OMAHA, Neb. - The Mavericks continue a six-game home stand with conference foe Denver Saturday afternoon. The match is set to kickoff at noon in Baxter Arena. Omaha opened league play that weekend vs. St. Thomas and Western Illinois picking up 3-0 sweeps to start the Summit League schedule 2-0. Denver is off to a strong start sitting at 12-1 overall. The Pioneers won their first three conference meetings vs. Western Illinois, St. Thomas, and Kansas City. Both the Mavericks and Pioneers look to remain perfect after Saturday's meeting.
Follow the Match
Links to live stats and video can be found on Omavs.com. Live updates will also be provided on Twitter. Follow @OmahaVB.
Quick Hits
- The Mavericks swept league newcomer St. Thomas in the opening game of last week's action. Sadie Limback led Omaha with 14 kills. She hit .407 on the night. She tallied two block assists and six digs, Rylee Marshall hit .455 with six kills. She added five block assists to lead the match.
- Omaha then took a 3-0 win over Western Illinois to finish the weekend 2-0 at Baxter Arena. Limback, Shayla McCormick, and Sami Clarkson tallied double-doubles in the meeting.
- Limback led the Mavericks with 17 kills. She completed the double-double with 10 digs. Limback tallied Omaha's two service aces in the match.
- McCormick posted her first career double-double with a new season-high of 10 kills. She added 11 digs and four blocks, while Clarkson tallied 44 assists and 17 digs.
- Marshall was tabbed the Summit League TicketSmarter Defensive Athlete of the Week last week. It marks the first weekly honor of her career. Marshall totaled 10 blocks and leads the league in conference play with 1.83 blocks per set through the first weekend.
Scouting Denver
The Pioneers are 12-1 heading into this week's action and are on a nine-game win streak. Denver's lone loss of the season was at the hands of Northern Colorado back on Sept. 2. Since that loss, Denver has picked up wins vs. Northeastern, Mercer, Air Force, Cal State Fullerton, Incarnate Word, Iowa, Western Illinois, St. Thomas, and Kansas City. The Pioneers lead the league in hitting percentage averaging .292 as a squad. The also lead the league with an average of 13.67 kills per set.
Pioneers to Watch
- Lydia Bartalo lead the Pioneers with 122 kills this season, which ranks ninth in the league with 2.98 kills per set. She adds six assists, 24 aces, 90 digs and 30 blocks.
- Ellie Anderson has 249 assists on the year for Denver and is averaging 5.93 assists per set, which is ranks eighth in the lead.
- Brenna Green has 46 blocks this season ranking fourth in the Summit League. Giana Bartalo adds a team-leading 145 digs.
Series History
Denver leads the all-time series 12-2 take the series 2-1 vs. Omaha last season. The Pioneers and Mavericks last met in the quarterfinals of the Summit League Tournament last spring. Denver took a 3-0 win to advance to the championship.
