OMAHA, Neb. - Fresh off their sixth consecutive sweep, Omaha picked up its seventh win in a row today, though, it was not via the shutout as it toppled North Dakota State University 3-1 Saturday afternoon. While the sweep streak may be over, the Mavericks' seven-straight wins ties them with the 2018 team for the program's third longest winning streak in the Division I era. 

With today's victory, Omaha leapfrogs NDSU in the standings to take over second place in the Summit League at 12-7 overall and 7-2 in the conference. The Bison now slide to third place as they end the week at 13-7 and 6-2 in league play.
 

Set by Set (25-20, 25-22, 23-25, 25-23) 

• Omaha got off to a hot start in set one, with Sami Clarkson kicking things off with a service ace. The team would take a 9-4 lead early on after Olivia Curry book ended a 4-0 scoring run with a pair of aces. The Bison briefly took the lead after scoring six unanswered to make it 11-10, but the Mavericks quickly came back out ahead after kills from Rachel Fairbanks and Shayla McCormick. Marriah Buss would later go on a massive tear, scoring the next five Omaha points on four kills and a block. McCormick then took over and got the next three Maverick kills, before a couple of Bison attack errors led to Omaha winning set one.
• After North Dakota State struck first to open set two, Buss and McCormick went on another torrid streak that featured a combined eight kills between them, culminating in a 14-8 lead for Omaha. From there, Kali Jurgensmeier would continue the attack for the Mavericks, recording three kills and two blocks, while Jaiden Centeno would score a couple of aces during a 6-0 run later in the set. McCormick would finish off the set with yet another kill to put Omaha one set away from its seventh straight sweep.
• Unfortunately, the shutout streak would come to an end in set three as the Bison came alive after initially falling behind 10-12 and scored five in a row to take the lead and hold it. The Mavericks never fell too far behind, thanks to five each kills from Jurgensmeier and Buss, but it was not enough as NDSU took the set to end Omaha's shot at another sweep.
• Omaha fell into an early hole in set four as the Bison scored the first four points en route to an 8-4 lead. The Mavericks would respond with five unanswered points, including three kills and a block by McCormick, to get back in the set. From there, the lead would change a whopping 18 more times as both teams hunkered down and prevented the other from pulling too far ahead. McCormick added three more kills and an ace during this span, while McKenna Ruch would notch five kills of her own. The Mavericks were finally able to secure victory after a couple of kills from Jurgensmeier and Ruch tied the set at 23-23, followed by a Bison error that opened the door for Ruch to close out the match with one last kill.

Inside the Box Score 

• Despite dropping one set, the Mavericks still topped the Bison by a wide margin in kills (70-48) and assists 61-48).
• McCormick recorded her fourth 20+ kill match of the season with a team-high 21 today.
• Buss (17), Ruch (13), and Jurgensmeier (13) all reached double-digit kills as well, making today the fourth time this season that these three, along with McCormick, all had at least 10 kills in a single match.
• Clarkson earned her fifth double-double of the season with 28 assists and 12 digs on the day. Meanwhile, Curry fell just one dig shy of picking up her first career double-double after racking up 23 assists. 
• Omaha's 72 digs today were the second most in a single match they have had all season (they had 76 vs. Creighton), with Brilee Wieseler and Centeno leading the way with 16 and 15 digs, respectively.

Up Next 
The Mavericks have a pair of key rematches next week as they continue their home stand with a Summit League tilt against South Dakota State on Thursday at 7 p.m., followed by bout with first place South Dakota on Saturday at 3 p.m.