Boxscore -- UNO 3, Missouri Western 0
OMAHA, Neb. -- The UNO volleyball team kicked off its final homestand with a 3-0 sweep of Missouri Western on Friday night, topping the Griffons 25-22, 28-26, 25-23. With the win, UNO is 16-14 (6-12 MIAA), while Missouri Western is now 12-14 (8-9 MIAA).
Senior #
Kayla Uhing# had a dominating performance, totaling 16 kills on .302 hitting with just three errors. The Norfolk, Neb., native also recorded 14 digs for her team-leading 14th double-double of the season, along with two blocks.
Two Maverick teammates finished with double-figure digs – junior libero #
Angie Reicks# (20) and sophomore outside hitter #
Natalie Ebke# (11) – and freshman setter #
Miranda Wisehart notched 36 set assists to guide Nebraska-Omaha to a .215 team attack percentage. Freshman outside hitter Abby Sorensen# added nine kills to the effort, and freshman #
Megan Hutson# led the way at the net with five blocks.
The Maverick defense held MWSU to a .110 hitting performance for the night, and no Griffon finished with more than eight kills. Missouri Western's Tahler Johnston had her team's highest kill total, while libero Meghan Voelz had 22 digs.
UNO used five kills by Uhing and hit .263 as a team – their highest mark of the evening -- to charge ahead with a win in game one. Down 17-14 at one point, the Mavs took a timeout, and Uhing, Sorensen and Hutson put down four consecutive kills to regain the lead. An Ebke kill brought it to game point, and an errant set by MWSU finished it off at 25-22.
In the second set, Nebraska-Omaha came back from an 18-9 deficit to take a gritty victory. Facing the nine-point disadvantage, the Mavericks narrowed the margin to three, helped by aces from Sorensen and junior middle blocker #
Brittany Hanssen#. Strong serving by sophomore outside hitter #
Sydney Fleege# kept UNO in contention, with her service ace making it 25-24. Alexandra Behnke and Kelli Sicner tacked on MWSU kills to take back the momentum at 26-25, but Uhing fired back with a kill to tie the game again. A point from Sorensen and a final solo block by Hutson sealed the win at 28-26.
The Mavs took an initial lead in the final game, but the Griffons were relentless and tied it at 12-all, then went up 18-15. Back-to-back Uhing kills helped match the score at 18-18, but the two squads tied six more times up to 23-23. Uhing starred for UNO in the final minutes, knocking down two straight kills for her sixth and seventh of the set and nailing the 25-23 victory.
UNO returns to action on Saturday, Nov. 5, hosting No. 16 Truman at Sapp Fieldhouse at 5 p.m. The match will be the Mavericks' final home contest of the 2010 season and also marks Senior Night, when they will honor Uhing with pregame festivities.
