MANHATTAN, Kan. – The Central Arkansas Sugar Bears will look to keep their perfect record intact this weekend as they will head to Manhattan, Kansas to compete against three strong teams in the K-State Invitational. The Sugar Bears are hoping to stay hot after their 4-0 performance at the 2019 Georgetown Classic last weekend where they were crowned tournament champions after sweeping host Georgetown Hoyas 3-0. The matchups do not get any easier for the Sugar Bears in Kansas as they will face the Omaha Mavericks tomorrow at 4 p.m. and the Clemson Tigers on Friday at 5 p.m. For the second weekend in a row, Central Arkansas will conclude tournament play against the host team as they will face the Kansas State Wildcats on Saturday at 5 p.m.
 
MEET THE OMAHA MAVERICKS
 
The Omaha Mavericks reside in Omaha, Nebraska and are members of the Summit League Conference. After being selected third in the conference preseason poll, the Mavericks opened the season with three straight wins before falling to the Kansas Jayhawks 3-0. The Mavericks are led by a trio comprised of juniors Isabella Sade, Anna Blaschko and sophomore Sadie Limback that were all selected to The Summit League Players to Watch list. Sade entered the 2019 season after a sophomore campaign that landed her All-Summit honors and three different All-Tournament nominations. She led her team with a .343 hitting percentage that was good for second in Summit League ranks. Blaschko was a force at the net for the Mavericks as she finished with 26 solo blocks that helped land her All-Summit Honorable mention honors and an All-Tournament nomination. Limback averaged 2.89 kills per set in 28 matches for her freshman campaign and ended on a high note as she was named to The Summit League Championship All-Tournament Team.
 
MEET THE CLEMSON TIGERS
 
The Clemson Tigers reside in Clemson, South Carolina and are members of the Atlantic Coast Conference. After being selected ninth in the conference preseason poll, the Tigers opened the year with four straight wins and will be carrying a perfect record of their own into the tournament. The Tigers are led by the redshirt-junior outside hitting duo of Brooke Bailey and Kaylin Korte, both All-ACC preseason selections. Bailey had the most impressive year for the Tigers in 2018 as she led the team in hitting with 3.39 kills per set and averaged a strong 3.71 kills per set against ACC opponents. She appeared in all 129 sets and recorded double digit kills in 28 of her team's 34 matches. Korte entered the 2019 season after missing the entirety of 2018 due to injury. In her 2017 campaign that put her on the map, Korte led Clemson in kills with 3.36 per set and points with 3.85 per set. Her year concluded with multiple honors to her name as she was named to the Big Orange Bash and Yale Invitational All-Tournament teams.
 
MEET THE KANSAS STATE WILDCATS
 
The Kansas State Wildcats reside in Manhattan, Kansas and are members of the Big-12 Conference. After being selected fifth in the conference preseason poll, The Wildcats competed in the Wolfpack Invitational at N.C. State in Raleigh, North Carolina and went 1-2, including a 3-1 win over the Austin Peay Governors last weekend. The Wildcats entered the new season with a new look as the team consisted of six seniors in 2018 and welcomed a class of five freshman for 2019 that was ranked No. 20 in the nation, according to PrepVolleyball.com. The team had a lone representative on the Preseason All-Big 12 team as sophomore Gloria Mutiri was named after a freshman season that earned her a spot on the All-Big 12 Second Team and All-Big 12 Rookie Team. She was also named AVCA Midwest Freshman of the Year and to the AVCA All-Midwest Region First Team after appearing in all 98 sets and recording 271 kills and 15 service aces. The team welcomed back seven athletes and will hope to improve off its 15-12 2018 record.
 
ASSOCIATE HEAD COACH JOHN NEWBERRY ON THE K-STATE INVITATIONAL
 
"This is going to be a very challenging tournament for the team. All of the teams are very solid and well known within the volleyball community.
 
We are definitely bringing a certain level of confidence from our last match into this weekend. If our execution can match our confidence, I think we will be extremely pleased with the outcome."
 
KEEP UP WITH THE SUGAR BEARS
 
You can follow all three of the Sugar Bear matches this weekend via live stats linked for each match here. The Saturday night match against the Wildcats will be viewable through ESPN+ and will require a login. For live updates, follow the Sugar Bears on Twitter @ucavball.