MANHATTAN, Kan. - Playing against their fourth-straight undefeated Power 5 opponent to open the season, the Mavericks could not come away with the win as Kansas State rode several late rallies to take the match 3-0 Friday night.

Omaha is still looking for its first win of 2023 as the team falls to 0-4, while the Wildcats remain undefeated at 4-0.

Set by Set: (21-25, 23-25, 23-25)

• Aided by numerous Wildcat errors, the Mavericks did a solid job of preventing K-State from building too great a lead for most of set one, consistently keeping within three points of them. Though the Wildcats started to pull away later on, getting to set point at 24-18, Omaha would not go down easy as McKenna Ruch went up and blocked the would-be set winner, followed by back-to-back aces from Shayla McCormick to make it close in the end.
• In set two, the Mavericks got off to their fastest start of the year, forcing an early K-State timeout as they took an 8-3 lead. Trailing 2-3, Omaha rattled off six unanswered points, including three kills from Amanda Hardt. Even after stopping the run and cutting the Mavericks' lead to two, the Wildcats made five crucial attack errors that, along with kills from McCormick and Brynlee Arnold, put Omaha up 16-9. However, fortunes would flip down the stretch as the Mavericks would commit several attack errors of their own to put K-State up 24-21 and fall just short of coming back after a late surge.
• It was all aces for the Mavericks in the final set as they notched five early on to take their largest lead of the set at 14-8. McCormick and Ruch each picked up one, as did Ivy Leuck with the first of her career, while Erica Fava recorded two. Like in set two, though, the Wildcats again rallied from behind to score 11 of the next 15 and take a 19-18 lead before fending off another late Mavericks rally to win the match.

Inside the Box Score

• The Mavericks ended the night with nine service aces. Fava led the way with four aces, giving her a team-leading seven this year. She also leads the team with 36 digs after adding 11 more tonight.
• Olivia Curry was a dig away from having the first double-double for a Maverick this season after recording 14 assists and nine digs.
• Jurgensmeier led the team with nine kills, giving her a team-high 31 on the season. 

Up Next
The Mavericks are back home next week to host the MH Hospitality Omaha Challenge. Omaha will play three matches in the event, starting with Long Beach State on September 7, No. 20 Creighton on September 8, and Iowa State on September 9.