This Weekend
The Omaha volleyball team plays its final of three straight tournaments in the state of Iowa this weekend, heading to the Drake Invitational, Sept. 7-9, at the Knapp Center in Des Moines, Iowa. The Mavericks take on host Drake on Thursday at 7 p.m., followed by a Friday doubleheader vs. San Jose State (1 p.m.) and Montana (5 p.m.) and a single match on Saturday vs. Southeast Missouri (1:30 p.m.). Thursday's match vs. DU will be broadcast live on ESPN3, and live stats and video for the weekend, as available, will be linked on OMavs.com.
Quick Hits
•Omaha has opened 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 UNI.
•The Mavericks hit .358 vs. Indiana State last Saturday, their highest team attack percentage since 2014.
•Freshman
Anna Blaschko's .625 attack percentage vs. ISU on Saturday was the highest of any Maverick this season.
•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
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 61 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 1,022-597-7.
Scouting the Drake Bulldogs
Drake enters the week with a record of 5-2 (0-0 MVC) after going 2-1 at last weekend's JMU Invitational. The Bulldogs earned 3-0 sweeps of Hampton and Cornell before falling 3-1 to James Madison.
Head coach Darrin McBroom is in his fifth season in Des Moines with a career record of 50-83.
Thursday marks the 20th meeting all-time between Omaha and Drake, with the Bulldogs leading 11-8. The two teams last squared off at the Omaha Classic on Sept. 3, 2016, with the Bulldogs securing a 3-1 win.
Scouting the San Jose State
San Jose State enters the week with a record of 4-1 (0-0 Mountain West), having gone 2-1 at last weekend's Fullerton/Riverside Classic. The Spartans dropped their opener to UC Riverside, 3-1, then recorded back-to-back 3-0 sweeps of Cal State Fullerton and Howard.
Head coach Jolene Shepardson is in her fourth season at SJSU with a record of 33-64 and carries a career mark of 76-111 over seven seasons.
Friday marks the second meeting all-time between Omaha and San Jose State, and the Spartans lead the series, 1-0. Their last meeting was Sept. 18, 2015 at the CMU Chippewa Classic in Mount Pleasant, Mich., where SJSU won 3-1.
Scouting the Montana Grizzlies
Montana brings a record of 3-3 (0-0 Big Sky) into the week after going 1-2 at last weekend's Utah Valley Tournament. The Grizzlies swept Long Beach State 3-0 in the opener, then dropped a pair of 3-0 losses to Utah Valley and Kansas.
Head coach Allison Lawrence is in her first season at Montana and carries a career record of 3-3.
Friday marks the first meeting all-time between Omaha and Montana.
Scouting the Southeast Missouri Redhawks
Southeast Missouri is 5-2 (0-0 OVC) totes a four-match win streak into the week. The Redhawks registered three wins at their home tournament last weekend -- 3-0 vs. Morgan State, 3-0 vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff and 3-2 vs. Evansville -- then added a 3-2 win over Western Illinois on Monday.
Head coach Julie Yankus is in her seventh season at SEMO and carries a career record of 85-113.
Saturday marks the fourth meeting all-time between Omaha and Southeast Missouri, and the Mavericks lead the series, 3-0. Their last meeting was Sept. 29, 1989 in Warrensburg, Mo., where the Omaha won 3-0.
Mavericks Take All-Tournament Honors
Over the opening two weeks of play, three Mavericks have earned all-tournament recognition.
Freshman
Claire Mountjoy made her career debut at libero at the 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.
Last weekend, senior
Sydney O'Shaughnessy and freshman
Bella Sade both took home the hardware, as both were named to the Hawkeye Classic All-Tournament Team. O'Shaughnessy averaged 10.25 assists, 2.83 digs, 0.42 blocks, 0.67 aces and 1.00 kills per set for the weekend, adding a pair of double-doubles and reaching a career high with 59 assists vs. Indiana State. Sade averaged 2.75 kills and 0.75 blocks per set while hitting .368 over three matches.
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.
Following a career-high 59 assists vs. Indiana State last Saturday, O'Shaughnessy has 3,388 career assists to her credit, which ranks fifth in school history. Her next target on the list is Kylie Lebeda (2000-03), who had 3,951.
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 2017, Horkey has picked up right where she left off, averaging a team-leading 3.00 kills per set with four double-figure kill efforts and two double-doubles. She put up season highs of 17 kills and 13 digs last Saturday vs. Indiana State, hitting .308 in the match.
Solid Sophomore Start for Roth
Meagen Roth is off to a solid start in her sophomore campaign, as she has hit .368 over the first two weeks of play. The Lincoln, Neb., native had a standout performance against Indiana State last Friday, totaling a career-high-tying 15 kills with 13 digs and .400 hitting for her first double-double of the season.
Dousette Stepping Up
Sophomore outside hitter
Chloe Dousette had a delayed start to her freshman season due to injury, but finally hit the court last September and never looked back. The St. Paul, Minn., native went on to earn Summit League All-Newcomer Team recognition after appearing in 15 matches with seven starts, and she averaged 3.00 kills per set with nine double-figure kill efforts. Dousette led the Mavericks in kills in 10 of the last 12 matches of the year.
Dousette made her 2017 season debut last weekend at the Hawkeye Classic and had an immediate impact in helping the Mavericks to a pair of wins over Indiana State. In the first match against the Sycamores, Dousette had 11 kills with 12 digs, and she followed that with another double-double on 21 kills and 14 digs alongside two blocks and three aces.
Dousette's 21-kill effort matched her career high, and she owns the Omaha's last four 20+ kill performances, having tallied three as a freshman.
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 188-168 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 485-369 (.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 makes its home debut next weekend with the Omaha Challenge, Sept. 14-16, at Baxter Arena. The Mavericks open with Kansas State on Thursday at 7 p.m., followed by Northern Iowa on Friday at 7 p.m. and Nebraska on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. Links to live stats, audio and video will be available on OMavs.com.
