OMAHA, Neb. – Omaha volleyball was stifled by No. 17 Creighton in straight sets (15-25, 15-25, 22-25) Friday evening in its opening match at the Bluejay Invitational.
The Mavericks (5-3) were limited to 24 total team kills as the Bluejays recorded 34. Creighton also won the digging (37-33) and service ace (8-4) battle.
NOTES
- Omaha falls to 9-7 all-time and 0-1 in the Division I era against Creighton.
- The match marked the first time this season that Omaha played a ranked opponent.
- Sophomore Rylee Marshall out-blocked Creighton's entire team, as she led the way with a new career-high of six.
- Claire Leonard led the way with nine kills, followed by Sadie Limback with six.
INSIDE SET ONE
Creighton got off to a hot start and 4-0, capped off by back-to-back service aces. The Bluejay lead extended to nine (15-6), which forced the Mavericks to use a timeout. Omaha cut it to as little as six (19-13) after a Bluejay service error, but Creighton managed to surge ahead and cruised to the 25-15 win in set one.
INSIDE SET TWO
An identical result as the first put Omaha in a 2-0 hole. A Limback kill evened it up at 1-1 early one, but Creighton mounted a large run and increased its lead. Midway through the frame, Creighton jumped out to another 15-6 lead and made Omaha burn another timeout. The Mavericks could not close the gap and saw themselves behind 2-0 after Creighton won 25-15.
INSIDE SET THREE
Early momentum proved to be the turning point for Omaha. A 4-0 spurt put the team ahead 4-1 capped off by a kill from Limback. Creighton kept answering but Omaha maintained its lead up to the halfway point of the set. Another 3-0 run gave the Mavericks their largest lead of the match, 15-10, but Creighton was able to dwindle the lead and tie it up at 18-all. They eventually took a one-point lead, but the Mavericks answered and tied it at 19-all. Creighton followed up with three-straight points and gave themselves a late cushion in the match. Despite the late effort and cutting the Creighton lead at 24-22, the Mavericks could not overcome it and fell 25-22 in the final set.
LOOKING AHEAD
Omaha returns to action tomorrow at 10 a.m. against No. 12 Washington. The team then takes on Drake at 5 p.m. in its second match of the day. For more information, visit OMavs.com.