OMAHA, Neb. - The Mavericks will make their regular season debut this weekend when the team heads to South Carolina for a three-game set in the Carolina Classic. Omaha begins the series with two games on Friday, opening things up against Winthrop University in the morning before taking on host University of South Carolina later that night. They will round out their trip with a mid-day tilt against Sacred Heart University on Saturday. All four teams will be making their regular season debuts this weekend.

Weekend Slate

• Friday, August 26 vs. Winthrop at 11 a.m.
• Friday, August 26 vs. South Carolina at 6:30 p.m. (Streamed on SECN+)
• Saturday, August 27 vs. Sacred Heart 12 p.m.

Quick Hits

• The Mavericks enter this series fresh off of a 3-0 sweep of Nebraska-Kearney in a home exhibition match last Saturday. 
• Shayla McCormick recorded a double-double in the match with 14 kills and 12 digs.
• Omaha was ranked third in the 2022 Summit League Preseason Poll.
• Sami Clarkson and Jaiden Centeno were both named Summit League Preseason Players to Watch.
• Five returning Mavericks earned Summit League honors last year: Clarkson (Setter of the Year, All-Summit), McKenna Ruch (All-Summit), Centeno (Honorable Mention), Marriah Buss (Honorable Mention), and McCormick (All-Freshman Team).

Scouting the Eagles
Winthrop enters this match as the third ranked team in the Big South Athletic Conference. The team is led by newly appointed head coach Heather Gearhart. Their most important returner is sophomore Karli Shepherd who is coming off a rookie season in which she was named to the Big South All-Freshman Team, as well as an Honorable mention All-Conference. Last season, the Eagles went 18-10 overall and 12-4 in conference play, falling to Campbell in the semifinals of the Big South tournament. 

Scouting the Gamecocks
South Carolina begins its season as the sixth-ranked team in the SEC. Notable players for the Gamecocks are Lauren McCutcheon and Riley Whitesides, who both made the 2021 SEC All-Freshman Team, and graduate student transfer Jenna Hampton, who was named Second Team All-Big 10 with Penn State last year. In 2021 the Gamecocks finished 14-15 with a 6-12 conference record, falling in the first round of the NCAA tournament. 

Scouting the Pioneers
Sacred Heart enters 2022 after winning its third-straight NEC Championship, as well as being voted the No. 1 team in the conference for the third year in a row. Leading the Pioneers is 2021 NCAA Woman of the Year nominee and four-time NEC Setter of the Year Sara Ciszek, who returns for a fifth year. Other notable players include two-time Second Team All-NEC honoree Reghan Palanchi and sophomore transfer and 2021 America East All-Rookie selection Camryn Luginbuhl. En route to winning the NEC title last year, Sacred Heart went 19-10 with an 11-3 conference mark.

Series History
This weekend will be the first time Omaha plays any of these three teams.