OMAHA, Neb. - On the final day of the regular season, the Mavericks successfully clinched the No. 2 seed and a first-round bye in the Summit League playoffs with a commanding 3-1 win over Denver on Senior Day.

Omaha entered the day in a dead heat with Denver and North Dakota State as all three teams were in position to secure the No. 2 seed. With a Mavericks win and a NDSU loss, though, Omaha officially finishes with the second-best record in the league at 19-9 overall and 14-4 in the conference. As for the Pioneers, they end up the No. 4 seed at 18-11 overall and 12-5 in league play, while the Bison remain the No.3 seed at 20-10 and 13-5 in conference matches.

Today also marked the final regular season match for three Omaha seniors: Mariah Murdie, Jaiden Centeno, and Sami Clarkson.

Set By Set (17-25, 25-13, 25-11, 25-10)

• The Mavericks ran into a bit of trouble in the opening set. After starting off with a 4-0 lead thanks to a pair of blocks from Murdie, the Pioneers came right back to tie the set and eventually take a 16-13 lead halfway through. Despite multiple kills from Murdie and Marriah Buss, the Mavericks were unable to retake the lead, dropping the first set of the day.
• Set two is where Omaha truly began to hit its stride, coming out hot to a 13-6 lead. McKenna Ruch led the way with three kills, a block, and a service ace during this run. Denver started to pick up some momentum to get back within four points, but the Mavericks cut their comeback short with 6-0 scoring run to make it 21-11. Buss added three more kills here, while Centeno scored her first service ace of the day. Omaha would then cruise to victory on four more kills from Buss, Ruch, and Jurgensmeier.
• The Mavericks were even more dominant during set three as they got off to a 13-4 lead out of the gate. Jurgensmeier had four kills to kick off the set, followed by Buss and Ruch with two each. Just like in set two, the Pioneers seemed like they were starting to get back into a groove after cutting Omaha's lead to 14-7, but once again the Mavericks were prepared as Shayla McCormick fired off back-to-back kills to get Omaha rolling again, taking the set with two more kills shortly after.
• At first it seemed like Denver had regained its edge as they only trailed Omaha 8-9 at the start of the set. The Mavericks had other plans, however, as they proceeded to go on their longest scoring run of the season with 14 unanswered points to make it 23-8. McCormick was unstoppable during this run, scoring six kills and a block. Clarkson also picked up her third service ace of the day in the middle of the streak. From there, all it took was a couple more kills from Jurgensmeier and Buss to win the regular season finale for Omaha.

Inside the Box Score

• The Mavericks were firing on all cylinders today, topping the Pioneers in kills (53-33), service aces (8-4), blocks (12-4), assists (49-32), digs (50-37), and hitting percentage (.313-.057).
• McCormick officially ends the regular season with 17 double-doubles after leading the team with 14 kills and 13 digs today. She also topped 400 kills on the season with 402 in total.
• Buss had her 17th match of the season with double-digit kills after picking up 14 today. She ends her regular season with 343 kills.
• Jurgensmeier put a bow on an incredible freshman campaign with a 13-kill performance. She was highly efficient today too, ending with an even .500 hitting percentage. Jurgensmeier will end her rookie season with 246 regular season kills.
• All three of Omaha's graduating seniors put up strong performances in the final regular season match of their careers. Murdie was tied for the team lead with four total blocks, giving her 45 on the year. Centeno was tied for the team lead in digs with 13 as she ends the season with a team-high 402 digs. And Clarkson had the most assists of anyone today with 30, giving her 991 for the season and 4146 in her career.

Up Next
The Mavericks will now prepare for the Summit League Championships being hosted right here in Baxter Arena. As the No. 2 seed, Omaha will get a first-round bye and go straight to the semifinals. Their first match will be next Friday against the highest seeded team out of the quarterfinals.