Complete Release
Live Stats (Oakland | Fort Wayne)
Live Video (Oakland | Fort Wayne)
Live Audio (Fort Wayne)
The Omaha volleyball team returns to action this weekend, traveling to Oakland on Friday, Nov. 2 and Fort Wayne on Saturday, Nov. 3. Friday's match starts at 6 p.m. (CT) in Rochester, Mich., while Saturday's action is set for 6 p.m. (CT) in Fort Wayne, Ind. Links to live stats, live video and live audio will be available on OMavs.com.
UNO is in its second year as a reclassifying Division I school in 2012-13 and officially joined The Summit League in July 2012 with a full regular-season conference schedule ahead. The Mavericks are led by head coach Rose Shires, who is in her 23rd year at the helm of the UNO program with a career record of 435-285.
Scouting the Oakland Golden Grizzlies
Oakland has compiled a season record of 14-11 (7-6 Summit League) entering this weekend's match, having downed North Dakota State on the road on Oct. 27. The Golden Grizzlies are fifth in the conference standings as they approach their final three matches of the season. Head coach Rob Beam is in his sixth year with OU and holds a career record of 72-86.
Oakland leads the all-time series with Omaha 1-0, having defeated the Mavericks 3-1 at Sapp Fieldhouse on Oct. 6.
Scouting the Fort Wayne Mastodons
Conference leader Fort Wayne enters the weekend with a record of 21-5 (10-3 Summit League), having split a pair of matches last week with a 3-2 win at North Dakota State and a 3-2 loss at South Dakota State. For her performance, senior Tessa McGill earned her third Summit League Defensive Player of the Week honor on Oct. 29.
The Mastodons lead the all-time series with Omaha 2-0, as they took a 3-2 win at Sapp Fieldhouse on Oct. 5. Head coach Kelley Hartley Hutton is in her 14th year at IPFW and has a career record of 429-213.
Ebke Aims for Top 10 in Digs
Outside hitter Natalie Ebke entered her senior season as UNO's top returner, having averaged 2.99 kills and 2.89 digs as a junior. A four-year starter, she needs 40 digs to break into the top 10 in school history for career digs. Sitting at 1,199 career digs through Oct. 27, her target to reach will be 1,239 to tie Erin Shafer (1994-97).
Schimmer Tallies Second Triple-Double
Freshman Michaela Schimmer tallied the second triple-double of her young career last weekend, finishing with 12 kills, 16 digs and 22 assists against Western Illinois. The Grand Island, Neb., native has accounted for the last two triple-doubles in Maverick history, with the last one otherwise coming from Krista Niezwaag in 1999.
Schimmer's first triple threat performance was achieved at the Kansas Volleyball Invitational with 16 kills, 35 assists and 22 digs against Arkansas State.
Mavs Rank in Nation's Top 25 for Aces
Strong serving has UNO ranked 21st nationally and first in the Summit League with 1.53 service aces per set through matches of Oct. 28. Two Mavericks -- senior Amy Roberts and redshirt freshman Bailey Baxter -- are also among the conference's top performers, ranking second with 0.30 aces per set.
As a team, Omaha has had 10 or more aces in five matches this season: vs. Norfolk State (11), at Navy (10), vs. Connecticut (10), vs. Fort Wayne (12) and vs. Oakland (12).
Schmale on a Surge
Freshman Megan Schmale has been on a surge in the second half of the season, averaging 1.74 kills and 1.13 blocks per set since Sept. 21. She has hit at a .350 clip or better in six contests, including a .562 performance with no errors at IUPUI on Sept. 29. Schmale also totaled a season-best 11 kills at UMKC on Sept. 25 and put up a season-high eight blocks on back-to-back nights against Fort Wayne (Oct. 5) and Oakland (Oct. 6).
Hecht Leading Mavs at the Net
Redshirt freshman Valerie Hecht has been solid in her career debut, leading UNO in blocks in 14 matches. The Bern, Kan., native has 0.92 blocks per set, which ranks seventh in the Summit League. Hecht has notched her season high of nine blocks twice -- Sept. 8 at the Wynn Invitational and Oct. 6 against Oakland.
Welcome to The Summit League
The 2012 season marks UNO's first year with a full regular-season Summit League schedule. UNO will play all eight Summit League foes twice, once in Omaha and once on the road. Although the Mavericks will appear in the Summit League standings, they cannot qualify for the Summit League Championship or the NCAA Tournament, and Maverick student-athletes are not eligible for all-conference awards until 2015-16.
Home Sweet Home
After playing just four home dates at Sapp Fieldhouse in 2011, Omaha has had a much more typical schedule in 2012. The Mavericks play 10 home matches, including eight against Summit League opponents. UNO opened the home slate with a sweep of Syracuse on Sept. 4 and began conference play against South Dakota State and North Dakota State, Sept. 14-15. The match was the first home Summit League contest for any UNO athletic team.
Baxter, Roberts Named to All-Tournament Teams
For their efforts at the season-opening Kristen Dickmann Invitational, redshirt freshman Bailey Baxter and senior Amy Roberts were both named to the all-tournament team, and Baxter was voted the tournament's most valuable player. As the Mavs' starting setter, Baxter averaged 9.50 assists, 1.70 digs and 0.40 blocks per set and guided UNO to a .272 hitting percentage, including a weekend-best .309 clip in the finale against Navy. Roberts led the Mavericks defensively with a team-leading 3.80 digs per set.
Roberts also earned a spot on the Wynn Invitational All-Tournament Team on Sept. 8, having averaged 4.55 digs per set over three matches. She totaled 50 digs and added four service aces for the weekend.
Youth Defines Mavericks in 2012
Omaha returns five letterwinners from its 2011 squad, led by a trio of seniors: outside hitter Natalie Ebke, middle blocker Chelsea Snyder and defensive specialist Amy Roberts. Sophomore middle blocker Jessy Schroedter and sophomore defensive specialist Rachelle Kruml also provided depth in their freshman campaigns.
UNO is defined by the youth on its roster this season, which includes five true freshmen and four redshirt freshmen who will challenge for starting positions. Eight Maverick newcomers have seen time on the floor, including four who have assumed starting roles: Bailey Baxter, Valerie Hecht, Megan Schmale and Kelley Wollak.
Summit League Preseason Poll Announced
The Summit League released its annual preseason volleyball coaches' poll on Aug. 15, with newcomer Omaha picked ninth for its first year of conference play. The poll was conducted with a vote of the league's head coaches.
Two-time defending Summit League champion North Dakota State was selected as the preseason favorite to repeat. The Bison, looking to win their third straight league title and fourth in five years, collected six first-place votes and 62 total points to lead the poll. Fort Wayne came in second with 58 points and the final three first-place tallies. Oakland and South Dakota State tied for third with 43 points, while five points separated IUPUI and South Dakota in fifth and sixth. Rounding out the poll were Kansas City (23 points), Western Illinois (13) and Omaha (11).
2012 Schedule Highlighted by Four NCAA Tournament Qualifiers
In 2011, Omaha played a mixed schedule with Division I and Division II competition, but the 2012 season has been the Mavericks' first with a full Division I slate for their second year of reclassification. UNO has 28 matches against 20 different opponents, 11 of whom it has never faced in program history. The Mavs also play in nine different states.
In addition, four foes were 2011 NCAA Tournament qualifiers: defending Summit League champion North Dakota State, Kansas State, Northern Illinois and Tulsa. Of those four, KSU had the longest postseason run, falling to Pepperdine in the semifinals of the Honolulu Regional.
Shires Guides Mavericks as Winningest Coach in School History
Head Coach Rose Shires is the all-time winningest coach in 42 years of UNO volleyball history. In her 23rd year at the helm of the Maverick program, Shires owns a career record of 435-285 (.600), with the most wins of the five coaches who have served at Nebraska 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 third year on the Maverick staff.
Kids Growing Up In the Heartland
The 2012 UNO roster is loaded with local talent, as 11 of the 14 players listed hail from seven Nebraska towns. Two come from Grand Island -- redshirt freshman Bailey Baxter (Central Catholic) and freshman Michaela Schimmer (Northwest) -- while another pair -- senior Chelsea Snyder and freshman Jenna Schlautman -- come from the same program at Skutt Catholic. Three are products of Lincoln high schools: redshirt freshmen Kimberly Bailey (North Star) and Diane Banderas (Southwest) and senior Natalie Ebke (East), and senior Amy Roberts is a native of Norfolk. Sophomores Jessy Schroedter and Rachelle Kruml hail from Fremont and Ord, respectively, and freshman Megan Schmale calls Murdock her hometown.
2011-12 Squad Earns 13th Straight AVCA Academic Award
UNO earned the American Volleyball Coaches Association's Team Academic Award for the 13th straight year, the AVCA announced in July. As a team, the Mavericks recorded a 3.55 grade-point average during the 2011-12 academic year to claim the honor, which was their 13th straight and 16th overall.
The annual AVCA award honors collegiate and high school volleyball programs that display excellence in the classroom by maintaining at least a 3.30 cumulative team GPA on a 4.0 scale.
2011 Seniors Leave Legacy
UNO had an exceptional senior class in 2011, as all three athletes -- libero Angie Reicks, middle blocker Brittany Hanssen and setter Emily Myers -- left their mark in the school record books. Reicks finished her career as the all-time leader in career digs, racking up 1,935 over four years as a starter and breaking a 17-year-old UNO record. She also holds the single-match mark with 46 digs in a game, set in her sophomore year against Central Missouri.
Myers closed her career ranked No. 2 in career assists, totaling 4,102 over four seasons, while Hanssen clinched her spot among UNO's best blockers at No. 10 with 325 block assists and No. 15 with 342 total blocks.
Up Next
Omaha closes the 2012 season next weekend, hosting Kansas City on Thursday, Nov. 8 and South Dakota on Saturday, Nov. 10. Thursday's 7 p.m. match is part of UNO's campus-wide Homecoming Week celebration, and fans are encouraged to wear white shirts as part of a “White Out.” Saturday's match is also Senior Night, during which the volleyball program will celebrate the careers of seniors Natalie Ebke, Amy Roberts and Chelsea Snyder. Links to live stats and live video for both matches will be available on OMavs.com.
