Boxscore -- UNO 3, Incarnate Word 0
Boxscore -- UNO 3, Angelo State 2

SAN ANGELO, Texas – The UNO volleyball team captured a pair of wins on the first day of the Angelo Retina/ASU Invitational on Friday at Stephens Arena. The Mavs opened with a 3-0 victory over Incarnate Word, followed by a 3-2 nightcap victory over Angelo State.

Freshman outside hitter Abby Sorensen and senior outside hitter Kayla Uhing tallied 21 kills apiece for the day, and Sorensen had a combined five service aces.
UNO improves to 5-1 (0-0 MIAA) on the season heading into Saturday's final two matches in San Angelo.

Match No. 1 – UNO 3, Incarnate Word 0
UNO opened the tournament with a 25-15, 25-12, 25-16 sweep of Incarnate Word in the afternoon session.

Sorensen led the Mavs' offense with a match-high 10 kills and .526 hitting, as well as three aces. Uhing nearly matched Sorensen in double figures with nine kills for the afternoon, while sophomore outside hitter Natalie Ebke pitched in seven kills and a match-leading 19 digs.

In the first game, the two teams traded ties 10 times before UNO took a 13-10 lead. UIW threatened within one to make it 13-12, but the Mavs raced out to a 21-13 advantage. Two attack errors by the Cardinals gave UNO a push to its final kills from Sorensen and junior middle hitter Brittany Hansen to end with a 10-point win.

The Mavericks hit .405 as a team in the second set, highlighted by a combined 14 kills from Uhing (six), Sorensen (four) and Ebke (four). After tying at 7-7, Nebraska-Omaha took a four-point lead and never looked back. UIW got it to within three, but three kills and a service ace by junior middle blocker Lizzy Mach stopped the comeback effort in its tracks as the Mavs cruised to a 25-12 win.

In the finale, UNO relied heavily on Uhing's three kills and four digs. The two squads kept it competitive until the 10-9 mark, and the Mavericks continued to charge ahead for a 17-11 lead. UIW never came within more than four points, suffering eight errors in the remainder of the game and giving UNO a 25-16 victory.

The UNO defense was also a major factor, holding Incarnate Word to -.027 hitting for the day. With 26 total attack errors, UIW finished at -.071, .000 and .000 in matches one, two and three, respectively. As a team, the Mavericks had 53 digs.

UNO improved to 4-1 on the year, while UIW dropped to 1-1.

Match No. 2 – UNO 3, Angelo State 2
The second match of the day pitted Nebraska-Omaha against host Angelo State and proved a five-game challenge for the Mavs, who earned a 3-2 win (19-25, 25-19, 19-25, 25-19, 15-8).

Four Mavericks finished with double-figure kills – Mach (12), Uhing (12), Ebke (12) and Sorensen (11). Mach added a season-high five blocks, and Uhing chipped in 14 digs for her third double-double of the year. Ebke also achieved her first double-double with 13 digs, and junior setter Emily Myers had a match-high 43 assists.

Down 13-7, the Mavs brought it within one but couldn't capitalize and were held to a .075 hitting percentage in game one, falling 19-25. They rebounded in the second set for a 25-19 win, hitting .233 to ASU's .214 on three kills apiece by Mach, Uhing and Ebke.

Mach tallied four kills in the third game, but the same figure by Angelo State's Chelsea Gibson took the Rambelles to another 25-19 triumph over UNO. The Mavericks then took the fourth set in what seemed a common score for the night – 25-19 – to force a fifth game. Behind a 9-5 run and an effort that limited ASU to three kills with four attack errors, Nebraska-Omaha left with a 15-8 win in the set and a 3-2 victory in the match.

UNO capped Friday at 5-1 for the season, while Angelo State dropped to 3-3. The Mavericks return to action on Saturday, Sept. 11 for the final day of the ASU Invitational, facing Colorado School of Mines at Noon and Central Oklahoma at 3 p.m.