This Weekend
The Omaha volleyball team plays its second of three straight tournaments in the state of Iowa this weekend, heading to the Hawkeye Classic, Sept. 1-2, at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa. The Mavericks take on host Iowa on Friday at Noon and Indiana State at 5 p.m., followed by a rematch with the Sycamores on Saturday at Noon. Friday's match vs. Iowa will be broadcasted live on BTN2Go. Live stats and video, as available, will be linked on OMavs.com.
Quick Hits
•Omaha opens the season with three straight weekend tournaments in the state of Iowa, first at the Iowa State Challenge (Aug. 25-26), then the Hawkeye Classic (Sept. 1-2) and the Drake Tournament (Sept. 7-9). The Mavericks make their home debut with the Omaha Challenge, Sept. 14-16, when they host Nebraska, Kansas State and Northern Iowa.
•Omaha faces Iowa and Indiana State in this weekend's tournament. The Mavericks have not met the Hawkeyes since 1990, nor the Sycamores since 1991, and the last meetings with both came at the Hawkeye Classic in Iowa City.
•Omaha was picked to finish in a tie for fifth in the 2017 Summit League Preseason Poll. UNO finished seventh in the league standings in 2016.
•Head coach
Rose Shires, the winningest coach in program history, is in her 28th year at Omaha.
•Senior setter
Sydney O'Shaughnessy has led the Mavericks in double-doubles each of the last three seasons with 19 in her freshman campaign, 24 as a sophomore and 13 more as a junior. Her 59 career double-doubles are the most of any active Maverick.
•O'Shaughnessy is the only Maverick with All-Summit honors on her resume, as she was an all-league performer in 2015.
•Omaha returns eight letterwinners, including four starters, from 2016.
•All-time, Omaha is 1,018-595-7.
Scouting the Iowa Hawkeyes
Iowa went 2-1 on its opening weekend at the LBSU Invitational with a 3-0 sweep of Wright State, a 3-0 loss to No. 2 Stanford and a 3-1 win over Long Beach State. The Hawkeyes were picked 10th in the Big Ten Preseason Poll after finishing 19-13 (9-11 Big Ten) a year ago.
Head coach Bond Shymansky is in his fourth season in Iowa City with a record of 47-52 and has a career mark of 337-161.
Friday marks the 10th meeting all-time between Omaha and Iowa. The two teams last squared off at the Hawkeye Classic on Oct. 6, 1990 -- UNO head coach
Rose Shires' first season with the Mavericks -- with the Hawkeyes securing a 3-0 win.
Scouting the Indiana State Sycamores
Indiana State went 1-2 (0-0 MVC) over its opening weekend at the Indiana Invitational, kicking off with a 3-0 sweep of DePaul before a 3-0 loss to Ball State and a 3-0 loss to host Indiana. The Sycamores were picked ninth in the MVC Preseason Poll after finishing 10-20 (4-14 MVC) last season and return 2016 MVC All-Freshman selection Damadj Johnson.
Head coach Lindsay Allman is in her first season at Indiana State and carries a career record of 1-2.
Friday marks the third meeting all-time between Omaha and Indiana State, and the series is tied at 1-1. Their last meeting was Sept. 21, 1991 at the Hawkeye Classic, where the Sycamores won 3-1.
Mountjoy Seeing Early Success
Freshman
Claire Mountjoy made her debut at libero at last weekend's Cyclone Invitational and opened her collegiate career by averaging 5.56 digs per set. Mountjoy appeared in all nine sets over the weekend and tallied double-figure digs in all three matches: 18 vs. New Mexico, 15 at Iowa State and 17 vs. Kent State. For her performance, the Elkhorn, Neb., native was named to the Cyclone Invitational All-Tournament Team.
Sydney's Smashing Milestones
Senior
Sydney O'Shaughnessy reached a pair of long-awaited career milestones near the end of her junior season, passing both the 1,000 career digs and 3,000 career assists marks in just under three years. She is the first Maverick since Amy Steffel (1993-96) to put up at least 3,000 assists and 1,000 digs in a career.
In the middle of her senior campaign, O'Shaughnessy has 3,265 career assists to her credit, which ranks seventh in school history. Her next target on the list is Wendy Melcher (1980-83), who had 3,343.
Mack's Back
Junior outside hitter
Mackenzie Horkey earned a medical redshirt after suffering a season-ending injury six matches into the 2016 season. The Jordan, Minn., native started the first six matches of 2016, averaging 3.35 kills and 3.55 digs per set.
In last weekend's Cyclone Invitational, Horkey picked up right where she left off, averaging a team-leading 3.33 kills per set with two double-figure kill efforts. She opened with 11 kills vs. New Mexico and added another 11 kills vs. Kent State.
Bergsten, Blaschko Making Their Mark
Junior outside hitter
Abby Bergsten and freshman middle blocker
Anna Blaschko both made their Maverick debuts and started all three matches last weekend. Bergsten was second on the team with 2.22 kills per set and added 2.11 digs per set.
Blaschko was Omaha's leading blocker with 1.00 blocks per set and finished with the team high in stops at the net in back-to-back matches with three vs. Iowa State and five vs. Kent State.
What Makes Up the Mavericks
•Omaha returns eight letterwinners from the 2016 season, including four starters.
•UNO returns 53 percent of its total offensive production from last season, as this year's returners accounted for 725 of the Mavericks' 1,366 kills.
•The Mavericks also return 72 percent of their total blocking production from last year, with the returners credited for 237 out of 331 stops.
•Dousette is UNO's top returning hitter, having averaged 3.00 kills per set last year.
•Dousette was named to the 2016 Summit League All-Freshmen Team.
•The Mavericks are made up of five freshmen, five sophomores, two juniors and two seniors.
•Omaha's roster includes six players from Nebraska, three from Minnesota, two from Iowa and one apiece from Illinois, Arizona and Virginia.
Fresh Faces
The Mavericks have welcomed a transfer and five true freshmen to the roster this season: junior outside hitter
Abby Bergsten (Council Bluffs, Iowa), freshman libero
Claire Mountjoy (Omaha, Neb.), freshman setter
Kelli Nee (Powhatan, Va.), freshman right side hitter
Abigayle Meyer (Murdock, Neb.), freshmen middle blockers
Bella Sade (Marion, Iowa) and
Anna Blaschko (Shakopee, Minn.).
Bergsten began her collegiate career with two seasons at Iowa Western Community College, where she was a two-time ICCAC All-Region selection. She helped IWCC to a national runner-up finish in 2016 and was second on the team with 3.43 kills per set while ranking 10th nationally with a .364 hitting percentage.
Nee was a two-time all-state selection at Powhatan High School. Sade, named a Top 50 Junior by PrepVolleyball.com, was also an all-state pick and helped Marion High School to a state semifinalist finish in 2014, followed by state quarterfinalist finishes in 2015 and 2016. Blaschko, a product of Shakopee High School, was an all-state honoree and paced her team in blocks and hitting percentage three consecutive seasons.
Mountjoy was an all-conference outside hitter at Elkhorn High School, where she was part of three straight state tournament appearances. Meyer, who also hails from Nebraska, picked up all-state an honorable mention award as a senior at Elmwood-Murdock High School.
Bergsten, Blaschko, Mountjoy, Sade and Meyer all saw action in Omaha's opening weekend at Iowa State.
Back on the Block
Omaha returns its top three blockers from the 2016 season in senior
Amanda Conlin (0.78 b/s) and sophomores
Ellie Brown (0.64 b/s) and
Daria Taylor (0.59 b/s).
Conlin started all 30 matches as a junior and ranked fifth in the Summit League for solo blocks (16) and seventh for total blocks (89) and block assists (73).
Brown appeared in 26 matches and started 25 in her freshman year, while Taylor appeared in nine matches and started five.
2017 Slate Takes Mavericks Around the Nation
Omaha's 2017 schedule includes 27 matches against 20 different opponents, and the team will play in eight states across the country. UNO will square off with opponents from seven other conferences, with three from the Missouri Valley, two each from the Big Ten, Big 12 and Mountain West and one apiece from the MAC, Big Sky and Ohio Valley. Five opponents -- Nebraska, Iowa State, K-State, Northern Iowa and Denver -- played in the 2016 NCAA Tournament.
Entering 2017, the Mavericks have never faced three of their opponents: New Mexico, Kent State and Montana. UNO holds a combined all-time record of 186-167 over all teams on the slate this season.
Shires Guides Mavericks as Winningest Coach in School History
Head coach
Rose Shires is the all-time winningest coach in 47 years of UNO volleyball history. In her 28th year at the helm of the Maverick program, Shires owns a career record of 483-368 (.568), 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 assistant coach
Elena Pietro, who is in her third season, assistant coach
Micah Rhodes, in his first year, and volunteer assistant coach
Gina Mancuso, who is in her first year on the Maverick staff.
Up Next
Omaha returns to action next weekend at the Drake Invitational, Sept. 7-9, in Des Moines, Iowa. The Mavericks open the tournament on Thursday with host Drake at 7 p.m., followed by Friday matches vs. San Jose State at 1 p.m. and Montana at 5 p.m. and a Saturday finale vs. Southeast Missouri at 1:30 p.m.
