Boxscore -- UNO 3, Colorado School of Mines 2
Boxscore -- UNO 3, Central Oklahoma 1

SAN ANGELO, Texas – The UNO volleyball team used back-to-back victories to win the Angelo Retina/ASU Invitational at Stephens Arena on Saturday afternoon, defeating Colorado School of Mines and Central Oklahoma. The Mavs opened with a 3-2 win over the Orediggers, followed by an immediate 3-1 triumph against the Bronchos.

Senior outside hitter Kayla Uhing led the way with a combined 32 kills for the day, highlighted by a career-best 18 against CSM. Sophomore outside hitter Natalie Ebke added 30 and junior middle blocker Lizzy Mach had 28. Freshman outside hitter Abby Sorensen and junior middle blocker Brittany Hansen matched each other for eight blocks between two matches.

Junior setter Emily Myers, who tallied 159 assists for the weekend, continued her climb up the UNO career assists chart. She now ranks seventh with 2,670 in two-plus seasons, passing Darla Melcher (2,628), who played from 1986 to 1987.

After a perfect 4-0 weekend, the Mavericks are on a seven-game win streak and improve to 7-1 (0-0 MIAA) on the season before heading into conference play next week.

Match No. 1 – UNO 3, Colorado School of Mines 2
In their first match of the day, UNO grabbed a 3-2 comeback win over Colorado School of Mines, 12-25, 14-25, 25-19, 25-23, 17-15.

CSM took the first two sets 25-12 and 25-14 behind combined .454 team hitting. Down 2-0, UNO battled back for a 25-19 win in the third game, led by five kills from Ebke.

In the fourth set, the Mavericks went out to a 7-1 lead with the help of three CSM attack errors. Despite five kills between Uhing and Ebke, the Orediggers roared back with a 6-1 run to tie the game at 16-16. Nebraska-Omaha reclaimed the lead, but the CSM kept it competitive by tying again at 19- and 22-all. An Ebke kill then put the Mavs out front, 23-22, later sealing the win at 25-23.

In the fifth set, UNO outhit Colorado Mines .333 to .172, led by its scoring trio in Uhing (five), Ebke (four) and Mach (three).  The two teams tied 11 times, however, and the Mavs never enjoyed a cushion in the decisive game. A pair of errors by CSM put the set away at 17-15 to give UNO the 3-2 match win.

Three Mavericks finished with double-figure kills – Uhing (18), Ebke (17) and Mach (12), while Hansen tallied six blocks.

Match No. 2 – UNO 3, Central Oklahoma 1
In its second match of the day, the Mavericks earned a 3-1 win over Central Oklahoma, 25-22, 21-25, 25-16, 25-20.

Mach contributed a match-high 16 kills, Uhing added 14, and Ebke threw in 13. Sorensen chipped in three blocks, and three players finished in double figures for digs – Uhing (14), junior libero Angie Reicks (24) and redshirt freshman defensive specialist Amy Roberts (16). Uhing's performance marked her fourth double-double of the season.

The first set proved competitive from the start, as the Bronchos overtook an early 4-1 UNO lead and would not surrender the advantage until a pair of attack errors helped the Mavericks go up 21-20. UCO then faltered with two more errors, and an Ebke kill made it 24-21. A final service error by Central Oklahoma gave UNO the win at 24-22.

Behind from the beginning of the second set, the Mavs worked back and tied the game seven times before going up 16-15. The two squads traded six kills, and UCO regained the lead at 21-20. Three more Broncho kills were the major factor, leading to a 21-25 setback.

In game three, UNO sped out to a 14-7 advantage, aided by seven errors by Central Oklahoma. The Mavericks then moved out to an 18-11 lead and never looked back, holding the Bronchos down in a 25-16 victory.

Nebraska-Omaha put the match away in the fourth set, going up 8-1 on two service aces by Sorensen and a pair of Mach kills. UCO brought it within two, but six errors to two kills forced the Bronchos to take a timeout. They then tacked on four consecutive kills, but it was not enough to overtake the Mavs, earned the 25-20 win.

UCO had three players finish with double-figure kills – Zuela Adom (12), Alex Richardson (10) and Kristen Wilson (10).

“This weekend tournament win was an amazing total team effort,” Head Coach Rose Shires said. “We relied on everyone. It was the great senior leadership that kept our team focused on the idea that we could rally and come from behind to defeat Colorado.”

UNO returns to action on Wednesday, Sept. 15, facing its first MIAA opponent of the season with Missouri Southern. The match is set for 5 p.m. at Sapp Fieldhouse.