Box Score OMAHA, Neb. – The Omaha volleyball team continued its strong start to conference play Saturday night with a 3-1 (21-25, 32-30, 25-22, 25-22) victory over South Dakota at Sapp Fieldhouse. With the win, the Mavericks improve to 7-8 (2-0 Summit League), marking the first time in the Division I era they have started league play with two consecutive wins.

Omaha was led by sophomore outside hitter Mackenzie Horkey, who mustered her second double-double of the weekend and her fourth of the season. The Jordan, Minn., native had a career-best 18 kills on .333 hitting and 13 digs. Sophomore setter Sydney O'Shaughnessy (51 assists/20 digs) and senior outside hitter Kelley Wollak (14 kills/11 digs) also had double-double performances, with O'Shaughnessy adding three blocks. Wollak's double-double was her seventh of the season, while O'Shaughnessy's was her team-leading ninth.

Senior middle blocker Megan Schmale added 12 kills with five digs and a match-high six blocks for the night, while senior rightside hitter Michaela Schimmer rounded it out with 11 kills in addition to five digs and four blocks. Senior libero Kimberly Bailey had another outstanding defensive effort, totaling 26 digs.

South Dakota was led by two players with double-doubles: Audrey Reeg (19 kills/18 digs) and Brittany Jessen (52 assists/13 digs). Kelsey Biltoft added 12 kills for the Coyotes, and Hayley Dotseth had 11.

As a team, UNO put together another standout effort at the net, outblocking USD, 9-3. The two teams were neck-and-neck offensively, with the Coyotes finishing with a .213 attacking percentage and the Mavericks coming in at .210.

South Dakota's attackers compiled a .325 percentage in the opening set. Jammed at a 15-15 tie, USD capitalized on three straight Maverick errors to go up 18-15. After back-to-back kills from Biltoft and Sydney Dimke made it 23-17, Omaha battled back with three consecutive kills from Horkey, Wollak and Schmale. A Dimke kill then pushed it to 24-20 before Schmale put down another kill to stave off the Coyotes. Dimke, however, had the final word, with her last kill of the set giving USD the 25-21 win and a 1-0 advantage.

In a marathon second set, Omaha and South Dakota saw the score tie 16 times and traded leads seven times. Trailing 23-22, UNO responded with kills from Schimmer and Horkey to make it set point at 24-23 before a USD timeout. Out of the break, the two teams continued to trade points up until a 30-30 tie. A Horkey kill then put the Mavericks in front by one, and a Coyote ball handling error finished it off at 32-30 for Omaha, knotting the match at 1-1.

UNO worked out to a 14-8 lead in the third set, but South Dakota chipped away to tie it at 17-17 with a 4-0 run. Two Coyote miscues then put Omaha back in front 19-17, and the Mavericks never relinquished their lead from there. A Horkey kill made it 24-22, and a Schmale/O'Shaughnessy block capped it for a 25-22 win that put the Mavs up 2-1.

Omaha compiled its highest attack percentage of the night in game four, finishing at .273 with five kills from Wollak and another four from Horkey. Another close set saw the score stall late at 20-20, then move to 22-20 in UNO's favor with two Horkey kills and a Schmale/Horkey block. After the Coyotes pulled within one, Schmale and O'Shaughnessy put up a block and Schmale smashed a kill to make it 24-21. Two plays later, Wollak punctuated the match with a kill, securing Omaha the 25-22 set win and the overall 3-1 match victory.

UNO returns to action next weekend with a single road match, traveling to North Dakota State on Saturday, Oct. 3. The contest is set for 7 p.m. in Fargo, N.D., and links to live stats and video will be available on OMavs.com.