LAWRENCE, Kan. - Following an incredibly close loss to UCF to open the Jayhawk Classic, the Mavericks hunkered down and swept Lipscomb University 3-0 on Friday night to go 1-1 in the tournament.
Omaha is now back over .500 at 5-4 on the season, while the Bison drop to 3-7.
Set By Set (25-19, 25-19, 25-23)
- After Lipscomb got on the board first with a couple of kills to open the set, the Mavericks quickly scored four straight to take the lead and never let go. During this run, Kali Jurgensmeier scored back-to-back service aces for the first time in her career. Both teams traded blows for a bit, with the Bison keeping within three points at 18-15. At that point, however, Omaha went on a 5-0 scoring run highlighted by two kills and a blocked shot by McKenna Ruch. Marriah Buss would score the final kill to give the Mavericks the first set.
- The Mavericks again took an early lead in set two and maintained it throughout the entire set. Thanks to a few Lipscomb errors and kills from Jurgensmeier, Buss, and Shayla McCormick, Omaha quickly ran out to a 9-4 lead. Though the Bison had a few good scoring runs to get within one point of Omaha at 19-20, the Mavericks shut them down by scoring five in a row to close out the set. During that run, Jaiden Centeno picked up her first service ace of the day, while Ruch and McCormick combined to finish off the Bison with two-straight blocks.
- Lipscomb started off strong in set three, establishing a five-point lead early on at 9-5. The Mavericks started to gradually pick away at the Bison, as a couple of costly service errors along with clutch kills from Ruch, McCormick, and Rachel Fairbanks got Omaha within striking distance as they trailed just 19-20. Buss finally managed to tie things up at 20-20 with her eighth kill of the day. Despite their best efforts to retake control of the set, three more huge errors from Lispcomb re-tied the game at 23-23. McCormick would give Omaha the lead back with another kill, before the Bison committed yet another error to give the win to Omaha.
Inside the Box Score
- Despite trailing in total kills (38-39), the Mavericks still led the Bison in points (50-46), aces (5-3), blocks (7-4), and digs (44-35).
- McCormick led all players in kills and digs today at 12 and 15 each. This gives McCormick her sixth double-double of the season and continues her perfect streak of having at least 10 kills in every match this season.
- Centeno tied McCormick with 15 digs on the day, marking the seventh match in a row she has reached double-digit digs.
- Ruch has now eclipsed 10 kills for the third time in a row and fifth time overall in 2022. Her seven blocks also give her 57 in total, putting her just two behind her career high of 59 in 2021, but in almost half as many sets (36 vs. 62).
Up Next
The Mavericks will close out competition in the Jayhawk Classic tomorrow at 2:30 p.m. when they go up against the host school, No. 23 Kansas. This match will be broadcasted on ESPN+.
