OMAHA, Neb. -- The Omaha volleyball team officially opens the 2018 campaign with the New Orleans Invitational, where it will take on New Orleans, Murray State and Houston in a three-match slate.
The Mavericks open with New Orleans Aug. 24 at noon, followed by a pair of matches on Aug. 25 against Murray State and Houston at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., respectively.
How to Follow
Live stats and video stream (where available) will be located on the volleyball schedule page on OMavs.com
Quick Hits
• Omaha opens the 2018 season on the road for the fourth consecutive year.
• The Mavericks capped off the 2017 season with a fifth place finish in The Summit League regular season and fell to North Dakota State in the quarterfinal round of the conference tournament.
• Omaha finished 10-18 with a 7-7 mark in league play last season.
• The team returns four starters while losing All-Summit honoree
Sydney O'Shaughnessy, who ranked second all-time in program history for career assists.
• The Mavericks welcome back six returning letterwinners with seven lost. The team also lost two starters but returns four from the previous season.
• Omaha volleyball was selected third overall out of nine teams in The Summit League Preseason Coaches' Poll. The preseason league ranking also marked the highest in program history for the Mavericks since making the move to Division I in 2011.
• The sophomore trio of
Isabella Sade,
Anna Blaschko and
Claire Mountjoy were selected to The Summit League Preseason Players to Watch list.
• Omaha meets both New Orleans and Murray State for the second time in program history, holding 1-0 advantages over both programs. The Mavericks and Houston Cougars will square off for the first time ever
• Prior to the start of the season, the Mavericks traveled to Missouri State where they fell 3-2.
•
Jaclyn Taylor led the way with a double-double of 37 assists and 14 digs, while Blaschko recorded a team-high nine kills off 11 attacks for a team-high .818 hitting percentage.
Scouting the New Orleans Privateers
New Orleans opens the 2018 slate against Omaha in their own home tournament at the Human Performance Center. The Privateers tallied a 12-16 overall record with a 6-10 mark in Southland Conference play last season. New Orleans closed the regular season with a two-match winning streak at Nicholls and against Southeastern Louisiana, before a loss in the conference tournament at Houston Baptist, 3-0.
The Privateers' roster consists of a multitude of upperclassmen, as it includes five seniors and seven juniors, with two sophomores and four freshmen. Senior outside hitter Blessing Dunn is the returning leader in kills per set (2.29), starting 27 of 28 matches last season. Head coach Millicent Van Norden is in her fifth season at the helm of the program, and her 16th season overall. She is 42-86 at New Orleans, with a 221-308 mark in her coaching career. Omaha and New Orleans have only faced off once in the series history, as the Mavericks won in a 3-0 sweep Sept. 8, 2012.
Scouting the Murray State Racers
Murray State is coming off a 22-9 season and a 12-4 mark in the Ohio Valley Conference in 2017. The Racers advanced to the OVC Tournament Championship match last season, where they fell 3-1 to Austin Peay. The team returns the trio of Rachel Guistino, Dacia Brown and Rachel Holthaus, who ranked in the top-3 in kills per set for the program last season. Guistino averaged 4.01 kills per set, while Holthaus and Brown averaged 2.42 and 2.40 kills per set, respectively. The Racers also return Becca Fernandez, who averaged a team-best 4.28 digs per set.
The Racers also have Guistino (3.26 D/S) and Alex Kaufmann (3.43 D/S) who also averaged over three digs per set in 117 sets played from the previous season. Head coach David Schwepker is in his 21st season at the helm of the program, where he helped lead his team to its fourth-straight conference tournament championship match. With 307 wins, Schwepker is the winningest coach in program history.
Scouting the Houston Cougars
Houston enters the 2018 season after a 12-16 overall and an 8-12 mark in conference play during the 2017 campaign. This will be the first-ever meeting between the Mavericks and the Cougars. Houston will also be the first of three Division I universities from the state of Texas that Omaha will face in 2018, as the Mavericks also take on UTEP and North Texas during the non-league slate.
Head coach Kaddie Platt is a 23-year veteran who has a 576-264 overall record, while she has accumulated a 77-107 record over six seasons at Houston. The team returns Megan Duncan, who tallied a team-best 2.68 kills per set in 2017. Junior defensive specialist Katie Karbo also returns after a 2017 campaign where she led the team with 5.29 digs per set. The Bears held a 61-48 advantage on kills, digs (83-72) and assists (59-47), while the Mavericks won the blocking category (12-4). Missouri State totaled a .231 hitting percentage compared to Omaha's .123.
What Makes Up the Mavericks
• Omaha's 2018 roster consists of six returners and 11 newcomers.
• The Mavericks return 67.9 percent of its total attacking offense, as the six returners accounted for 906 of the team's 1,334 kills from 2017.
• The team also returns 69.3 percent of its total blocking from the previous season, as the returners accounted for 274 of the 2017 roster's 395 total kills.
• The roster consists of two seniors, two juniors, seven sophomores and eight freshmen.
• Omaha's roster includes student-athletes from seven different states: Nebraska, (6), Minnesota (3), Iowa (3), Illinois (2), Missouri (1), Utah (1) and Colorado (1).
• Omaha returns senior
Mackenzie Horkey who is the returning leader in matches played, sets played, total attacks, kills, digs, aces, assisted blocks and double-doubles.
• Sade (1.04 b/s, 2.33 k/s) enters her sophomore season after a freshman campaign earning Summit League Freshman of the Year, All-Summit League Honorable Mention and All-Freshman team honors in the conference.
• Senior
Abby Bergsten (2.90 k/s, 1.09 d/s) also earned All-Summit League Honorable Mention honors.
• The sophomore duo of Blaschko (1.97 k/s, 1.03 b/s) and Mountjoy (4.67 d/s) are both coming off Summit League All-Freshman team awards.
Up Next
The Mavericks return to home for the annual Omaha Challenge tournament, which also marks the regular season home opener. The tournament lasts from Aug. 31-Sept. 1, as the Mavericks will face off against UMKC and UIC on Friday, with a Saturday matchup against UTEP on Saturday. Live stats and video will be available for fans to follow on OMavs.com.
