Mavs Out Hit No. 5 Jennies But Fall In Five Sets - Omaha Athletics

Volleyball Sep 21, 2010 Omaha Athletics

Mavericks Finish Road Swing at Washburn

Weekly Release -- Sept. 21

The UNO volleyball team (8-3, 1-2 MIAA) travels to Topeka, Kan., to face Washburn on Tuesday, Sept. 21 at 7 p.m. The Mavs then return home to Sapp Fieldhouse for a pair of MIAA matches with Fort Hays State on Friday, Sept. 24 and Emporia State on Saturday, Sept. 25. Live stats, video and audio are available at OMavs.com.

Nebraska-Omaha is a combined 14-9-1 against this week's opponents, including a perfect 7-0 all-time record against FHSU. The Mavericks are also tied in the Washburn series, 4-4, while ESU holds a 5-3-1 advantage.

UNO grabbed its first conference win of the season last week with a 3-0 sweep of Missouri Southern in Omaha. The Mavs look to rebound after dropping two road matches at Pittsburg State (3-1) and Southwest Baptist (3-0) last weekend.

Senior Uhing is Double Trouble
Senior outside hitter Kayla Uhing tallied her seventh double-double of the season at Southwest Baptist, recording 10 kills and 11 digs. She has four consecutive double-doubles in the last two weeks and matched her career high of 18 kills at Pittsburg State on Sept. 17. Uhing has eight double-doubles in her career.

Scouting the Competition: Washburn Lady Blues
Head Coach: Chris Herron (College of the Ozarks, 1980)
2010 Record: 10-1 (2-1 MIAA)
Career Record: 332-79 (12th Year)
Last Match: W, 3-2 vs. Missouri Western (9/18/10, St. Joseph, Mo.)
Record at WU: 257-50
Website: WUsports.com

Washburn was tabbed second in the MIAA's preseason poll after finishing the 2009 season with a record of 33-5 (16-4 MIAA). Currently ranked No. 9 nationally, WU began 2010 with a nine-game win streak from Sept. 3 to Sept. 14.

The Lady Blues are led by Junior Mollie Lacy, who averages 2.47 kills per game. Defensively, WU relies on sophomore middle blocker Jessica Fey's 1.30 blocks per game and senior libero Molly Smith, who has 4.67 digs per game. Junior setter Amanda Guess had a strong performance last week, averaging 9.0 assists per set and tallying a career-high 46 assists at Missouri Western.

Washburn also returns to All-MIAA selections in junior outside hitter Breanna Lewis (second team) and senior outside hitter Ashley Shepard (third team).

Scouting the Competition: Fort Hays State Tigers
Head Coach: Kurt Kohler (Colorado State, 1995)
2010 Record: 3-8 (0-3 MIAA)
Career Record: 10-35 (2nd Year)
Last Match: L, 0-3 at Truman (9/18/10 in Kirksville, Mo.)
Record at FHSU: Same
Website: FHSUAthletics.com

Fort Hays State was picked 11th in the MIAA preseason poll after finishing the 2009 season with a record of 7-27 (3-17 MIAA). The Tigers enter this week with a five-game losing streak, including a 3-0 loss at No. 16 Truman. FHSU opened the season at the Texas A&M-Commerce Tournament in Commerce, Texas, grabbing a 3-1 win over Arkansas-Monticello.

The Tigers are led by junior outside hitter Tracie Hileman, who ranks sixth in the MIAA with 3.08 kills per set. Defensively, freshman libero Kirsten Chamberlin has put up 4.41 digs per set, while the top two performers at the net are junior middle hitter Courtney Kroeger and freshman middle hitter Samantha Ledy with 0.57 and 0.56 blocks per set, respectively.

Scouting the Competition: Emporia State Hornets
Head Coach: Bing Xu (Columbia (Mo.), 2000)
2010 Record: 9-1 (3-0 MIAA)
Career Record: 138-44 (6th Year)
Last Match: W, 3-0 at Northwest Missouri State (9/18/10)
Record at ESU: Same
Website: Emporia.edu/athletics

Emporia State was slated third in the MIAA preseason poll after finishing the 2009 season with a record of 29-6 (16-4 MIAA). The Hornets are on an eight-game win streak and suffered their only loss of the year, 3-1 against Minnesota Duluth at the season-opening UNO Showcase. As a team, Emporia State ranks second in the league in hitting percentage (.284), kills (13.87 per set) and assists (12.55 per set).

ESU is led by senior right-side hitter Brittney Miller, who tops the MIAA in kills (3.58 per set) and senior setter Ting Liu, who averages 10.84 assists per set. Senior middle hitter Brianne Boner has 0.89 blocks per set this season.

The Hornets return a first-team All-MIAA selection in Miller and second-team honoree Liu, who has been honored as MIAA Specialist of the Week for three consecutive weeks. In addition, Boner and sophomore Katelyn Schmidtberger were included with All-MIAA honorable mention accolades.

UNO Schedule Features Seven NCAA Postseason Teams
UNO's schedule for the 2010 season will serve as a challenge for the Mavs in preparation for postseason competition in November. The slate includes games with seven postseason-qualifying teams from last season -- Central Missouri, Colorado School of Mines, Dallas Baptist, Emporia State, Pittsburg State, Truman and Washburn.

PSU and WU played through second-round action in the tournament, while UCM qualified for the regional finals before falling 3-1 to West Texas A&M.

In addition, five squads -- UCM, WU, ESU, PSU and TSU, all of whom are members of the MIAA -- were included in the AVCA Division II Preseason Poll released on Aug. 18.

The Mavericks faced their first NCAA Tournament team with Colorado School of Mines at the Angelo State Invitational, topping the Orediggers 3-2 in a comeback win. They are 1-1 this season against NCAA-qualifying teams.

Myers, Ebke Named to ASU Invitational All-Tournament Team
Junior setter Emily Myers and sophomore outside hitter Natalie Ebke were named to the eight-member All-Tournament Team for the Angelo Retina/ASU Invitational in San Angelo, Texas. Myers had 159 set assists over four matches, averaging 9.35 per set. Ebke averaged 2.88 kills (49 total) and 2.71 digs (46 total) per set and also achieved a career best with 17 kills against Colorado School of Mines.

Mavs Chosen Sixth in MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll
Nebraska-Omaha was picked to finish sixth in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association's 2010 preseason poll, the league office announced in August. The preseason conference standings are chosen in a survey of MIAA head coaches.

The Mavericks earned 59 points, behind preseason favorite Central Missouri (100), Washburn (91), Emporia State (80), Pittsburg State (69) and Truman (64). Missouri Southern (44) came in at seventh, followed by Northwest Missouri State (41), Southwest Baptist (23), Missouri Western (21) and Fort Hays State (13).

UCM received 10 of 11 first-place votes to earn the top spot and is one of six schools along with UNO, WU, ESU, PSU and TSU to have competed in the 2009 NCAA South Central Regional.

All-MIAA Trio Mach, Myers, Reicks Lead Mavericks
UNO returns to its 2010 roster three players who earned all-conference honors last season in junior middle blocker Lizzy Mach, junior setter Emily Myers and junior defensive specialist Angie Reicks. Reicks garnered second-team All-MIAA status in 2009, while Mach and Myers were selected to the third team.

Reicks set a school record with 46 digs against Central Missouri and reached double figures in digs in 28 of 34 matches over the year, including 13 straight from Oct. 10 to Nov. 19.

Mach averaged 2.11 kills and 0.60 blocks per set, hitting double figures in kills on 11 occasions. Myers ranked fifth in the league with 10.85 assists per set and totaled 30 or more assists in all but two matches last season. She also had 13 double-doubles, combining double-figure assists with double-figure digs.

Since joining MIAA competition in 2008, the Mavericks have had eight all-conference honorees, and UNO has had 44 players combine for 76 All-MIAA or All-NCC accolades.

2009-10 Squad Named to AVCA Team Academic Award List
UNO was one of 450 teams -- and just 55 Division II programs -- named to the American Volleyball Coaches Association's Team Academic Award list released July 20th. With 15 student-athletes making the UNO Dean's List and five on the Chancellor's List, the Mavericks tallied a team GPA of 3.78 (with a 3.65 cumulative average) last season, the highest mark of any UNO team in 2009-10.

The annual AVCA award honors collegiate and high school volleyball programs that displayed excellence in the classroom by maintaining at least a 3.30 cumulative team GPA on a 4.0 scale.

Next Up for the Mavs...
UNO travels to Topeka, Kan., for the Washburn Tournament. On Friday, Oct. 1, the Mavs face Tarleton State at 9:30 a.m. and Abilene Christian and 2 p.m., followed by a pair of matches against Dallas Baptist (9 a.m.) and St. Edward's (3 p.m.) on Saturday, Oct. 2.

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Players Mentioned

#15 Natalie Ebke: OH; 5' 10"; Sophomore

#6 Lizzy Mach: MB; 6' 2"; Junior

#4 Emily Myers: S; 5' 10"; Junior

#5 Angie Reicks: DS; 5' 7"; Junior

#9 Kayla Uhing: OH; 6' 0"; Senior

Players Mentioned

#15 Natalie Ebke
: 5' 10"; Sophomore
: OH

#6 Lizzy Mach
: 6' 2"; Junior
: MB

#4 Emily Myers
: 5' 10"; Junior
: S

#5 Angie Reicks
: 5' 7"; Junior
: DS

#9 Kayla Uhing
: 6' 0"; Senior
: OH