South Dakota @ Omaha | Sat, Sept 23 |7PM CT (SLN)

[kiyoat]

                       

USD

@

Omaha

Omaha, NE

Saturday, Sept 23rd

7:00pm CT

Watch (SLN):link

Stats: link

               

	@
#100* USD Coyotes		#166* Omaha Mavs
6-5 (0-0)		1-9 (0-0)
*FigstatsRPI

South Dakota		Omaha
Schedule		Schedule
Roster		Roster

_          Series History

All-time: Omaha leads the series 30-27

Division-I: USD leads 20-7

in 2022: USD won three meetings: 3-2, 3-1, 3-0

     

Odds/ Predictions

Massey: Omaha wins 3-2 (66%)

[kiyoat]

From Omaha's game preview article:
 Mavericks Begin Summit League Competition at Home

 
- McKenna Ruch and Amanda Hardt led the way for Omaha last week, finishing one and two in kills (35 and 34) and blocks (21 and 10). Ruch is currently on a four-match streak with at least five total blocks. Both may top 100 kills on the season this week as they are each less than 20 away.



- Brynlee Arnold scored the match winner against Bradley to give her a career-high nine kills in the match. Her .643 attack percentage was also the highest of any Maverick this season (minimum 10 attempts).



- On Saturday, Shayla McCormick reached double-digit kills for the first time since opening day. Having already topped 700 career digs earlier in the week, she is now just seven kills away from reaching the 700 kill mark.


 
- Splitting time at setter, Olivia Curry and Ivy Leuck topped 300 combined assists over the weekend. Curry is just 15 away from reaching 200, while Leuck recorded her 100th with her final set vs. Wichita State.

[kiyoat]

Arnold(opposite) and Hardt(OH) for Omaha are both 6-3, with star Middle, Ruch at 6-2.

Our two starting middles (Harms and Pauman) are both 6-3, with opposite hitter Loschen at 6-2.

All of the above have had standout matches in both kills and blocks this year.  So if you like line play in football, this match may be your jam.  Big kids being bullies.  Who will be tougher at the net?  Tune in to see.

[kiyoat]

Weekly interview with coach Williamson: (Kylen Sealock interview at 7:25 mark)



0:30 - Talking about the 3 wins in the previous weekend
"The thing we have to keep reminding ourselves is that Volleyball is a game of errors.  As much as we would like to play the perfect game... it's not going to happen.... we talk about handling the ebbs and flows... I thought we stayed patient. We didn't freak out, or have panic attacks.... We were able to either take control early on, or come back at the end..."

3:30 - On Kylen Sealock
"Her and I have had a lot of conversations about her continuing to learn... that first night against Green Bay she had double-digit kills, but also had a lot of errors... She learned from those moments, and became a better player... and was a huge part of our success (after that)."

4:15 - On the improvement in setter/hitter timing:
"It's remarkably better than when we first started... Avery continues to get more confident with the changes she has to make... but I also think our hitters are adjusting better..."

15:00 - On Omaha
"...There are some key players that have returned, and some new players (similar to us and many teams in the conference)...they've got a few new players we will need to study, scout, and figure out how to put our team in the best situation.  They're gonna be good, and scrappy.... their record doesn't show how good they are, or will be.  A match with Omaha always proves to be a lot of fun, and a defensive battle.  Both sides of the court will be playing defense at a high level.  They've got a couple of players that can take over a match... but we also feel like we have that on our side of the net."

16:10 - On the evening match
"For Omaha and us, we've both talked about being willing to play night matches with each other...making it a prime-time matchup is good for the sport... hopefully we get a good crowd, and that's what we want.  We want to play in great environments, and we want to continue to help the sport grow.... When Omaha approached me about playing at night, I was all for it."

16:55 - On the strength of the Summit League this season:
"...A good amount of teams are like us, having to work through some things...every team has a lot of new faces...and with that comes some challenges.... but now everyone is 0-0.  We get to focus on going 1-0 every day... I would expect some high-level volleyball being played across the board."

[kiyoat]

1-1 going into the third set.

Both teams serving terrible. Yotes hitting .086…. I can’t imagine that continuing.

[kiyoat]

Mavs in 4 sets. Crap. Pretty sloppy game on both sides.

[fightsd]

We're seeing more and more what a team without Juhnke looks like. Defensively I like the squat, but we just don't have the same fire power from the outside hitter position.

[GoYotes]

Agree that missing Juhnke is a huge, huge loss. She was automatic and drew so much attention and also opened things up for everyone else up front. That being said, I also think Lolo is a huge, huge loss. She really anchored the back row and kept us in system. It seems like we are out of system way too often this year.

I firmly believe we have the talent and just need how to figure out how to best fit all of the pieces together, which is why the coaching staff is still tinkering with the lineup.

[yoteforever]

Juhnke is a one in every 10 years player. The last player that was that person was Kendall Kritenbrink in my opinion. The difference is Kendall graduated and the recruitment for her replacement was in place. Elizabeth goes down during NCAA match and the recruiting for incoming class had been completed. Big difference.

The biggest problem is the height of Dietrich. She’s a really solid player but unless you have a wizard for a setter she’s fairly easy to defend and block. Plus her ability to block tall outsides is minimal. That’s a huge weakness. Add in a freshman setter ( that will be very good in time ) and replacing Lolo as goyotes mentions, and just like that you’re fairly average. The good news is Leanne and Mike develop talent as well as anyone. But development takes time.

Lastly, every time you take the floor there’s a target on your back simply because of our recent history. You are going to get everyone’s best shot. This team just needs to work on getting better by November. By the end of the season I think we’ll still contend for the title but likely not win it. But then there’s tournament play.

If this years team played last years team, the average match would be like 25-18 every set. That’s the difference in Elizabeth, Lolo, and veteran setter. We’ll be ok just not great like we’ve been accustomed to. I’ve said it before if Elizabeth hadn’t gone down in the NCAA match, I think we’d been in sweet 16 if not Elite 8.

Watch Leanne develop this team. She’s amazing at it.

[MD]

Sept 24, 2023 11:06:08 GMT -6 yoteforever said:

Watch Leanne develop this team. She’s amazing at it.

Yep, full faith that we will be right where we wanna be come tournament time.  

[kiyoat]

Sept 21, 2023 10:15:05 GMT -6 kiyoat said:

Weekly interview with coach Williamson:

"For Omaha and us, we've both talked about being willing to play night matches with each other...making it a prime-time matchup is good for the sport... hopefully we get a good crowd, and that's what we want.  We want to play in great environments, and we want to continue to help the sport grow.... When Omaha approached me about playing at night, I was all for it."

Looks like Saturday night was the third-best attendance for a regular-season match in Summit League history, according to Omaha.

Attendance: 2074

I'm pretty sure we have the #1 (vs. Louisville) and #2 (?) Regular season attendance records.  I have a feeling that wherever we play in the conference this year, it will be one of their biggest attendance matches of the season.  Especially vs the Dakota 4.  We are the hunted, and they smell blood in the water.  Should make for an exciting season.