Mav volleyball player adjusts to Nebraska life

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October 8th, 2010

Just one of 15 UNO volleyball players hails from somewhere other than Nebraska or Iowa.  Jon Schriner reports on Emily Myers’ transplant to the Midwest and the success that has followed.  This Maverick sports feature is a partnership of KVNO News and UNO athletics.

If you look over the 2010 UNO women’s volleyball roster, you will see players from familiar Midwestern cities and towns. Grand Island, Norfolk, and Bettendorf, Iowa are among the list of hometowns.  There’s one that doesn’t seem to fit…Modesto, California. That’s home to Emily Myers, starting setter for the Mavericks.  The tale of her recruitment to a Division II institution halfway across the country is a story that head volleyball coach Rose Shires loves to tell.

“The day that Emily came to town, we probably had two and a half, three feet of snow.” Shires said she had to borrow a coat, hat and gloves for Myers and her mother, when she picked them up from the airport. “It was probably 20 degrees the day she came to town, and I thought, oh my goodness, there’s no way that she’s going to fit in.”

Emily Myers takes on Northwest Missouri State Oct. 5

Despite the initial concern, Myers has fit in well with the rest of the Maverick squad. So well that she has tallied the sixth-most assists in UNO history, with 3,042.  Her performance last season was good enough to earn a spot on the all-conference third team.  She was named MIAA Conference Specialist of the Week three times last season, and has received the award once so far this season.  It’s quite a list of achievements for a player who isn’t yet through her junior season, and almost didn’t come.

“I didn’t even want to come on the recruiting trip,” Myers said, “but my mom said let’s just check it out.” “I just fell in love with the team, how well we bonded, I could just tell we were going to be connected. People in the Midwest are really nice. If it wasn’t for the weather, I’d probably stay here my whole life.”

Myers continues to chase UNO’s career assists record of 5,482, set in the mid-1990’s.  She will have two opportunities to close the gap before week’s end. Oct. 8, the Mavericks travel to St. Joseph to take on Missouri Western.  Oct. 9, UNO plays a second straight road game in Missouri, this time against Truman State.

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