OMAHA, Neb. -- Omaha opens Summit League play with a pair of matches on the road at South Dakota State Friday, Sept. 21, at 7 p.m. and at North Dakota State Sunday, Sept. 23, at 1 p.m.
Live stats will be available for both matches, and live stream will be available on Jackrabbits and NDSU All-Access. The match at NDSU will also be aired live on BEK Sports.
Opening Serve
• Omaha went 1-2 over the weekend in its final non-league tournament of the regular season.
• The Mavericks defeated Milwaukee 3-1 and fell to Bradley 3-2 on the first day of CEFCU Classic
in Peoria, Ill.
• The next day, Omaha fell 3-0 against Eastern Illinois.
• So far, Omaha is 3-0 at home, 0-3 on the road and 2-4 in neutral matches.
•
Anna Blaschko garnered CEFCU Classic All-Tournament Honors over the weekend.
• Both teams have a long history against the Mavericks that adds up to 146 combined meetings.
• Freshman setter
Sydney Case leads The Summit League with 11.07 assists per set.
• Blaschko, a sophomore middle blocker, ranks second in the league behind South Dakota State's Payton Richardson with 1.26 blocks per set, while
Isabella Sade ranks fourth with 1.07 per set.
• Sade is also fourth in the league in hitting percentage with an average of .336.
• Omaha ranks in the top five for 10 different categories amongst league teams.
• The Mavericks lead the league with 2.30 blocks per set, third with 17 solo blocks and fourth with 164 blocks.
• Offensively, Omaha ranks third in the league in kills per set (13.21) and hitting percentage (.204).
• In Summit league opening weekends, Omaha is 4-6 since making the move to Division I in 2011.
• The Mavericks ranks third in assists per set (12.63) and fourth in total assists (543).
The 500 Club
Head coach
Rose Shires is currently three wins shy of 500 for her career. Her 498 total wins make her No. 80 all-time among active winningest coaches. She looks to become one of 79 active coaches to have at least 500 career wins in any NCAA Division.
Blockin' Blaschko
Over the weekend, Blaschko tallied her first-career double-double and all-tournament honor. The sophomore from Shakopee, Minn., is coming off a weekend where she averaged 2.92 kills per set and 2.17 blocks per set. She had a career-best of 13 block against Bradley on Sept. 14, which ranks third all-time in program history for a single match. Blaschko also recorded 11 kills in the match and tied her career-high of 17 kills for the second time in the win over Milwaukee.
Scouting the South Dakota State Jackrabbits
South Dakota State sits at 3-10 overall so far this season. Last weekend, the Jackrabbits went 1-2 with losses to Florida Atlantic (0-3) and San Jose State (0-3). SDSU picked up a 3-1 win against North Florida. Makenzie Hennen leads the team with 3.86 kills per set, followed by Ashlynn Smith with 2.20.
Maddie Fay averages 10.14 assists per set, which is a team-best. This will be the 62nd meeting between Omaha and South Dakota State. Since joining the Division I era in 2011, Omaha is 6-5 against South Dakota State. Defensively, Payton Richardson averages a league-best 1.31 blocks per set, and Ellie Thein posts a team-high 3.02 digs per set.
Scouting the North Dakota State Bison
The Bison are 2-9 overall and are looking to snap a four-match losing skid. So far, Allie Mauch averages a team-best 2.76 kills per set, followed by McKenzie Burke (2.59) and Alexis Bachmeier (2.16). Kalli Hegerle posts a team-high 8.24 assists per set. Defensively, Bella Lien has a team-high 0.87 blocks per set and Kirstin Tidd averages .80 per set. Kaylee Hanger has a team-best 3.05 digs per set.
NDSU's only wins are over Niagara (3-0) and Western Carolina (3-1). Omaha leads the series 43-42 and is 3-8 against the Bison since joining the Division I era in 2011. The Bison swept the Mavericks last season 3-0 and 3-1 during the 2017 regular season. In the quarterfinals of The Summit League tournament, North Dakota State defeated Omaha 3-1.
Up Next
Omaha returns opens the home portion of its Summit League schedule next weekend with a pair of matches. The Mavericks welcome Western Illinois to Baxter Arena on Friday, Sept. 28, fat 7 p.m. Omaha also plays host to Purdue Fort Wayne at Sapp Fieldhouse Sunday, Sept. 23, at 1 p.m.
