OMAHA, Neb. - The Omaha Mavericks extend their winning streak to six matches with a clean sweep of the Denver Pioneers tonight. Entering the match, both teams held a share of first place in the Summit League. That now belongs solely to the Mavericks as they improve to 6-1 in Summit League Play.
Set by Set: (25-22, 25-21, 25-17)
- Omaha opened the night strong with four straight points giving them an early 4-1 lead. The Mavericks went on another four-point scoring streak that included a service ace by Rachel Fairbanks and kills from Amanda Hardt and Shayla McCormick, giving them an 11-6 advantage. In their victorious 25-22 set, McCormick put up four kills and the team recorded three service aces.
- The roles were reversed in the opening point of the second set, as the Mavericks trailed 4-1. Omaha made a steady climb back to the top. After a duo of Pioneer offensive errors the Mavericks were back on top 11-10. A kill by Amanda Hardt topped off a four-point streak for the Mavericks and had them up 17-13. After giving up one service error, Omaha responded with five straight points including two service aces by Rachel Fairbanks. The Mavericks won the set 25-21 off a service error.
- The Mavericks gave up the first point of the third set but would go on yet another four-point scoring streak to take an early 4-1 lead on the Pioneers. The Mavericks would keep their foot on the gas as they went on to hold leads of 8-3 and 12-5 over Denver. Leading 17-10, Denver would make a run and pull within two points of Omaha bringing the third set to 17-15. The two Summit League rivals battled to a 20-20 but it would be the Mavericks who would rally off four straight points to get to match point. A kill by McKenna Ruch secured Omaha's sixth consecutive victory and handed sole possession of first place to the Mavericks.
Inside the Box Score
Shayla McCormick and
McKenna Ruch each tallied 12 kills in tonight's match. It's Ruch's third straight match with 12 kills and McCormick's seventh match in the last eight matches with double digit kills.
The Mavericks won the kill battle against the Pioneers 45-32 tonight and doubled Denver up in aces, 8-4.
Omaha won the defensive battle out-digging Denver 36-30 in the match.
UP NEXT
The Mavericks will remain at home and welcome the North Dakota Fighting Hawks who they defeated earlier in the season on the road in five sets.
