VERMILLION, S.D. - The Mavericks' win streak ended at eight tonight as South Dakota came back to narrowly defeat them 3-2. The 2023 squad finishes this historic streak tied with the 2022 and 2015 teams for the program's second longest winning streak in the Division I era.

Despite the loss, Omaha remains in first place in the Summit League at 9-11 overall and 8-2 in conference play. As for the Coyotes, they improve to 12-8 with a 6-3 conference mark.
 
Set by Set: (25-16, 25-22, 20-25, 17-25, 11-15)

• Omaha got off to a hot start tonight, scoring seven unanswered to take a 9-6 lead and hold it. McKenna Ruch, Rachel Fairbanks, and Brynlee Arnold each had two kills in this run. While the Coyotes managed to cut the lead down to one several times, Shayla McCormick and Amanda Hardt responded with timely kills each time to swing momentum back in Omaha's favor to take the set.
• The Mavericks held another early lead in the second as three kills and a block from Ruch made it 10-7. USD held on more closely this time, even managing to take a 21-19 lead after scoring four straight. Thanks to a pair of service aces from Erica Fava and kills from Hardt, McCormick, and Ruch, though, Omaha came back to score six of the next seven and take a 2-0 lead.
• Early on, the Mavericks appeared on the verge of completing the sweep, coming out to a 12-8 advantage. Unfortunately, five unanswered from South Dakota put them on the back foot for the remainder of the set. An ace from Fairbanks and a block by Hardt and Morgan DeBow did tie it at 19 all, but this time it was the Coyotes who rallied late to win the set.
• Much like the third, set four saw the Mavericks build a healthy lead halfway through as multiple USD errors helped put them up 14-9. Omaha would only get three more points in the rest of the set, however, as South Dakota rode a 9-0 scoring run to send it to the fifth.
• The Coyotes extended their run to 12-0 to open the final set, eventually taking a 10-5 lead. One last push fueled by three points each for Fairbanks and Hardt gave the Mavericks some late life, but it was not enough to close the gap as USD completed the reverse sweep.

Inside the Box Score
Hardt paced the team with 17 kills tonight, becoming the first Maverick this year to top 200 on the season as well.

Fairbanks had 11 kills and 15 digs for her fifth double-double of the season. She now has 131 kills in 2023, a new single-season best, and has eclipsed 600 career digs.

Fava recorded three more service aces today, giving her a league-leading 23 in conference play and the second most overall with 31.

Up Next
The Mavericks will close out their busy week on Saturday when they return home to play their third match vs. St. Thomas on Pink Out Night.