IOWA CITY, Iowa -- The Omaha volleyball team earned its second win of the weekend Saturday afternoon at the Hawkeye Classic, defeating Indiana State 3-2 (24-26, 25-22, 23-25, 25-13, 15-9) at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. With the victory, the Mavericks improved to 2-4 (0-0 Summit League), while the Sycamores dropped to 1-5 (0-0 MVC).
Leaders for Omaha
Senior
Sydney O'Shaughnessy registered her fifth double-double of the year with a career-high 59 assists, 15 digs, five kills, two blocks and three aces. Sophomore
Chloe Dousette had another double-double -- her second of the year -- with a career-high-tying 21 kills, 14 digs, two blocks and three aces. Junior
Mackenzie Horkey had Omaha's third double-double of the day and her second of the season with 17 kills and 13 digs.
Freshman
Anna Blaschko also had 15 kills, hitting a blistering .625 with no errors while adding three blocks. Freshman
Bella Sade chipped in another 13 kills and led the Mavericks at the net with a match-high six blocks. Freshmen
Claire Mountjoy (16) and
Abigayle Meyer (15) each had double-figure dig performances, and Meyer added five blocks.
Leaders for Indiana State
Laura Gross led ISU with a double-double on 15 kills and 14 digs, and Rachel Griffin had another with 41 assists and 14 digs.
Team Stats
Omaha hit a season-high .358 to Indiana State's .187 and outblocked the Sycamores 12-5.
Inside Set 1
Omaha and Indiana State traded points early and after the 11th tie of the set, ISU took a 15-13 lead. Horkey, O'Shaughnessy and Blaschko then accounted for three kills to help Omaha regain the lead at 16-15. After Omaha secured an 18-17 edge, Indiana State used a 4-0 run to go up 21-18. The Mavericks responded with a 4-0 run of their own, but ISU won the next three points and ultimately the set, 26-24. Blaschko had nearly half of her 15 in the first game with seven.
Inside Set 2
Omaha created a 5-0 run after three kills between Blaschko and Horkey, a Meyer block and an ISU error, which prompted a Sycamore timeout with the Mavericks up 11-7. Blaschko's 10th kill, along with her second block and a Dousette kill, pushed Omaha's advantage to 21-16. After Omaha stretched its lead to six, Indiana State came back with three kills from Gross during a 4-0 run. With the lead cut to 22-20, Omaha got kills from O'Shaughnessy, Dousette and Sade to finish it off and won the second set, 25-22.
Inside Set 3
Set three was another battle, as Omaha and Indiana State stalled six times up to 16-16 tie. Consecutive aces put the Sycamores ahead by two, but the Mavericks knotted it again at 19-19 after back-to-back Horkey kills. UNO and ISU continued to trade points, and a Dousette kill tied it once more at 23-all. Following an ISU timeout, the Sycamores got a pair of kills from Nikkie White and Sarah Peterson to finish it at 25-23.
Inside Set 4
Omaha broke an early 5-5 lock with a 5-0 run, spurred by kills from Sade and Dousette and a Mountjoy ace. The Mavericks worked out to a 12-7 lead after Dousette blasted her fifth of seven kills in the set and eventually took their largest lead at 23-12. The Mavericks finished the set on a 7-1 run, winning 25-13.
Inside Set 5
Dousette's 20th kill of the match broke an early tie for a 4-3 Maverick edge in the deciding set. Her final kill of the day pushed it to 8-4, and though ISU cut it to a one-point margin, Omaha never let go of its lead. A closing 5-0 spurt was highlighted with a Sade kill, a Horkey block and a Dousette ace, capping the set at 15-9 and clinching the match win at 3-2.
Noting the Match
-Omaha's .358 team attack percentage was its highest since 2014.
-Dousette owns Omaha's last four 20+ kill performances, as she registered three as a freshman in 2016.
-O'Shaughnessy and Sade were both named to the Hawkeye Classic All-Tournament Team at the tournament's conclusion.
Up Next
Omaha opens next weekend's Drake Invitational on Thursday, Sept. 7, facing the Bulldogs at 7 p.m. The match will be broadcast live on ESPN3, and links to live video and stats will be available on OMavs.com.
