OMAHA, Neb. - The Summit League announced that the Omaha Volleyball team earned six All-League honors before the first round of the league tournament Wednesday morning. Kali Jurgensmeier led the way as she took home Freshman of the Year and was named to the All-Freshman Team, while Shayla McCormick and McKenna Ruch were named First Team All-Summit and Marriah Buss and Sami Clarkson earned Honorable Mentions.

Jurgensmeier had a rookie season for the ages, starting 27 out of 28 matches for Omaha and cracking the top 25 in the league and leading all freshmen in hitting percentage (.280), kills (246), kills/set (2.39), blocks (67), blocks/set (0.65), and total points (289.5). She topped 10 kills in 14 matches, tying her season best of 13 against Denver on the final day of the regular season. Jurgensmeier also had three matches with a hitting percentage above .500, topping out at .647 with 11 kills vs. North Dakota. She becomes the 12th Maverick ever to be named to the All-Freshman team and is just the third to win Freshman of the Year. 

McCormick, who made All-Freshman last year, started all 28 matches this year and made First Team this season as one of the top all around players in the league. On offense, she finished third in the Summit with 3.79 kills/set and fifth with 402 kills. She was also third in service aces (40), fourth in aces/set (0.38), and third in total points (473). Defensively, she recorded 323 digs and 3.05 digs/set, both ranking 14th in the league, while also picking up 59 total blocks. McCormick had five matches with at least 20 kills this year, including a career-high 21 against Creighton and North Dakota State twice. She also finished with 17 double-doubles, the most notable being vs. Creighton when she posted 22 digs along with her 21 kills.

Ruch earned First Team honors for the second year in a row after one of the best defensive seasons in Omaha's Division I history. Starting all 28 matches, she was the first player in the Summit League to reach 100 total blocks this season and eventually finished with 132, good for third in the league. Her 1.25 blocks/set netted her second overall as well. Ruch had two matches with double-digit blocks, with a career-high 12 against Sacred Heart. She also earned a double-double at South Dakota with 19 blocks and 12 kills. Offensively, Ruch was one of the most efficient attackers in the league, owning the third-best hitting percentage at .361 and making the top 20 with 288 kills and 2.72 kills/set. Overall, she was seventh in the league with 381.5 total points.

Buss earned an Honorable Mention for the second straight season. Appearing in all 28 matches, she finished seventh in the league with 343 kills and 3.43 kills/set. She also made the top 25 in hitting percentage (.232) and total points (366.5). Buss had four matches with at least 20 kills this season, setting a new career-high with 24 vs. Northern Colorado. 

Clarkson closed out her final regular season with Omaha in historic fashion. En route to her Honorable Mention, she started every match and climbed all the way to third on Omaha's all-time assists leader board with 4146, becoming one of only three Mavericks to ever reach 4000. Her 991 assists this year were the fourth most in the Summit, while her 9.35 assists/set were good for fifth. She also finished fifth in the league with 32 service aces and 0.30 aces/set. Against Creighton, she tied her career-high with 61 assists in a single match. Clarkson has now earned at least one All-League honor in all four seasons of her career.
 

Individual Awards
Player of the Year
Elizabeth Juhnke, South Dakota

Defensive Player of the Year
Lolo Weideman, South Dakota
 
Setter of the Year
Kelley Johnson, North Dakota State
 
Freshman of the Year
Kali Jurgensmeier, Omaha
 
Coach of the Year
Leanne Williamson, South Dakota
 
2022 All-Summit League Volleyball Team
First Team
Michelle Artis, North Dakota State, MB
Crystal Burk, South Dakota State, OH
Brianna Green, Denver, MB
Madison Harms, South Dakota, MB
Ali Hinze, North Dakota State, OH
Kelley Johnson, North Dakota State, S
Elizabeth Juhnke, South Dakota, OH
Shayla McCormick, Omaha, OH
Lorrin Poulter, Denver, S
McKenna Ruch, Omaha, MB
Syra Tanchin, North Dakota State, OH
Lolo Weideman, South Dakota, DS

Honorable Mention
Marriah Buss, Omaha, OH
Sami Clarkson, Omaha, S
Kaia Dunford, Oral Roberts, OH
Elizabeth Norris, North Dakota, S
Kalena Vaivai, Oral Roberts, S
Odyssey Warren, Kansas City, OH
 
Freshman Team
Ally Barth, North Dakota State, MB
Paige Barber, North Dakota, OH
Emma Goerger, St. Thomas, MB
Kali Jurgensmeier, Omaha, OH
Tezra Rudzitis, St. Thomas, OH
Masa Scheierman, South Dakota State, OH
Kimora Whetstone, Kansas City, MB