Matt Buttermore didn't put a timetable on winning a Summit League championship when he took over the Omaha volleyball program 31 months ago. However, it certainly was a high priority on his to-do list.
It took only three seasons. The Mavericks claimed the conference's regular-season title last Thursday and head to this weekend's Summit League postseason tournament in Vermillion, S.D., as the top seed.
Buttermore noted that there is still work to do. The winner of the six-team event earns an automatic berth into the NCAA tournament. Omaha (19-9), which opens postseason play in a semifinal match at 4:30 p.m. Friday at the Sanford Coyote Sports Center, intends to land that bid. Whether it does or not, the impact that winning a first Division I conference championship has on a program can't be undersold.
"It is a big step. Where it leads, time will tell," Buttermore said. "Our goal was to continue to improve."
The third-year Maverick coach said, at the time of his hire in April of 2019, that the program he inherited was already in good shape. And he has quickly built it into a league champion since. Buttermore's initial team advanced to the conference tourney title match, and his second finished 1.5 games out of first.
Team No. 3 finished the ascent to the top of the Summit, posting a 16-2 record during league play. It dropped only three sets during a recent 10-match winning streak that continued for more than a month.
From the fifth-year senior who switched positions during the season to the younger players on the roster who see the court only sparingly, Omaha has had full buy-in from all involved in its title quest.
"We're a group of 15, and we win or lose together," junior setter
Sami Clarkson said. "Everybody has really learned to accept their roles. And I think it's a huge reason why we've won. We've prepared and we've worked hard. But it really comes down to each individual being selfless and going after one goal."
As talented as the Mavericks are, it's a strong team chemistry that has carried them to school history.
"I've never coached a great team that didn't have good chemistry," Buttermore said. "Whether that's buying into building relationships or coming in and competing at a high level on a daily basis or being a good teammate on a daily basis, those things are crucial. And we also have a good balance this year."
Omaha is led by senior right side hitter
Sadie Limback, arguably the Summit's best player. However, the Mavericks boast six regulars who average more than two points per set, making them tough to defend.
"Last year, Sadie had an amazing year, but she was like half our offense," Buttermore said. "This year, we've gotten it from a lot of different people. And that's a testament to them practicing hard every day and then believing in each other. We've had people on the bench that have had big matches for us."
Freshman outside
Shayla McCormick tallied 16 kills at South Dakota two weeks ago. Sophomore hitter
McKenna Ruch and senior middle
Rylee Marshall both posted season-high kill totals in a win at Denver.
Marriah Buss recorded 19 kills against the Pioneers at home, and
Rachel Fairbanks had 16 at Nebraska.
Each of them has the potential for a big match at any time. Then there's that 6-foot lefty with more than 1,400 career kills lurking when Omaha desperately needs a point. Limback rarely fails to come through.
"I love Sadie, man," Clarkson said. "It's not even her skill, it's her personality. She wants the ball. She's always willing to take on that pressure to deliver for the team, and she does deliver a lot of the times. She does well under pressure. Everybody in the world knows it's going to her, and she still finds the kill."
Like the basketball player who gets the ball as the clock is winding down, Limback thrives in the clutch.
"I absolutely love being put in those situations because I feel I can handle it," she said. "It's what I do."
Limback joined the Mavericks in the season before Buttermore arrived, making an immediate impact on the program as a freshman. A four-year starter, she sees Omaha's recent success as a multi-year project.
"Winning the conference hasn't been just a this-year thing. It was starting before I even got to UNO," she said. "We've been working hard and building up our record. We've gotten better every single year since I've been here. [The league title has] definitely been the progress over four years of working hard."
Buttermore said the first Summit League championship should be relished by all Mavericks, acknowledging the teams over the past decade that paved the way for the program's transition to D-I.
"I think it's a nice culmination for everyone that's been involved with Omaha volleyball," he said.
There is now a new standard. In the volleyball hotbed of Nebraska, success is almost an expectation.
The Mavericks have arrived. Limback said "pride" is the first word that comes to mind in the present.
"I feel like our team has worked hard all of these years, and we have deserved this moment," she said. "I just have a lot of pride for UNO, my teammates, everything. We've worked hard to get to this moment.
"I'm just extremely grateful that I got to be a part of the team that helped redefine Omaha volleyball."
That redefinition continues this weekend as the same Maverick team that grabbed local attention when it had perennial power Nebraska on the ropes in early September vies for an NCAA berth in November.
"It feels good that some hard work is starting to pay off, but we talk about just getting better every day," Clarkson said. "And we're not done yet. Our eyes are still just fixed forward on the next thing that we're wanting to accomplish. But I also think it's huge to take a second and realize that this is something the program has never done before and something we have all been striving to do since we got here."
Omaha will open the Summit League tournament by facing the winner of Thursday's matchup between fourth-seeded Kansas City and fifth-seeded Oral Roberts. The Mavericks swept the Golden Eagles for the second time last Thursday, but the Roos ended their 10-match winning streak on Sunday in Kansas City.
Dropping the regular-season finale isn't how Omaha would've preferred to enter the winner-take-all league tournament, but it meant little in the long run. A loss this weekend would be season-ending.
"Sunday was a good reminder that you always have to bring your best game no matter who we're playing or what we're seeing. I'm not saying losing that game was a good thing, but it did help put this weekend more in perspective," Limback said. "There is added pressure because it's one-and-done, obviously. There is more stress, but it's nothing that we haven't handled before. We've had teams, throughout this whole year, that have been gunning for us … and we've risen to the occasion."
