LINCOLN, Neb. - Omaha took No. 4 Nebraska and Arizona State to five sets Friday on the first day of the Ameritas Players Challenge. Despite 33 kills from Sadie Limback and 94 assists from Clarkson over the 10 sets, the Mavericks fell in both matches, 3-2.

With the two losses, Omaha falls to 1-3 on the year.

Match 1: Nebraska 3, Omaha 2 (25-16, 14-25, 25-16, 13-25, 7-15)
How It Happened

• Madi Kubik got the match started out with a kill for the Huskers before the Mavericks went on an 8-2 run to take an early lead in the first set. Nebraska got within three, but another 8-2 Omaha run cushioned the Maverick lead, 20-11. The teams traded points to close the set with Omaha winning 25-16.
• The Mavericks tallied the first three points of set two with a Nebraska error, Sadie Limback kill, and Sami Clarkson ace. Omaha held on to the lead until the Huskers tied the match 6-6. Rachel Fairbanks made it 7-6 with a kill, but the Huskers took the lead with three straight points, 9-7. Nebraska used a 5-1 run followed by an 8-2 run to close the set winning 25-15 to tie the match 1-1.
• Set three saw five lead changes as it got going before the Mavericks used a 6-0 run to pull away. Fairbanks and Rylee Marshall both tallied kills in the run helping Omaha to a 10-5 lead. Neither team could get momentum follow the run as they traded point for point much of the rest of the match. Lakyn Graves recorded a kill sparking a 5-0 Omaha run to close set three. Mavericks took a 2-1 lead with a 25-16 win.
• Set four swung back in Nebraska's favor with an 8-2 run to open the set. The Mavericks got within three following a kill from Fairbanks, but a kill from Kubik sparked another 7-1 run for the Huskers who took an 18-9 lead. Marshall, McKenna Ruch, and Graves tallied kills on Omaha's next three points, but Nebraska closed the set on a 6-1 run to force a fifth set.
• The Huskers jumped out to a 6-2 lead over the Mavericks highlighted by two kills from Kubik. Limback, Fairbanks, and Ruch cut the Nebraska lead to four midway through, but a 5-1 by the Huskers sealed the 15-7 set five win.

Inside the Box Score

• No. 4 Nebraska was the highest ranked opponent the Mavericks have faced in the Division I era.
• Omaha led in digs (74-73) and aces (4-3), while Nebraska led in kills (51-47), blocks (15-8), and assists (48-47).
• Fairbanks led the Mavericks with 16 kills. This matches her career-high set last season vs. North Dakota.
• Limback also tallied double-digit kills with 11.
• Sami Clarkson notched a season-high 40 assists. She also added two aces.
• Four Mavericks tallied double-figure digs. Claire Mountjoy and Shayla McCormick each tallied 18, while Jaiden Centeno added 13 and Clarkson added 12.

Match 2: Arizona State 3, Omaha 2 (21-25, 25-23, 25-19, 24-26, 13-15)
How It Happened

• The first set saw five ties and six lead changes before the Mavericks strung three points together to jump out to an 8-5 lead. Marriah Buss tallied two kills in the run. Omaha held on to the lead until three straight ASU kills sparked a 9-2 run to swing the lead in ASU's favor, 16-14. The Sun Devils held on and pulled away for a 25-21 win to end set one.
• After trading the first few points of the second set, the Sun Devils went on a 6-0 run highlighted by five consecutive kills to take a 10-4 lead. The Mavericks chipped away at the lead and took it following a 5-0 run of their own. A Limback kill sparked the run, which had two more kills from Fairbanks and one from McCormick. The set saw three more ties and lead changes, but Omaha pulled away with a 5-0 run to close the set with a win, 25-23.
• Set three went back and forth until the Mavericks used a 4-0 run to lead 16-8. Limback tallied two kills for the Mavericks in the run. ASU got within four of Omaha on a kill from Beatrice Badini to cut the lead ,23-19. Limback responded with a kill and the Mavericks would take set three 25-19 following a bad set from the Sun Devils.
• The fourth set started with a series of runs on both sides of the court. The Mavericks used four straight points to take a 5-1 edge early with kills from Limback and Graves. The Sun Devils later tallied six points in a row to take a 9-7 lead over Omaha. The Mavericks regained the lead with a 4-0 run sparked by a Marshall kill, 12-10. Back-to-back service aces then put ASU up by two. Each team used 3-0 runs late in the set, but the Sun Devils prevailed 26-24 to force a fifth set.
• Graves and Limback tallied kills out of the gate in set five helping Omaha to an early 5-1 lead. The Sun Devils managed to tie it 7-7 with three straight kills from Iman Isanovic. Another 3-0 run with a kill from Claire Jeter and an ace helped ASU pull away 12-9, but the Mavericks knotted it 12-12 with three straight kills from Buss. The Sun Devils took a 14-13 lead with an error and Isanovic ended the match with a kill. ASU wins, 3-2.

Inside the Box Score

• The Mavericks recorded 17 blocks in the night cap with ASU. They led the category 17-9.
• ASU led in kills (65-62), aces (6-5), assists (62-60), and digs (84-75).
• Limback totaled 22 kills in the match falling just three shy of matching her career-high. She finished the match with a .356 attack percentage.
• Mountjoy led the Mavericks with 26 digs. 
• Clarkson tallied a match-high 54 assists missing her career-mark by six.
• Buss added 13 kills, while Fairbanks added nine kills and 12 digs finishing just short of a double-double.
• Graves finished with eight kills and 13 block assists.

Up Next
The Mavericks close the Ameritas Players Challenge with a match vs. Georgia tomorrow at 3:30 p.m.