Kali Jurgensmeier has added a new weapon to her volleyball arsenal this season.

The back-row attack.

"I've watched hundreds of teams do that in the NCAA tournament. I thought, 'You know what, let's add that this year,'" the Omaha senior said.

One of her kills from the back row helped Omaha close out a key sweep of Denver last Saturday.

Locked in a tight match with the Pioneers, Omaha led 23-21 in the third set when Jurgensmeier delivered a kill from the back row. On the next point after Jurgensmeier rotated to the front row, she slammed a free ball to the floor for match point and a win that gives Omaha a boost as it sought to secure a spot in the Summit League tournament later this month.

Jurgensmeier finished with 14 kills against Denver, continuing a dominant stretch. In the two matches prior to Denver, Jurgensmeier recorded a career-high 21 kills against Summit leader South Dakota State and followed that with 22 kills against South Dakota.

Jurgensmeier is second in the Summit League in points per set (4.57), third in kills per set (3.81) and 10th in blocks per set (0.81). She's had double-digit kills in 18 of Omaha's 22 matches.
Head coach Matt Buttermore said his team's rotation has been built around Jurgensmeier this season, "So this is what we were hoping for.

"She's been our best passer all year. She's been a good defender, especially in scramble plays," he said. "When she's hitting well, we can really lean on her to carry us."

Freshman outside hitter Faith Venable, who is second on the team in kills, said she's been able to follow Jurgensmeier's lead.

"She's such an inspiration for me. She works so insanely hard and just goes after the ball. I think her grit inspires me every single game," Venable said. "I look up to her and I want to play just like her."

Jurgensmeier, who was the Summit freshman of the year in 2022 after arriving from Wahoo Neumann High School, also surpassed a personal milestone last week.

During the second set against South Dakota, she recorded her 1,000th kill as a Maverick. She thanked her teammates for reaching that mark.

"Just trusting that they're going to put a ball in the right spot, I can just do my job. It lets me play free," Jurgensmeier said. "I think it's a testament to everything I've been through and my coaches believing in me. Having great teammates next to me has allowed me to put the ball away."

Jurgensmeier also played a key factor when Omaha reached the NCAA tournament in 2023. 

That fall during an early September match against Long Beach State, she went up for a ball at the net and suffered a severe left knee injury. She was thought to be out for the rest of the season, but that wasn't the case.

"I think everyone looked at me like I was crazy that I said I was going to try to come back," she said. "I'd never dealt with that mental block of coming back from injury." 

But she returned to play that November and contributed double-digit kills in both the Summit tournament semifinal and final as Omaha reached the NCAA tournament.

"There's been a lot of ups and downs. I've dealt with injury, which is something you don't foresee coming to college," Jurgensmeier said. "But our support system here is incredible. And my coaches and my teammates and my family have helped me stay confident and stay on the court."

Jurgensmeier led the team in kills last season and is on her way to doing so again. Before this fall, she had never played all six rotations for the Mavericks. That, of course, has made those back-row attacks a possibility.

"She jumps high enough and hits hard enough that it's really an option," Buttermore said. "She provides another option in the middle of the court."

Added Jurgensmeier of playing in the back row: "I've enjoyed it because if I'm struggling in one part of my game, I can focus on another part."

Jurgensmeier plans to go to medical school next year. She said she's planning to take the MCAT (Medical College Admission Test) in the spring and then apply to colleges.

But this month, there's more volleyball ahead for Omaha and Jurgensmeier. The Mavs have two more regular-season game lefts.