FARGO, N.D. – Head coach Rose Shires earned her 500th career win in dramatic fashion as the Omaha volleyball program pulled off a five-set win at North Dakota State and improved to 2-0 in league play.

The Mavericks defeated the Bison 3-2 (25-12, 25-14, 23-25, 22-25, 15-11) and Shires became one of 29 active coaches in any NCAA division to total 500 career wins.

Leaders For Omaha
Sydney Case recorded a career-high 65 assists while Claire Leonard had a career-best of 18 kills. Abby Bergsten followed with 17, while Sadie Limback recorded her second-straight double-double of 14 kills and 11 digs. Anna Blaschko and Isabella Sade followed with 14 and 11 kills apiece. Defensively, Claire Mountjoy totaled 18 digs.

Notes

• Shires is No. 29 all-time for active coaches in career wins, all at UNO. 
• Omaha improves to 44-42 all-time against NDSU.
• Case notched her fifth match this season of 50-plus assists and her first of 60-plus.
• The Mavericks are now 1-1 in five-set matches.
• Omaha hit .470 as a team which is a season-high.
• For the first time this season, Omaha had five different players notch double-digit kills.

Inside Set 1
Omaha gained control from the start and closed out the set on a 10-0 run. The Mavericks cruised to a 25-14 win, and the 10 straight points marked the longest scoring run for the team this season.

Inside Set 2
The momentum carried into the second set, as the Mavericks jumped out to a 10-5 lead capped off by a kill from Bergsten. The lead increased to 13-7 off a pair of kills by Limback and Leonard to force a Bison timeout. From there, the Mavericks won by 12, its largest margin of victory for a set this season.

Inside Set 3
The Mavericks led 15-12 midway through the set off two kills from Blaschko and Leonard to force an NDSU timeout. NDSU, however, was able to tie it at 16-all and eventually take a 22-21 lead. Down the stretch, North Dakota State scored its final three points of the set off a pair of kills and an Omaha attack error.

Inside Set 4
North Dakota State overcame the 2-0 deficit by taking the set 25-22. After Omaha led 14-13, the Bison rattled off a 4-0 run and led 17-14. Omaha was able to come back and tie it at 19-all and eventually lead 21-20, but NDSU posted a 5-1 run to close out the set and force a fifth frame.

Inside Set 5
A back-and-forth set came down to the wire. Omaha fell into a 7-4 hole, but kills by Blaschko, Limback and Case evened it up. A service ace by Case put Omaha up 9-8, and the Mavericks never relinquished the lead from there despite two more ties. A 4-1 run proved to be the deciding factor of the match. That sequence was capped off by a pair of kills by Leonard en route to Shires getting her 500th career win.

Next Up
Omaha returns home for a pair of Summit League matches against Western Illinois on Friday, Sept. 28, and against Purdue Fort Wayne on Sunday, Sept. 30. The times are scheduled for 7 p.m. in Baxter Arena and 1 p.m. in Sapp Fieldhouse. Live stats and stream will be available on OMavs.com.