DENVER - The University of Denver volleyball team returns home on Saturday afternoon to take on the Omaha Mavericks in Hamilton Gymnasium at 12 p.m. MT.

The Pioneers are 18-10 all-time against the Mavericks but dropped the most recent matchup in straight sets on Nov. 11, 2024 in Omaha.

THE LAST TIME OUT
• The Pioneers went 1-1 last week on the Road against North Dakota and NDSU
• Emma Mirabelli made a career-high 10 kills, 0.769 hitting percentage and added four digs against the Bison.

SCOUTING REPORT: OMAHA
• The Mavericks faced six Power 4 opponents in their nonconference slate and took sets from Iowa State and South Florida.
•Omaha was picked to finish fourth in the Summit League and Emily Huss and Kali Jurgensmeier were selected as players to watch.
• Jurgensmeier is fourth in the conference averaging 3.81 kills per set and Huss leads the league in blocking with 1.54 blocks/set.

BREAKOUT SENIOR SEASON
•Senior outside hitter Genevieve Lewis is second on the squad with 171 matches through the first 17 matches of the season.
• Her 2.74 kills per set is a full kill increase from last season.
•Lewis has more kills so far this season than her past 3 seasons combined.

BALANCED ATTACK
•Denver has four players averaging 2.50 kills/set or more: Ava Reynolds, Genevieve Lewis, Jamia Johnson and Alicia Thibodeau.
•Reynolds, Lewis and Johnson are all on pace to exceed their kill totals from the 2024 season.
• Despite missing three matches due to injury, Thibodeau ranks fourth on the team with 111 kills.

REACHING THE SUMMIT
• Denver ranks in the top three in the Summit League in four different statistical categories.
•The Pioneers are at the top of the League in both opponent digs (10.94 digs/set) and opponent aces (1.14 aces/set).
• Denver is second with 10.70 opponent assists/set and a 0.248 hitting percentage.
•The ).248 is the highest team hitting percentage under coach Pendergast.
•Freshman Madison Winkler ranks fourth in the conference with 3.65 digs/set.

STARTING STRONG
• The Pioneers' 8-3 nonconference record is the best start to a season under third year head coach Megan Pendergast.
• Denver earned their first SEC win in 17 years and first P4 win under Pendergast on 9/13/25 with a 3-2 win over Arkansas.
• DU closed out its nonconference season with a perfect 3-0 weekend at the Into the Blue Invitational with wins over Air Force, Utah Tech and Northern Colorado.

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