Box Score NORMAN, Okla. -- The Omaha volleyball team opened the Nike Invitational on Thursday evening, falling 3-0 to host Oklahoma by set scores of 16-25, 20-25, 19-25 at McCasland Field House. With the loss, the Mavericks are now 4-7 (0-0 Summit League) on the year, while the Sooners improve to 11-1 (0-0 Big 12).

The Mavericks went toe-to-toe with the Sooners on the block, as Omaha finished with seven stops at the net to OU's eight. UNO also held Oklahoma to its lowest team attack percentage of the year at .125.

"Each set we played was definitely a step up from the last set," head coach Rose Shires said. "We were a little tentative, a little slow in the first set, but we started amping it up as we went along.

"What really made the difference tonight was our blocking. The blocking set the tone for our play, and it frustrated Oklahoma, and that was very pleasing to us. We wanted to push to win a set, but overall this was a positive performance for our team tonight."

Sophomore Megan Schmale hit .222 and finished with a team-best seven kills, matching two Sooners for the match lead. Schmale and sophomore Diane Banderas each had two blocks for UNO.

Sophomore Kelley Wollak followed with six kills and five digs, and sophomore Michaela Schimmer finished with 15 digs and a match-leading three blocks. Sophomore Kimberly Bailey had a strong defensive effort, totaling a match-best 18 digs for the night.

OU was led by seven kills apiece from Kierra Holst and Keila Rodriguez. Kaitlyn Drawe finished with 12 digs, and Taylor Migliazzo had 11. At the net, Rodriguez, Micaela Spann and Sallie McLaurin each put up two blocks.

UNO returns to action at the Nike Invitational on Friday, Sept. 20, taking on Miami (Fla.). The match is slated for a Noon start at McCasland Field House in Norman, Okla., and links to live stats will be available on OMavs.com.