LAWRENCE, Kan. - In the first NCAA Tournament in program history, the Omaha Mavericks played hard against No. 4 Kansas in their second meeting of the season, but were unable to pull off the upset as they were bested 3-0 against the host school.
Today's match officially wraps up the most successful season in Omaha Volleyball's Division I history. The Summit League Regular Season and Tournament Champions end 2023 at 15-14 overall.
Set by Set: (16-25, 19-25, 26-28)
- The Jayhawks kept the pressure on Omaha throughout the first set, as the Mavericks found themselves down 16-7 halfway through. McKenna Ruch and Rachel Fairbanks recorded the first ever NCAA Tournament point for Omaha with a block. Ruch would get three more kills and another block in the set, while Amanda Hardt and Kali Jurgensmeier both had two points as well.
- Omaha fared better in set two as Ruch, Fairbanks, and Hardt all had two kills early on to give them a 12-10 lead. However, the Jayhawks pulled away in the back half of the set. Ruch, Fairbanks, and Hardt all had another kill to keep things close, but it was not enough to retake the lead.
- The Mavericks were at their best in set three, starting off with another block from Fairbanks and Ruch and the team's first service ace, courtesy of Erica Fava. A pair of 4-0 scoring runs that saw two kills each for Jurgensmeier and Shayla McCormick gave Omaha a 13-6 lead. Up 17-14, though, Kansas scored five in a row to go back on top. Two more blocks from Ruch put Omaha back in front 22-20, only for Kansas to again retake the lead. The Mavericks fought back to tie it multiple times, including a big kill from Hardt to make it 26-26. In the end, though, it was the Jayhawks who managed to string together two points and win the match.
Inside the Box Score
Ruch and Hardt were tied for the team lead with eight kills each. Ruch ends her season with a team-high 299 kills, and her five blocks tonight give her 132 total. Hardt ends her rookie season with 264 kills, the third most on the Mavericks.
McCormick had four kills and 10 digs tonight, putting her within striking distance of 1000 of each in her career (922 kills and 949 digs).
Fairbanks recorded seven kills and five digs in the final match of her career. Omaha's only graduating player this year, she officially ends her five-year career with 661 kills and 717 digs after setting career highs in both this season (231 kills and 311 digs).
Full Press Conference
