OMAHA, Neb. - The Mavericks got back into the win column on Saturday night as they closed out a three-match week with a 3-2 win over St. Thomas on Pink Out Night.
Omaha is back to being just one game under .500 at 10-11 overall and is still in first place in the Summit League at 9-2. Meanwhile, the Tommies fall to 5-16 with a 1-9 conference record.
Set by Set: (20-25, 25-18, 21-25, 25-20, 15-11)
- Initially taking a 10-7 lead to open the night, the Mavericks soon found themselves down 21-16 as the Tommies went on a run. Back-to-back kills from Amanda Hardt and an Erica Fava ace cut the deficit to two, but St. Thomas would score four of the next five to finish off the set.
- Aided by 10 attack and service errors from St. Thomas, Omaha was able to get even in set two. Brynlee Arnold paced the Mavericks with four kills, as well as recording three blocks alongside Emily Huss, including the set winner.
- Strong defensive play led by Huss up front kept set three tied at 12-12, but like in the first, the Tommies got hot in the middle of the set and surged to another 21-16 advantage. Though Rachel Fairbanks gave the Mavericks some late life with three kills, St. Thomas held on to win it.
- Trailing 10-7 early in the set, the Mavericks would take the lead and hold it after a 5-0 scoring run that opened with a kill and an ace from Fairbank, followed by two kills from Shayla McCormick and was capped off by yet another block from Huss. At set point, Kenedy Schaecher would make her first appearance of the match and promptly served up an ace to send it to set five.
- Omaha wasted no time establishing a 7-2 lead as McCormick and McKenna Ruch each had a kill and a block. While the Tommies did fight back to make it a one-point game, key points from Fairbanks put the Mavericks back in control as Ruch went on to finish off the Tommies with the decisive kill at the end of a lengthy rally.
Inside the Box Score
Omaha's offense was firing on all cylinders tonight as the team once again had four players (
Shayla McCormick,
Rachel Fairbanks,
McKenna Ruch, and
Amanda Hardt) all record double-digit kills.
McCormick and Ruch both topped 200 kills on the season, with the former now having four straight matches with a double-double and seven straight with at least 10 kills. Fairbanks also extends her double-double streak to three matches.
Huss ended the night with eight total blocks, the second most she has ever had in a single match. She now has 49 on the season.
Up Next
Just five games remain in the regular season as the Mavericks close out October next week with a mid-day match vs. North Dakota State on Saturday for their lone match of the week.
