Box Score vs. UConn (PDF)

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – The Omaha volleyball team split a pair of matches on Saturday at the Dr. Mary Jo Wynn/Doubletree Hotel Invitational at Missouri State's Hammons Student Center. In the morning match, Connecticut narrowly defeated UNO 3-2 (14-25, 25-21, 25-19, 20-25, 10-15), but the Mavericks rebounded in the nightcap by topping New Orleans 3-0 (25-19, 25-17, 25-18). Omaha is now 5-5 on the year before opening conference play next weekend.

For her efforts over the three matches in Springfield, senior Amy Roberts was named to the Wynn Invitational All-Tournament Team.

MATCH 1 – CONNECTICUT 3, OMAHA 2
Omaha had two players finish with double-figure kills in the early match, as freshman Kelley Wollak had a team-leading 13, and senior Natalie Ebke added 12. Freshman Michaela Schimmer narrowly missed a double-double, finishing with 18 assists and nine blocks, while redshirt freshman Valerie Hecht put up another nine stops of her own. Redshirt freshman Bailey Baxter chipped in a team-leading 24 assists.

As a team, UNO totaled 10 service aces, aided by four apiece from redshirt freshman Kimberly Bailey and Roberts, who also had a team-best 24 digs. In addition, Omaha outblocked Connecticut, 12-6, though the Huskies edged UNO in hitting percentage, .205 to .199.

UConn took the first set 25-14, prompting the Mavericks to reel off two straight set wins of their own. In game two, UNO hit .364 as a team and committed just two attack errors, besting the Huskies' hitting clip of .206 and seven miscues. With the score tied at 10-10, the Mavs went on a 5-0 run with the help of an ace from Bailey and back-to-back kills by Schimmer and Ebke. Omaha then took it to 16-12 on an Ebke kill, but Connecticut rallied and eventually cut it to 21-20 with a pair of kills and a UNO error. The Mavericks wasted no time in their final stretch, capitalizing on two UConn errors while sophomore Jessy Schroedter and Hecht each tallied a kill to take the set at 25-21.

In the third game, the two squads tied the score eight times to reach a 10-10 stall. Connecticut moved out to a 16-12 lead, but UNO's 6-1 run put the Mavericks ahead for the first time at 18-17. The Huskies tied it twice more to reach 19-19, but Omaha surged with a final 6-0 run on six straight serves from Bailey. With the help of two of her aces, a kill by Baxter and three UConn errors, the Mavs won it 25-19 and went up 2-1 for the match.

Play was tight again in set four, as the score sat tied at 19-19. Connecticut came out the victor in the set, as a closing run gave the Huskies at 25-20 win and evened the match at 2-2.

In the deciding set, UNO scored first on a kill by Wollak, but UConn responded with an 11-5 drive. A three-point unanswered Maverick run prompted a timeout by the Huskies at 11-8, and Connecticut went on to take the game at 15-10 for the 3-2 match win.

MATCH 2 – OMAHA 3, NEW ORLEANS 0
In the evening match, it was “UNO vs. UNO” as the Mavericks swept independent competitor New Orleans. Omaha triumphed 25-19, 25-17, 25-18 to close its run at the Wynn Invitational on a victorious note.

Wollak and Schroedter finished with 10 kills each, while Ebke and Hecht added seven apiece. Full statistics from the second match will be available at a later time.

Omaha returns to action on Friday, Sept. 14, opening Summit League play against South Dakota State. The match is set for a 7 p.m. start at Sapp Fieldhouse, and links to live stats and live video will be available on OMavs.com.