KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The Mavericks will remain in first place in the Summit League for another day as they defeated Kansas City 3-1 on Thursday night to split the season series.

Omaha (11-12 overall) is still tied with Denver for the league lead at 10-3 in conference play, while the Roos (17-7 overall) are tied with South Dakota for fourth place at 8-4 in league play.
 
Set by Set: (25-17, 23-25, 25-20, 28-26)

• Making her triumphant return to the lineup, Kali Jurgensmeier did not miss a beat in her first appearance since September 7 as she led the way with five kills and a block. Steady offensive production from Rachel Fairbanks and Shayla McCormick allowed Omaha to take a huge lead, eventually going up by nine as Fairbanks closed out the set with another kill.
• Fairbanks continued dealing into set two as she scored Omaha's first four points to remain a perfect 7-for-7 on attack attempts. Though the Roos were able to briefly retake the lead, back-to-back blocks from Emily Huss and Brynlee Arnold along with seven combined kills from Arnold and McCormick allowed the Mavericks to come back out front and go up 19-13. However, Kansas City was able to fight back from being down six and score 12 of the next 16 to narrowly take the set.
• Fairbanks and McCormick continued to lead the offense as both topped 10 kills on the day during the third. Following numerous lead changes in the closest set yet, it was the Mavericks who got hot at the right time as back-to-back kills from Fairbanks and McKenna Ruch got them to set point and a Kansas City attack error gave them the win.
• With the Roos leading for almost the entirety of the fourth, a fifth set seemed likely as Omaha found itself down 21-17. However, a crucial kill from McCormick would suddenly shift momentum back in the Mavericks' favor as Ruch and Fairbanks would each get two more kills to tie it 23-23. After the Roos got even at 24-24, Fairbanks would get her biggest kill yet as she notched her 20th of the night to put Omaha back on top. Though the set would again be tied at 26-26, McCormick got Omaha to its fourth match point before one last Kansas City attack error would seal the victory for the Mavericks.

Inside the Box Score
Fairbanks had the single greatest match of her career tonight as she finished with 20 kills and 23 digs, besting her previous career highs of 16 kills and 19 digs. In the process, she becomes the first Maverick since McCormick back on September 10, 2022, to log 20 kills and 20 digs in a single match.

McCormick's performance tonight was impressive as well, as she logged 17 kills and 17 digs. Both she and Fairbanks now have five consecutive matches with a double-double.

In Jurgensmeier's first match in almost two months, she totaled a promising 10 kills.

Huss led all Mavericks with 10 total blocks tonight, reaching that milestone for the second time in her young career.

Up Next
Only three matches remain in the regular season as the Mavericks continue their road trip with a match at St. Thomas on Saturday at noon.