessica Gdowski, Omaha, OH
Madison Jaqua, IPFW, S
Becca Latham, Denver, OH
Lauren Mattison, South Dakota, DS
Mattison Munger, South Dakota State, S
Nicole Rightnowar, IPFW, OH
Player of the Year
Kaitlyn Hickey, IUPUI
Defensive Player of the Year
Kimberly Bailey, Omaha
Setter of the Year
Brittany Jessen, South Dakota
Freshman of the Year
Nicole Rightnowar, IPFW
Coach of the Year
Rose Shires, Omaha
Players Mentioned
L
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OH
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MB
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