OMAHA, Neb. – The Maverick volleyball program makes its home debut at the annual Omaha Challenge tournament, which takes place Friday, Aug. 31 - Saturday, Sept. 1 at Baxter Arena.
Participating Teams
Omaha opens with UMKC on Friday at 12:30 p.m., followed by UIC at 7:30 p.m. The Mavericks face UTEP on Saturday at 4 p.m.
How To Watch
All Omaha matches will be streamed live on OMavs.com and are available free. MavRadio will also broadcast all Omaha matches for the tournament.
Opening Serve
• The Mavericks look to bounce back after starting the season 0-3 on the road at the New Orleans Invitational.
•
Isabella Sade was named to the New Orleans Invitational All-Tournament Team averaging of 1.90 kills per set on .341 hitting and 1.0 blocks per set.
• A multitude of newcomers saw action over the weekend that included
Jaclyn Taylor,
Claire Leonard,
Courtney Morehead,
Sydney Case,
Sadie Limback,
Kenzie Michalek and
Maggie Meyer.
• Canisius transfer
Claire Leonard leads the team with 3.10 kills per set after a debut performance of 15 kills against New Orleans (Aug. 24).
• Freshman setter
Sydney Case recorded back-to-back 25-plus assist performances with 28 against Murray State and 32 against Houston.
• The Mavericks have an all-time record of -7-8-1 against the three upcoming opponents in the series history.
• UIC, UMKC and UTEP went a combined 6-2 over last weekend.
• Omaha aims to go undefeated at its own home tournament for the first time in the D1 era and since 2009, where that team went 4-0. In program's history, the Mavericks have nine undefeated home tournament records in 2009, 2000, 1999, 1996, 1995, 1994, 1992, 1991 and 1986.
• UIC is the first of four Illinois teams the Mavericks will play this season. The others are Bradley, Eastern Illinois and Western Illinois (Summit League). UMKC is the only team from the state of Missouri on the Mavericks' 2018 schedule, while UTEP is the second of three Texas team on the schedule this season.
Scouting the UIC Flames
The UIC Flames are currently one of 72 teams across the nation to have an undefeated record at 3-0. This past weekend, the team did not relinquish a single set at its own home invitational in Chicago, Ill. (UIC Invitational). The Flames swept Bryant University, University of Maryland Eastern Shore and Central Michigan 3-0 in all three matches.
UIC is led by second-year head coach Justin Ingram, who has a 20-13 record at the school and a 164-92 overall career record. Omaha and UIC have only faced once before at the Bradley Tournament in Peoria, Ill. on Aug. 26, 2011. The Flames won 3-1 in that meeting. UIC has three players that average over two kills per set in Kiera James (2.86), Alexandra Hicks (2.13) and Ali Witt (2.00). Marija Borcic averages 6.00 assists per set while Tatyana Ndewke, Hicks and Witt average 1.56, 1.38 and 1.00 blocks per set, respectively.
Scouting the UMKC Kangaroos
The Kangaroos opened the season with a 2-1 record at their own home tournament, the UMKC Invitational. UMKC defeated Summit League member South Dakota State 3-0, Western Michigan 3-1, before it fell to Austin Peay 2-3. Middle hitter Tyrecia Lukes is the current WAC Offensive Player of the Week for her performance over the season-opening tournament.
She was also named to the All-Tournament team after averaging 5.00 kills per set on .542 hitting. Lukes is coming off a career-high 25-kill performance. Head coach Christi Posey is in her eighth season with a career record of 109-96, all with the program. Omaha trails the all-time series 5-7-1 and the last time both teams squared off was at UMKC on Sept. 12, 2015 where the Mavericks fell 3-1.
Scouting the UTEP Miners
UTEP is coming off a 1-2 opening record at the I-10 Challenge in New Orleans, La. The Miners opened the season with a 3-1 victory over Incarnate Word, before 0-3 and 1-3 defeats at Tulane and Louisiana. Head coach Holly Watts is in her sixth season at the helm of the program with a 46-108 overall record at the school.
Omaha holds a 2-0 series lead over UTEP. Both matches came at the UNO Invitational on Nov. 12-13, 1982, with the Mavericks winning each match 2-1. Macey Austin leads the team with 3.91 kills per set, followed by three others who average over two kills per set in Cheyenne Jones (2.88), Ashley Grzebeniak (2.50) and Briana Arellano (2.22). Kristen Fritsche averages 9.73 assists per set while Grzebeniak averages a team-best 6.00 digs per set.
Facing the Alma Mater
Omaha head coach
Rose Shires was a five-year member and served as team captain for three years while being named MVP twice for the UTEP volleyball team. She graduated from UTEP in 1985 with her bachelor's degree in education and earned her master's degree in exercise science from Omaha in 1989.
Up Next
Omaha hits the road for its third straight tournament of the regular season. From Sept. 7-8, the Mavericks will play in Manhattan, Kan., at the K-State Invitational. Omaha is set to play Oregon State, North Texas and Kansas State. Live stats and stream (where available) will be available to follow on OMavs.com. The match against Kansas State will air live on ESPN3.
