OMAHA, Neb. - With the Summit League Championships now behind them, the Omaha volleyball team is set to compete in the National Invitational Volleyball Championship Tournament (NIVC), beginning this Friday at 6 p.m. when they head to Portland, Oregon to take on the University of the Pacific.

Portland State will be hosting the first two rounds of the tournament for Omaha, Pacific, Santa Clara, and themselves. If the Mavericks progress past their opening match, they will play the winner of the Portland State and Santa Clara match on December 3. The full tournament features 32 teams from around the country and will run from December 1-11, 12 or 13. 

Quick Hits

• After a commanding 3-1 victory over North Dakota State in the Summit League Semifinals, the Mavericks came up short in the finals match in a 3-0 loss to South Dakota for the second year in a row. 
• Omaha's win over NDSU officially gave Head Coach Matt Buttermore 250 in his 11-year career.
• Shayla McCormick earned All-Tournament recognition after leading the team with 24 kills (3.43 kills/set) and 29 digs (4.14 digs/set). She had double-doubles in both matches, giving her 19 on the year. She was named First Team All-Summit last week after she finished third in the Summit with 3.79 kills/set and fifth with 402 kills.
• McKenna Ruch also earned All-Tournament honors with seven total blocks (one solo block), 14 kills, and three service aces. Also a First Team All-Summit selection this year, Ruch was third in the league with 132 blocks, second with 1.25 blocks/set, and third in hitting percentage at .361.
• In her first conference tournament, Summit League Freshman of the Year Kali Jurgensmeier picked up 11 kills and four total blocks. She led all Summit League freshman in the regular season in hitting percentage (.280), kills (246), kills/set (2.39), blocks (67), blocks/set (0.65), and total points (289.5).
• Marriah Buss had 21 kills (3.00 kills/set) in the tournament after finishing the regular season with 343 (3.43 kills/set), earning an honorable mention in the process.
• Sami Clarkson (40) and Olivia Curry (37) combined for 77 assists in the tournament. Curry also had 13 digs and two service aces, including the match winner against NDSU. As for Clarkson, with 4186 career assists, she is now only 47 assists away from second all-time at Omaha and first in the Division I era. Also earning an Honorable mention, she has 1031 total assists on the year.
• Like Clarkson, fellow seniors Jaiden Centeno and Mariah Murdie also brought their best in their final Summit League matches. Centeno had 22 digs and an ace, while Murdie led the team with 13 total blocks in addition to five kills.
• Rounding out the Mavericks who played in the tournament are Rachel Fairbanks, who had 10 kills and five total blocks, and Brilee Wieseler, who had 15 digs and three service aces.

Scouting Pacific
The Tigers finished the season 16-13 with an 8-10 record in the WCC, just missing the conference tournament. They ended the regular season on a three-match winning streak, topping Portland (3-2) and Gonzaga (3-1) at home before sweeping San Francisco on the road in the season finale. 

Senior Biamba Kabengale is Pacific's lone First Team All-WCC honoree this year. She ranked seventh in the league with 294 kills and 3.30 kills/set. She set a career-best with 27 kills against St. Mary's back in October.

Junior Alexa Edwards was one of two Tigers to earn an Honorable Mention after finishing third in the conference with 392 kills and fourth with 3.53 kills/set. She also had 45 service aces. Edwards topped 20 kills four times this year, most recently at Santa Clara on October 20.

Graduate student Jadyn Tubbs earned Pacific's other Honorable Mention. The team's top defensive player, she finished the season with 294 digs and the fourth highest digs/set in the league at 3.77. Tubbs ended the regular season ranked third all-time in program history with 1834 digs.

Series History
This will be the first ever meeting between Omaha and Pacific.