Omaha, NE – On Saturday afternoon, the University of Nebraska at Omaha volleyball team held it’s annual black-white scrimmage at Sapp Fieldhouse. The White squad was victorious 3-1 after playing four total sets. The set of the match was the fourth and final set – where a back and forth play culminated in a 28-26 win for the White squad. Junior outside-hitter Mackenzie Horkey led the White team in kills and total attacks with 18 kills and 46 total attacks Senior setter Sydney O’Shaughnessy had a team high 39 assists.
Head volleyball coach Rose Shires declined to say who the Mavericks shining star would be this season at the 2017 UNO Fall Media Day a couple weeks ago. Instead, she stressed how she wanted her team to play more as a unit and her message seems to have already made a difference on the team during the preseason.
The Mavs played an intense, fast-paced match that was both entertaining and impressive to watch. However, the most impressive thing wasn’t how well the team played, but how well they clicked on the court. Shires said it was just a scrimmage but she was pleased with the chemistry her team played with on Saturday and knows that her players still have room to grow.
“I felt we’re making progress in that (team chemistry), I feel like that’s one thing that’s going to take us a while to really completely gel,” Shires said.
The team’s first regular season game is August 25th in Ames, Iowa against New Mexico in the Iowa State Challenge and the Mavs’ first home game is September 14th against Kansas State. UNO will also host the Omaha Challenge that same weekend, where they will take on Nebraska and Northern Iowa.
