The Summit League officially released their annual preseason volleyball rankings Wednesday morning, with Omaha slotting in at third place out of 10. This is the fifth season in a row that the Mavericks have placed third in the preseason rankings. Omaha was one of just three schools to earn at least one first-place vote in the poll.
The league also announced its 2022 players to watch, with
Sami Clarkson making the list for the second consecutive year and
Jaiden Centeno being named as well.
Omaha is coming off one of the most successful seasons in program history as they went 20-10 overall and 16-2 in conference play in 2021. With this record, the Mavericks entered the Summit League playoffs as the No. 1 seed and advanced all the way to the finals for the first time since 2015. Kansas City and South Dakota were the only Summit League teams to notch victories against Omaha last year, with the Coyotes ultimately defeating the Mavericks in the championship finals.
Clarkson enters the 2022 campaign as the reigning Summit League Setter of the Year and member of the 2021 All-Summit Team. Her historic season included a league-leading 11.18 assists per set, along with the second most assists overall at 1,219. Clarkson also led the Mavericks with 30 service aces and finished in the top five of the team in digs (218) and blocks (48).
Centeno returns as one of the league's top defensive specialists. She finished 2021 with the seventh most digs per set in the league with 3.93 while putting up 428 digs in total. For her efforts, Centeno earned a Summit League Honorable Mention.
The Mavericks already have one exhibition game under their belt this year after sweeping Nebraska-Kearney 3-0 at Baxter Arena on August 20.
Omaha will open up regular season play on Friday, August 26 at 11 a.m. when they take on Winthrop University in day one of the Carolina Classic in Columbia, South Carolina.
2022 Summit League Volleyball Preseason Coaches' Poll
|
Rank
|
School
|
Points (1st)
|
|
1.
|
Denver
|
75 (6)
|
|
2.
|
South Dakota
|
74 (3)
|
|
3.
|
Omaha
|
68 (1)
|
|
4.
|
Oral Roberts
|
53
|
|
5.
|
South Dakota State
|
51
|
|
6.
|
Kansas City
|
42
|
|
7.
|
North Dakota State
|
35
|
|
8.
|
North Dakota
|
22
|
|
9.
|
St. Thomas
|
20
|
|
10.
|
Western Illinois
|
10
|
Players to Watch
Note: Players to Watch nominated by the league's head coaches
Lorrin Poulter | Denver | Setter | Senior
Brianna Green | Denver | Middle Blocker | Senior
Elizabeth Juhnke | South Dakota | Outside Hitter | Senior
Madison Harms | South Dakota | Middle Blocker | Senior
Sami Clarkson | Omaha | Setter | Senior
Jaiden Centeno | Omaha | Defensive Specialist/Libero | Senior
Sakira LaCour | Oral Roberts | Middle Blocker | Senior
Trinity Freeman | Oral Roberts | Outside Hitter | Sophomore
Crystal Burk | South Dakota State | Outside Hitter | Graduate
Raegan Reilly | South Dakota State | Setter | Sophomore
Kennedy Schritenhal | Kansas City | Setter | Senior
Raina Smith | Kansas City | Outside Hitter | Senior
Ali Hinze | North Dakota State | Outside Hitter | Junior
Syra Tanchin | North Dakota State | Outside Hitter | Senior
Marissa Stockman | North Dakota | Middle Blocker/Right Side | Graduate
Sierra Ward | North Dakota | Outside Hitter | Right Side
Lauren Galvin | St. Thomas | Outside Hitter | Sophomore
Ellie Dammann | St. Thomas | Middle Blocker | Junior
Karli Wenzel | Western Illinois | Libero | Sophomore
Brittany Wulf | Western Illinois | Outside Hitter | Sophomore
