OMAHA, Neb. – The Omaha volleyball team opened the season Friday night, falling 3-0 (19-25, 19-25, 22-25) to No. 15 Creighton at D.J. Sokol Arena.
 
Leaders for Omaha
Freshman McKenna Ruch posted a double-double in her Maverick debut, totaling a match-high 13 kills with 12 digs. Alexa Blase had five kills with a team-high three blocks. Sami Clarkson handed out 24 assists and Claire Mountjoy collected 19 digs while Sadie Limback and Anna Blaschko tallied four kills apiece.
 
Leaders for Creighton
Jaela Zimmerman led the Bluejays with 11 kills, 12 digs and six blocks. Keeley Davis had eight kills and seven digs and Kiara Reinhardt added seven kills. Ellie Bolton and Grace Nelson recorded team-high 12 digs each while Ally Van Eekeren totaled 17 assists to lead CU.
 
Team Stats
Omaha hit .096 to Creighton's .198. As a team, the Mavericks totaled 29 kills and 56 digs to go with four service aces. CU had six service aces and a 10-4 advantage in blocks over Omaha.
 
Inside the First Set
CU and Omaha went back-and-forth to start the match until a 3-0 Maverick rally, capped by a kill from Blaschko, gave Omaha a 14-11 lead. Creighton battled back to grab a lead before Omaha tied the set back at 18. The Bluejays used a 7-1 run to clinch the first set, 25-19.
 
Ruch led the Mavericks from the start, posting four kills with six digs. Mountjoy had nine digs and Clarkson dished out seven assists to pace Omaha. CU hit .185 as a team in a set that featured 11 featured 11 ties and three lead changes.
 
Inside the Second Set
Omaha led by as many as two at two different times in the set. The Mavericks led 6-4 after Kenedy Schaecher's ace and a CU error and back-to-back service aces by Rachel Fairbanks handed Omaha an 11-9 advantage. Tied at 17, Creighton reeled off an 8-2 rally to clinch the second-set victory.
 
The Maverick offense hit .111 after hitting .044 in the opening set. Ruch paced the attack with five kills, followed by a pair from Limback. Davis had a team-high four kills for CU while the Bluejays hit .310 as a team.
 
Inside the Third Set
Trailing 16-12, Omaha rattled off four consecutive points off a pair of CU errors and kills by Rylee Marshall and Blase to tie the set at 16. The Bluejays held a 23-20 lead until a service error and blocks by Marshall and Blase brought Omaha within one point at 23-22. Creighton earned the sweep after a kill by Zimmerman and a Maverick attack error gave the Bluejays a 25-22 third-set win.
 
Omaha hit. 143 and tallied 14 of its 29 kills in the third set. Ruch posted four kills and four digs and Blase had three kills and two blocks. Limback, Blaschko and Marshall chipped in two kills each for the balanced Maverick attack. Zimmerman totaled four kills, five digs and four blocks to carry the Bluejays.
 
What's Next
The Mavericks host UNI tomorrow at Sapp Fieldhouse with first serve set for 4 p.m. Due to COVID-19 protocols, attendance is limited to student-athlete pass-list attendees at this time. Links to live stats and video are available on OMavs.com.