OMAHA, Neb. – Omaha hits the road for a pair of Summit League matches at North Dakota and Denver. The matches are schedule for Friday, Oct .26 and Sunday, Oct. 28.
Everyone For Omaha
Fans are encouraged to connect with the Mavericks on Facebook (OmahaVB), Instagram (@omahavb) and on Twitter (@OmahaVB). Maverick fans can also used the hashtag #EveryoneForOmaha when connecting with the team on social media posts.
Opening Serve
• Omaha enters the weekend after going 1-2 in the previous week with back-to-back five-set losses to Denver and Purdue Fort Wayne, but bounced back for a 3-1 home win against North Dakota State to cap off the week.
• The Mavericks are currently tied for second in the league standings with an 8-2 record.
•
Sydney Case still leads The Summit League with 11.17 assists per set.
• Isabella Sade ranks fifth in the league with a .339 hitting percentage, while
Claire Mountjoy ranks fifth with 3.95 digs per set.
• Omaha leads the league with 1,130 total kills this season and ranks third with 13.29 kills per set.
• The Mavericks also rank second in the league with a .235 hitting percentage against in-league opponents, but also lead the league with 258 total service errors and 116 reception errors.
• The Mavericks have led by comittee thus far in attacking, as they have five players who average over two kills per set.
• Sade leads the team with 2.81 kills per set, followed by
Sadie Limback (2.75),
Claire Leonard (2.48),
Anna Blaschko (2.42) and
Abby Bergsten (2.27).
• Blascko leads the team with 1.05 blocks per set.
Believe in Bella
Sophomore middle blocker
Isabella Sade recently had a career-best 23 kills in the win over North Dakota State. The 2017 Summit League Freshman of the Year is coming off back-to-back performances of double digit kills off .500 hitting.
This season, she has seven matches of a .500 hitting percentage or better, and 15 matches of double-digit kills, including four straight. She ranks fifth in the league with a .339 hitting percentage thus far.
In Case You Didn't Know
Freshman setter
Sydney Case has emerged as a force for the Mavericks throughout the season. With 11.17 assists per set, leads The Summit League. Earlier this season, Case ranked as high as ninth in the nation at 11.51 per set. The Lakeville, Minn., native has seven matches this season of 50 or more assists and 11 of 40 or more. In the Omaha Challenge, Case posted an average of 13.7 assists and totaled 151 for the three matches to earn
all-tournament honors.
Against North Dakota State, Case recorded a career-high 65 assists, which are the most in a single match for an individual Mavericks since Katie Agnew (66 vs. Minn. State, 2007). Case earned her third Summit League Offensive Player of the Week, which made her the first Maverick in the Division I era to earn the honor three times in one season. Case became the first Maverick since Kimberly Bailey in 2015 to win a Player of the Week award multiple times in a season and is also the first Omaha player in the Division I era to have 60 or more assists in a match.
Against Purdue Fort Wayne on Oct. 19, Case became the first Maverick since Michaela Schimmer in 2013 to notch a triple-double with 43 assists, 11 digs and 10 blocks. The freshman has a team-leading seven double-doubles thus far this season.
Scouting the North Dakota Fighting Hawks
North Dakota currently sits at 13-13 overall with a 5-5 mark in league action. Recently, the Fighting Hawks are coming off two straight losses to South Dakota (3-0) and Oral Roberts (3-1). North Dakota was slated to play Denver on Sunday, Oct. 21, but the match was postponed. Freshman Taliyah Flores ranks third in the league with 4.92 digs per set, and is the only freshman along with Omaha's
Sydney Case to win a Player of the Week award three times this season.
In the last meeting, Omaha defeated North Dakota 3-1 inside Baxter Arena on Friday, Oct. 5. The Mavericks own the all-time series 45-13, while head coach Mark Pryor is in his fifth season with the Fighting Hawks, and owns a 116-53 overall record.
Scouting the Denver Pioneers
Denver is 20-1 overall and 9-0 in the league thus far. The Pioneers have five matches this season that they've won by a sweep, while Omaha is the only team so far that has taken them to five sets. The Pioneers are coming off a 3-0 sweep at home over North Dakota State and had a match postponed against North Dakota. Tom Hogan is in his third year with the program and is 65-16. The Mavericks trail the all-time series 1-12. Becca Latham leads Denver with 3.27 kills per set, which ranks third in the league.
The duo of Lydia Bartalo and Andrea Eddy ranks first and second in the league with 0.55 and 0.35 service aces per set. Denver averages a league-best 14.01 kills per set, .272 hitting percentage, 2.06 service aces per set and 2.29 blocks per set.
Looking Ahead
Following the two road matches, Omaha returns home to close out The Summit League home season. Omaha takes on South Dakota State and South Dakota on Nov. 2 and Nov. 4. Visit OMavs.com for more information.
