PORTLAND, ORE. - In their first ever appearance in the National Invitational Volleyball Championship, the Mavericks fell in four sets to the University of the Pacific in the opening round of the tournament.

Omaha officially ends its 2022 season at 20-11, tying the 2021 team for the most wins in the program's Division I history. Meanwhile, Pacific improves to 17-13 and will advance to the second round of the tournament against the winner of the Portland State and Santa Clara game. 

Set by Set (20-25, 25-22, 19-25, 25-27)

• The Tigers struck first in set one with back-to-back kills, eventually coming out to a 14-10 lead halfway through. The Mavericks managed to briefly come out in front after a 6-0 scoring run that featured kills from Marriah Buss and Kali Jurgensmeier. Pacific came right back and permanently retook the lead with three unanswered, later winning on 4 straight points.
• Set two started off just like the first, with the Tigers coming out to a 10-7 lead. Fortunately, momentum shifted back in Omaha's favor thanks to another 6-0 scoring run capped off by a kill and a service ace from Shayla McCormick. Omaha's lead later grew to seven points as they went up 22-15 after Mariah Murdie and McCormick each had a kill and a block. Though the Tigers got back within one at 22-23, the Mavericks proceeded to take the set on Murdie's fourth block of the set.
• Omaha quickly found itself in a 5-0 hole to begin the third set and was never able to recover. Down 23-15, the Mavericks did attempt a last-minute comeback fueled by two kills from Jurgensmeier and a kill and block from Buss, but it was not enough to close the gap.
• The Mavericks got out to a rapid start in the fourth set, with McCormick giving them a 4-0 lead with two aces in a row. A fifth set seemed like a guarantee after Omaha went up by seven at 17-10. The Tigers had a late surge, however, going up 21-20 after scoring five unanswered. Both teams traded points all the way to a 25-25 tie, at which point Pacific ended the stalemate with two straight kills to win the match and move on to the next round of the tournament.

Inside the Box Score

• The only stat the Mavericks topped the Tigers in was blocks, holding a 13 to six advantage. 
• McCormick ends her 2022 campaign with her 20th double-double of the year after leading the team with 12 kills and 18 digs. She officially finishes the season with 438 kills and 370 digs.
• In the final match of her collegiate career, Sami Clarkson recorded 15 assists and six digs. She now ends the season with 1046 assists and 207 digs, while also finishing her career with 4201 assists and 806 digs.
• Fellow senior Jaiden Centeno also played her final career match, picking up 14 digs to give her a new career single-season best with 438. She ends her time in Omaha with 866 digs. Centeno also had a service ace to give her an even 50 in her Mavericks career.
• Also in her final game, Murdie had a kill and four total blocks, ending her career with exactly 50 kills and 68 total blocks.