Box Score
OMAHA, Neb. -- Former North Central Conference rival Augustana, ranked No. 22 in the nation, fought back from a 2-1 deficit, to record a 3-2 (20-25, 26-24, 20-25, 25-20, 18-16) victory over the University of Nebraska at Omaha in non-conference volleyball action Wednesday night at the Sapp Fieldhouse.
With the loss, UNO fell to 9-11 on the season. The Vikings improved to 16-6 overall.
Three Mavericks recorded double-figure kill totals led by sophomore outside hitter #
Kayla Uhing#, who notched a career-high 17 kills to go along with six digs and two blocks. Junior outside hitter #
Kelli Goeser registered her fifth double-double of the year with 14 kills and 16 digs. Junior middle blocker Ellen Thommes# had 11 kills and a match-high seven blocks.
Nebraska-Omaha was led defensively by junior #
Kayla Jansen#'s match-high 29 digs. Her two service aces helped the Mavericks to an 8-3 advantage in that category.
Freshman setter #
Emily Myers# produced her sixth double-double of the season with a career-high 55 assists and 12 digs. She also added a career-high six kills in the match.
The Vikings were led by Katie Newgard's 20 kills on .364 hitting while outside hitters Cayla Schroeder (14 kills, 28 digs) and Beth Talcott (17 kills, 19 digs) both recorded double-doubles.
Paced by freshman #
Lizzy Mach#'s four kills on .500 hitting, the Mavericks hit .333 in the first set and scored three service aces to pull out the 25-20 victory.
UNO led by as many as seven points in the second set at 18-11 and was on the verge of taking a two-set lead. The Mavericks had two set points at 24-22, but a kill by Talcott and three UNO attacking errors allowed the Vikings to escape with the 26-24 win.
Jansen's tough serving allowed the Mavericks to rebound at the beginning of the third set, racing out to a 5-0 lead. However, the Vikings went on a 12-5 run to take the lead 12-10. Kills by Goeser and #
Brittany Hanssen# and three consecutive AC errors allowed UNO to take a 15-12 advantage. Three Uhing kills down the stretch, including the set-winner, paved the way for a 25-20 third-set UNO win.
Newgard hit .571 with eight kills, no errors, in 14 attempts to lead the Vikings to the 25-20 win in set four and set up the decisive fifth set.
The final set was close throughout, featuring 10 ties and neither team leading by more than two points. With UNO holding a 7-6 advantage, three consecutive Maverick attack errors allowed the Vikings to take their largest lead at 9-7. However, a kill by Mach and a service ace by Jansen sandwiched in between two Viking attack errors gave UNO its own two-point advantage at 11-9. Consecutive kills by Newgard and Schroeder helped AC tie the score at 12. Augustana served for the match at 14-13 and 15-14 but each time Uhing answered with a kill. A ball-handling error by Augustana setter Lisa Hoegh gave UNO match point at 16-15. Schroeder then silenced the crowd with her 14th kill on the night. She then scored a service ace to give the Vikings their third match point at 17-16. Mach was blocked by Talcott and Ellen Andrews to help AC escape with the win.
The Mavericks will return to MIAA action this Friday when they host 14th-ranked Central Missouri beginning at 7 p.m. in the Sapp Fieldhouse.
