OMAHA, Neb. -- Omaha heads to the CEFCU Classic for its final road tournament before opening the conference slate.
The Mavericks play Milwaukee, at Bradley and Eastern Illinois from Sept. 14-15 in Peoria, Ill. Live stats will be available for all matches, while the match at Bradley will be live on ESPN+.
Opening Serve
• Omaha went 1-2 last weekend in Manhattan, Kan., at the K-State Invitational (Sept. 7-8).
• UNO defeated North Texas in four sets and dropped a pair of three-set matches to Oregon State and Kansas State.
• All three teams the Mavericks play have faced Summit League Competition this season.
• The Mavericks are 3-0 at home, 1-3 in neutral matches and 0-2 on the road.
• Omaha ranks second in The Summit League in kills per set (13.71) and assists per set (13.06).
• Milwaukee, Bradley and Eastern Illinois have a combined 10-19 record this season.
The 500 Club
Head coach
Rose Shires is currently three wins shy of 500 for her career. Her 497 total wins make her No. 80 all-time among active winningest coaches. She looks to become one of 77 active coaches to have at least 500 career wins in any NCAA Division.
Believe in Bella
Isabella Sade garnered her third straight All-Tournament honor this season at the K-State Invitational. The middle blocker also saw her five-match streak of double-digit kills snapped on the final day of the tournament against K-State. Sade averages a team-best 2.81 kills per set and 0.94 blocks per set. She also ranks second in The Summit League in hitting percentage (.366). Through her two-year career, she has four All-Tournament honors.
In Case You Didn't Know
Freshman setter
Sydney Case has emerged as a force for the Mavericks throughout the last month. With 11.60 assists per set, she currently leads The Summit League and ranks 15th in the nation. The Lakeville, Minn., native won Summit League Offensive Player of the Week honors on Sept. 4 after she helped the Mavericks to a 3-0 home tournament record.
Case became the first Maverick since Kimberly Bailey in 2015 to win a Player of the Week award. In the Omaha Challenge, Case posted an average of 13.7 assists and totaled 151 for the three matches to earn
all-tournament honors. She now has three matches this season of 50 or more assists.
In the home opener, the freshman posted a 50-assist performance to go with eight digs in the 3-1 win over UMKC, and followed up with a career-high 57 assists and 10 digs for her first double-double of her career in the 3-1 win over UIC. She also had three aces and two blocks in the match. In the 3-0 win over UTEP, Case had 44 assists with six digs and guided the team to a .266 hitting percentage over the past weekend. As a team, the Mavericks rank 40th nationally with 13.1 assists per set.
Scouting the Milwaukee Panthers
The Panthers are led by Susie Johnson who is in her 12th season at the helm of the program. Milwaukee is still aiming for its first win of the season with an 0-10 record. The Panthers have seen several matches go five sets this year, but have come up on the wrong side of the win column. Recently, Milwaukee fell 3-2 against Utah State (Sept. 8), UC Riverside (Aug. 31) and Boise State (Aug. 31). Offensively, Maken Mroczenski and Klej Cerniauskaite lead the team with 2.34 and 2.00 kills per set, while Jenn Dore averages 5.10 assists per set.
On the defensive end, Mroczenski leads the team with 0.78 blocks per set, while Jess Grabowski's 4.33 digs per set are a team-high. So far, the Panthers have played one Summit League opponent this season. On Friday, Aug. 24, the team fell 3-0 to South Dakota in its home tournament, the Panther Invitational. This will be the first-ever meeting between the two programs.
Scouting the Bradley Braves
Bradley posts a 7-2 record so far this season. The team is led by head coach Carol Price-Took, who is in her third season with the program. Like Omaha, Bradley is perfect at home this season with a 3-0 record. The CEFCU Classic marks the second regular season non-conference home tournament for the Braves this season.
In the CEFCU Invitational (Aug. 31-Sept. 1), Bradley went 3-0 with wins against Western Illinois (3-1), Toledo (3-0) and George Washington (3-1). The Braves have a trio of players who average two kills per set or better. Erica Haslag has a team-best 3.65 per set, followed by Hannah Thompson with 3.09 kills per set. Sarah Shaw rounds out the offensive attack with 2.00 kills per set. Former Maverick
Hannah Angeli leads the team with 9.03 assists per set, while Yavianliz Rosado posts a team-high 5.09 digs per set defensively.
The duo of Alissa Schovanec and Kathryn Graf average 0.88 and 0.87 blocks per set. Bradley and Omaha square off for the seventh time, with the Braves holding a 4-2 advantage. The last time both programs squared off was on Sept. 9, 2016, where the Braves won 3-1 in a neutral match at the UMKC Invitational.
Scouting the Eastern Illinois Panthers
Eastern Illinois is 3-8 overall this season and Julie Allen is in her first year as the head coach. Recently, the Panthers are coming off a 3-0 defeat at Iowa on Sept. 9. Eastern Illinois is 1-3 in neutral matches this season.
In its most recent road tournament, the Drake Bulldogs Invitational, the Panthers faced off against Summit League opponent South Dakota State, where they fell in five sets (3-2). Laurel Bailey leads the team with 2.97 kills per set, followed by Morgan Matusik (2.36) and Taylor Smith (2.27). Gina Furlin leads the team with 5.13 assists per set. Defensively, Maggie Runge averages 1.05 blocks per set, while Anne Hughes' 5.53 digs per set are a team-high.
Up Next
Omaha opens Summit League competition with two straight on the road. The Mavericks travel to South Dakota State for a Friday, Sept. 21, matchup at 7 p.m., and turnaround to play at North Dakota State Sunday, Sept. 23, at 1 p.m. The first conference home match is scheduled for Friday, Sept. 28 against Western Illinois. The event is scheduled for 7 p.m. inside Baxter Arena.
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