Volleyball Sep 26, 2015 Omaha Athletics

Omaha Starts Strong in League Play, Tops SDSU 3-1

Box Score BROOKINGS, S.D. – The Omaha volleyball team blocked its way to a strong start in conference play Friday evening, as the Mavericks defeated South Dakota State 3-1 (25-16, 9-25, 25-17, 25-23) on the road at Frost Arena. With the win, UNO improved to 6-8 (1-0 Summit League), while the Jackrabbits dropped to 1-16 (0-1 Summit League).

Sophomore outside hitter Mackenzie Horkey led the match with a season-high 13 kills, as well as 10 digs for her third double-double of the season. Senior middle blocker Megan Schmale had 12 kills on .579 hitting alongside a match-high seven blocks, and senior outside hitter Kelley Wollak finished with 10 kills on .346 hitting with eight digs and two blocks.

Sophomore setter Sydney O'Shaughnessy totaled 37 assists, eight digs and three blocks in the win, while senior libero Kimberly Bailey had a match-high 28 digs.

As a team, the Mavericks put up their sixth double-digit block performance of the year, outblocking South Dakota State, 10-2. In addition to Schmale's seven stops, senior middle blocker Amy Taylor and senior rightside hitter Michaela Schimmer added another three blocks apiece to support the effort.

SDSU was led by Mikala Hora's double-double on 13 kills and 15 digs, while Ashley Beaner added another 10 kills for the night.

Omaha opened with a .310 team attacking performance in the first set, led by five kills from Horkey, who hit .444, and four more from Schmale, who came in at a .667 clip. The Mavericks took a 6-1 lead to start, prompting an SDSU timeout, and later stretched it to 16-8 after three straight kills from Schimmer and Horkey. UNO then took its largest lead of the set at 21-10 when Schmale pounded down a kill, and the Mavs used two more late kills by Wollak and Horkey to capture game one, 25-16.

South Dakota State then evened the match at 1-1 in the second set, hitting .320 while holding the Mavericks to -.206. After the Jacks broke past a 7-7 tie, Kacey Hermann and Mattison Munger served the rest of the way for an 18-2 run that finished the set at 25-9.

Omaha's blocking came through in a big way in the third set, however, as the Mavericks outblocked SDSU, 7-0. Schmale accounted for five of those stops, including four in the first eight plays to spur UNO to a 7-1 lead. Two more blocks from Schimmer and Taylor, grouped with kills by O'Shaughnessy and Taylor and a pair of SDSU errors, eventually pushed Omaha's lead to 14-4. The Jacks cut it to a single-digit margin just twice over the remainder of game three, with the Mavericks holding a strong lead helped by late kills from Schimmer, Horkey and Schmale en route to the 25-17 set win.

Though the fourth set proved closer, Omaha's attacking corps returned with a vengeance for a .385 attack percentage. Schmale finished with six kills on .750 hitting and no errors in the set, while Wollak and Horkey chipped in five kills apiece. The set was marked by three lead changes and 11 ties before SDSU saw its narrow 22-21 advantage erased on a Schmale kill. Wollak and Schmale then tacked on another kill each to make it 24-22 before a Jackrabbit timeout. Two plays later, the Mavericks sealed the win on a Wollak kill, taking the set at 25-23 and the match at 3-1.

Omaha returns to action Saturday, Sept. 26, welcoming South Dakota to Sapp Fieldhouse at 5 p.m. Links to live stats and video will be available on OMavs.com.

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Players Mentioned

#3 Kimberly Bailey: L; 5' 9"; Senior

#17 Mackenzie Horkey: OH; 5' 9"; Sophomore

#1 Sydney O'Shaughnessy: S; 5' 8"; Sophomore

#18 Michaela Schimmer: S/RS; 6' 0"; Senior

#6 Megan Schmale: MB; 6' 0"; Senior

#11 Amy Taylor: MB; 6' 3"; Senior

#7 Kelley Wollak: OH; 5' 9"; Senior

Players Mentioned

#3 Kimberly Bailey
: 5' 9"; Senior
: L

#17 Mackenzie Horkey
: 5' 9"; Sophomore
: OH

#1 Sydney O'Shaughnessy
: 5' 8"; Sophomore
: S

#18 Michaela Schimmer
: 6' 0"; Senior
: S/RS

#6 Megan Schmale
: 6' 0"; Senior
: MB

#11 Amy Taylor
: 6' 3"; Senior
: MB

#7 Kelley Wollak
: 5' 9"; Senior
: OH