OMAHA, Neb. - Following last night's 3-0 sweep of Denver, the Mavericks will travel to their second state in as many days as they head to Tulsa, Oklahoma to take on Oral Roberts University on Thursday night. Then, the women will have another quick turnaround as they will make for Kansas City, Missouri for their third road match of the week when they face the University of Missouri-Kansas City on Saturday.

Weekend Slate

• Thursday, October 6, @ Oral Roberts at 7 p.m.
• Saturday, October 8, @ Kansas City at 1 p.m.

Quick Hits

• The Mavericks are currently riding a three-match winning streak after sweeping Western Illinois and St. Thomas last week, before taking down Denver last night. Back over .500 for the first time since mid-September, Omaha is currently one of four teams in the Summit League with a winning record at 8-7 overall and 3-2 in conference play.
• McKenna Ruch continues to pace the league in total blocks after adding eight more last night to give her 93 on the year. Likewise, her 1.58 blocks per set remain the most in the league, while her .354 attack percentage is good for fourth.
• Shayla McCormick picked up 15 more kills in Denver, giving he a team-high 226. She now sits at fourth in the league in kills and third in kills per set with 3.83.
• More than halfway through the season, Sami Clarkson remains the best setter in the Summit League. She remains atop the leader boards with 10.69 assists per set along with 631 total assists.
• Over the past three matches, Olivia Curry has started splitting setting duties with Clarkson, earning 45 assists and two service aces in the process.
• Jaiden Centeno recorded 39 digs over the past three matches, now giving her the third most digs in the league with 231 and the fourth most digs per set at 3.92.

Scouting Oral Roberts
The Golden Eagles went 0-2 in their North Dakota road trip last week, first getting swept by North Dakota State on September 29, before again falling 0-3 to North Dakota to open October. As of right now, ORU is 5-11 overall and 2-2 in the conference.

Sophomore Trinity Freeman is ORU's top attacker with 191 kills and 3.08 kills per set (10th in the Summit League). Defensively, she is currently second on the team with 33 total blocks. Right behind Freeman on the kills list is junior Kaia Dunford at 156 kills and 2.56 kills per set. She also has 22 assists and seven service aces. Dunford is a defensive threat as well, leading the Golden Eagles with 186 digs and 3.00 digs per set, both marks being top-10 in the league. Senior Sakira LaCour is possibly the most versatile player on the team, leading the way with 81 total blocks (second in the league) and 1.31 blocks per set (fourth), while also owning the third most kills on ORU with 123. She is also tied for the team lead with 14 service aces.

Series History
Omaha leads Oral Roberts 13-9 in the all-time series. The Mavericks have won six in a row against the Golden Eagles, starting with a 3-0 win on 10/29/19, and most recently with a 3-1 in the semifinals of last year's Summit League playoffs. 

Scouting Kansas City
Like Oral Roberts, Kansas City went 0-2 against North Dakota and North Dakota State last week, getting swept by both teams to fall to 4-13 on the year and 1-3 in conference play. They will host Denver on Thursday before taking on the Mavericks.

The Roos' top attacker is junior Odyssey Warren. With 195 kills and 3.20 kills per set, she not only leads the team in both stats, but top-10 in the Summit League in both too. She also has the most aces on the team with 18, and is second in digs with 159. Freshman Kimora Whetstone has already made a large impact on Kansas City's defense, leading the squad with 55 total blocks and eight block solos. She's also recorded 87 kills and seven aces. Junior Carly Gillen is also having a good season at the middle, logging 106 kills along with 47 total blocks.

Series History
Both teams are tied with two wins each in the all-time series. They split the season series last year, with Omaha taking the first match 3-0 before Kansas City won the second meeting 3-1.