OMAHA, Neb. – The Omaha volleyball program hits the road to Manhattan, Kan., to take on Oregon State, North Texas and Kansas State at the K-State Invitational Friday, Sept. 7-8.
Opening Serve
• The Omaha volleyball team is coming off a 3-0 weekend at its home tournament, the Omaha Challenge, where it defeated UMKC, UIC and UTEP.
• The wins marked the first time in the Division I era and since 2009 that the Mavericks went undefeated in its own tournament.
• After dropping their first three matches of the season at the New Orleans Invitational, the Mavericks are back to even with the trio of wins last weekend.
•
Sadie Limback was named the Omaha Challenge Most Valuable Player with a team-leading 3.76 kills per set and a .419 hitting percentage. The freshman also averaged 0.73 blocks per set.
• Sophomores
Isabella Sade and
Claire Mountjoy and freshman
Sydney Case also earned All-Tournament team honors.
• Case, a setter, is the current Summit League Offensive Player of the Week.
• The K-State Invitational marks the second of three total non-conference tournaments prior to the start of The Summit League regular season for the Mavericks.
The 500 Club
Head coach
Rose Shires is currently four shy of 500 career wins. Her 496 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.
Scouting the Oregon State Beavers
The Beavers sit at 4-1 overall and are riding a three-match winning streak. Most recently, Oregon State defeated UC Davis (3-1) and Portland State (3-0) at the Rose City Showdown in Portland, Ore. The team also has two wins over Power-Five opponents Virginia (3-2) and most notably at No. 21 Iowa State (3-2) at the Iowa State Challenge. This will be the first meeting between both Omaha and Oregon State.
Maddie Goings leads the team 3.59 kills per with 79 total. She has a .188 attacking percentage on 224 total attacks. Fellow teammate Amy Underdown averages 3.18 kills per set, while Lindsey Schell posts an average of 2.05.
The Beavers have a duo of setters who both average over seven assists per match. Freshman Maddie Sheenan averages 7.25 assists per set, while sophomore Allison Hughes posts an average of 7.18. Defensively Schell and Maddy Gravely average 1.36 and 1.00 blocks per set, while Grace Massey averages 4.55 digs per set. Head coach Mark Barnard is in his third season with a 37-32 record.
Scouting the North Texas Mean Green
North Texas and Omaha will meet for the first time in either program's history. The Mean Green look to snap a four-match losing skid after falling to No. 12 Baylor (3-1), at CSUN (3-0), at Pepperdine (3-0) and vs. Idaho (3-0). North Texas is coming off the C-USA Regular Season Championship from 2017 where that team went 29-4.
Head coach Andrew Palileo is in his sixth season with the program and has an 87-50 record at the school. Palileo used to coach at fellow Summit League member South Dakota State, where he totaled a 154-86 record and led the team to a regular season and tournament championship along with the school's first NCAA Tournament appearance.
Valerie Valerian leads the team with 3.14 kills per set, followed by Rhett Robinson with 2.50 and Barbara Teakell with a 2.30 average. Setter Karley York averages 9.27 assists per set, while Olivia Petnicki leads the team defensively with 3.27 digs per set.
Scouting the Kansas State Wildcats
The Wildcats sit at 5-1 this season and carry a three-match winning streak. Omaha and Kansas State will meet for the 17th time in the series history, with the Wildcats holding a 10-6 advantage.
The last meeting between the two programs was at the 2017 Omaha Challenge tournament, where the Mavericks fell 3-1. Kansas State was to play a match against Gonzaga before its own home tournament, but the event was cancelled. Kylee Zumach averages a team-best 4.32 kills per set with 82 total on 201 attempts for a .308 hitting percentage.
The team has four others who average over two kills per set in Gloria Mutiri (2.80), Alyssa Schultejans (2.68), Elle Sandbothe (2.38) and Peyton Williams (2.08). Defensively, Kansas State's Macy Flowers and Sandbothe average 1.58 and 1.00 blocks per set, respectively. The duo of Devan Fairfield and Zumach lead the team with 3.40 and 3.11 digs per set, respectively. Sarah Dixon paces the team with an average of 11.70 assists per set. Head coach Suzie Fritz is in her 18th season with a 331-198 record.
In Case You Didn't Know
Freshman setter
Sydney Case has emerged as a force for the Mavericks throughout the last three matches. The Lakeville, Minn., native is the current Summit League Offensive Player of the Week after she helped the Mavericks to a 3-0 record last season.
Case became the first Maverick since Kimberly Bailey in 2015 to win a Player of the Week award in the conference. Last weekend, Case posted an average of 13.7 assists and totaled 151 for the three matches to earn all-tournament honors. 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. With 11.15 assists per set, Case currently ranks 24th nationally and 84th in total assists. As a team, the Mavericks rank 38th nationally with 13.0 assists per set.
Up Next
Omaha continues the road slate for its final non-league tournament of the regular season. The Mavericks travel to Peoria, Ill., where they take on Milwaukee, Bradley and Eastern Illinois at the CEFCU Classic, Sept. 14-15. The Mavericks play at 10:30 a.m. and 7 p.m. against Milwaukee and Bradley on Friday, followed by a Saturday showdown with Eastern Illinois at 11 a.m. Live stats and stream (where available) will be available to follow on OMavs.com.
