LAWRENCE, Kan. - Hitting the road for the first time this month, the Mavericks opened up competition in the Jayhawk Classic in Lawrence, Kansas with a narrow 2-3 loss to the University of Central Florida.

Omaha drops to .500 for the first time since August 26 as they now sit at 4-4. The Knights, meanwhile, remain undefeated at 6-0 to begin their 2022 campaign.

Set By Set (25-23, 19-25, 25-16, 16-25, 12-15)

• The Mavericks came out swinging as they immediately opened the match with a 3-0 scoring run that saw McKenna Ruch block two shots. The set quickly evened out from there, however, as the Knights answered with a 3-0 run of their own. Both teams jockeyed for control of the set, remaining tied all the way to 19-19. Rachel Fairbanks picked up two service aces during this period. With everything tied up, Shayla McCormick, Kali Jurgensmeier, and Ruch went back-to-back-to-back on kills to permanently retake the lead for good.
• Unlike set one, set two saw Central Florida strike first and quickly build a comfortable lead, going up 13-8 in the first half. A pair of kills from McCormick and another block by Ruch helped chip away at the deficit and make it 14-12, but the Knights responded by scoring seven in a row, taking an insurmountable nine-point lead. Ruch added another block, along with a kill and a service ace to keep Omaha alive, though, it wasn't enough to get the Mavericks back in the set.
• Momentum shifted back in Omaha's favor during set three, as Ruch notched five kills to help the Mavericks take an early 10-7 lead. She would add three more kills in the set, including the set winner, while Marriah Buss would add four of her own and Sami Clarkson would score the fourth service ace of the day for Omaha. Jurgensmeier and Morgan DeBow would also help put away the set by contributing a kill apiece in Omaha's 4-0 run to close things out.
• Much like set two, both teams appeared evenly matched through the first half of the set as Central Florida held a slim 17-15 lead. McCormick, Buss, and Ruch all scored two kills in the half. Jaiden Centeno recorded the Mavericks' fifth ace of the match, while Ruch got her second of the day in this span well. However, also like in set two, the Knights blew things wide open with their second 7-0 scoring run of the day to put the set away for good.
• Centeno opened up set five with Omaha's seventh ace of the match. The Knights attempted to pull ahead multiple times early on, but kills from McCormick, Ruch, and Buss kept things tied. Central Florida briefly widened the gap to three points when it took a 12-9 lead, though, yet another kill from McCormick and a block from Ruch kept Omaha within one. Unfortunately, with the score at 13-12 in UCF's favor, all it took was two quick points to seal their victory and end Omaha's hopes of a comeback.

Inside the Box Score

• As a testament to how evenly matched both teams were, the Mavericks led the Knights in points (81-77), kills (63-61), aces (7-5), and assists (60-59), while tying them in blocks (11-11) and digs (56-56).
• McCormick was one kill shy of breaking 20 for the second match in a row and fourth time this season. She did record her fifth double-double thanks to her 14 digs.
• Ruch came incredibly close to a double-double herself as she was second on the team with 15 kills to go along with her seven total blocks.
• Likewise, Clarkson was one dig away from her own double-double as she finished with nine on the day, in addition to her 50 assists. This is the fourth time this season she has reached the 50 assist mark.
• Buss reached double-digit kills for the sixth time this year after picking up 14 more today.

Up Next
The Mavericks will be back on the court tomorrow at 4 p.m. when they take on Lipscomb University in day two of the Jayhawk Classic.