OMAHA, Neb. - For the sixth consecutive season and seventh time in program history, the Omaha Volleyball team is headed for the Summit League Tournament. The Mavericks clinched the No. 2 seed on the final day of the regular season with a 3-1 win over No. 4 Denver. They will play the winner of the quarterfinal match between No. 6 North Dakota and No. 3 North Dakota State on Friday, November 25, at 7 p.m. in Baxter Arena.

Quick Hits

• Omaha finished the regular season at 19-9 with a 14-4 record in the conference, trailing only No. 1 South Dakota (27-3, 16-2) in the standings. This will be the second straight season that the Mavericks will advance straight to the semifinals after finishing as the No. 1 seed in 2021.
• On Wednesday, the league announced its regular season awards, with five Mavericks being among the honorees. 
• Kali Jurgensmeier took home Freshman of the Year and made the All-Freshman team after an incredible rookie season. She started 27 out of 28 matches for Omaha and made the top 25 in the league and led all freshmen in hitting percentage (.280), kills (246), kills/set (2.39), blocks (67), blocks/set (0.65), and total points (289.5). In the regular season finale, she tied her season-best with 13 kills. She is the third Maverick ever to win Summit League Freshman of the Year.
• Shayla McCormick and McKenna Ruch earned First Team All-Summit honors. McCormick finished third in the league with 3.79 kills/set and fifth with 402 kills, as well as third in service aces (40), fourth in aces/set (0.38), and third in total points (473). She earned her 17th double-double of the season against Denver. As for Ruch, her 132 blocks were the third most in the league, while her 1.25 blocks/set were the second most. She also finished third in hitting percentage with a .361 mark.
• Sami Clarkson and Marriah Buss earned All-Summit Honorable Mentions. Clarkson had 991 assists in the regular season, which propelled her into third place in Omaha's all-time assists rankings with 4146 in her career. Buss was seventh in the league with 343 kills and 3.43 kills/set, including the most any Maverick had in a single match this season with 24 vs. Northern Colorado.
• In addition to Clarkson, both Jaiden Centeno and Mariah Murdie played the final regular season match of their careers against Denver on Senior Day. Centeno finished the regular season with the fourth most digs in the league with 402, while Murdie had 51 total blocks and 44 kills in her first collegiate volleyball season after four years on the women's basketball team.
• The Mavericks are 5-6 all-time in Summit League postseason play. Last year, they won their semifinals match against Oral Roberts 3-1, before falling to South Dakota 0-3 in the finals.
• Against the other five teams in the tournament, Omaha is 6-4 this season (2-0 vs. No. 6 North Dakota, 1-1 vs. No. 5 South Dakota State, 2-0 vs. No. 4 Denver, 1-1 vs. No. 3 North Dakota State, 0-2 vs. South Dakota).

Scouting North Dakota State
The Bison finished third in the conference at 20-10 overall and 13-5 in league play after getting swept 3-0 by South Dakota State on the final day of the regular season. Regardless, NDSU is the only team this year to defeat No. 1 South Dakota in a conference match, topping them in five sets at home earlier in the season and winning 3-1 last week at South Dakota. Against Omaha, the Bison are 1-1, falling 3-1 in Baxter Arena in October before winning 3-2 at home two weeks ago.

Senior setter Kelley Johnson was just named the Summit League Setter of the Year after leading the conference with 1226 assists and 10.66 assists/set. In two matches against Omaha this year, she's totaled 101 assists, including a 57-assist performance in NDSU's 3-2 victory.

In addition to Johnson, three more Bison earned First Team All-Summit Honors this year: junior Ali Hinze, senior Michelle Artis, and senior Syra Tanchin. Hinze finished fourth in the league in kills (404) and kills/set (3.64) and has 31 kills against Omaha this year. Artis is second in the conference in hitting percentage at .394 and has 22 kills against Omaha. Tanchin is third in the league in kills with 411 and recorded 30 kills vs. Omaha. Freshman Ally Barth was named to the All-Freshman team with 66 kills and 36 total blocks, including 10 kills and three blocks against the Mavericks.

Series History
After splitting the season series this year, Omaha is 50-44 all-time against North Dakota State. Since transitioning to Division I, the Mavericks are 14-10 vs. the Bison, though, NDSU is 2-1 against them in the Summit League postseason.

Scouting North Dakota
The Fighting Hawks enter the tournament as the No. 6 seed after going 12-7 overall and 9-9 in league play. Back in October, they managed to beat North Dakota State 3-2 on the road, before falling to them 2-3 at home earlier this month. Against the Mavericks, UND is 0-2 after being swept 3-0 by Omaha in both matches.

Junior Elizabeth Norris earned an Honorable Mention on Wednesday after finishing in the top 25 in the league in kills (233) and digs (253), as well as having 521 assists. Against Omaha this season, she recorded 21 assists and 17 digs. Though she did not earn any All-Summit accolades this year, sophomore Ashlyn Olson was North Dakota's leading scorer with 241 kills and 49 total blocks, including 16 kills and two blocks vs. the Mavericks this season. 

Freshman Paige Barber was named to the All-Freshman team after recording 117 kills, 27 digs, and 16 total blocks. She picked up 10 kills, a dig, and a block against the Mavericks.

Series History
Omaha is 52-13 against North Dakota all time. In the Division I era, the Mavericks are 9-2 against the Bison, but the two have never met in the Summit League postseason.