OMAHA, Neb. - In the Summit League opener, the Mavericks played one of their closest matches yet as they fell to first-place Kansas City 3-2 Thursday night.

Omaha drops to 1-10 on the season and begins conference play at 0-1, while the Roos improve to 10-3 with a 1-0 conference record.

Set by Set: (25-21, 12-25, 23-25, 27-25, 12-15)

• After trailing through the early parts of set one, Omaha gradually chipped away at Kansas City's lead, coming back from being down 10-7 to take a 17-14 lead. Amanda Hardt and Morgan DeBow combined for a pair of critical blocks from the right side, as well as two kills each to fuel Omaha's run. Though the Roos managed to tie it at 19-19, the Mavericks would run away with it in the end thanks to another pivotal block from DeBow and two decisive kills from Shayla McCormick.
• Omaha fell behind early again in set two, but this time was unable to come back. Despite three more kills for McCormick, the Mavericks could not get into a rhythm as the Roos' offense built a 13-point lead by the end of the set.
• The Mavericks rebounded in set three to take an early 10-7 lead with McKenna Ruch leading the way with two kills and an ace. After the Roos came back to tie it, both teams traded points for the rest of the set, tying each other eight more times all the way up to 23-23. In the end though, it was the Roos who came out on top with two more kills.
• Taking another 10-7 lead to start the fourth, the Mavericks were just able to hold off Kansas City and take the closest set of the day. McCormick and Hardt provided the bulk of the scoring for Omaha with a combined 11 kills. Down 24-21, the Roos scored three straight to tie it at 24-24 and later 25-25. Fortunately for the Mavericks, back-to-back wide hits from Kansas City handed them the win.
• Initially coming out to a 3-1 lead on a kill and a block from Hardt, Omaha brief stumbled and allowed the Roos to go up 5-3, only to come right back and take an 8-6 lead halfway through. A 5-1 scoring run shifted things back into Kansas City's favor, however, culminating in one final come-from-behind set win for the Roos.

Inside the Box Score

• For the first time this season, three Mavericks recorded double-digit kills: McCormick (16), Hardt (15), and Ruch (10). McCormick also had 10 digs for her first double-double of the season, while Hardt and Ruch are now tied for the team lead with 96 kills each.
• Olivia Curry and Ivy Leuck finished with almost identical stats yet again, as the former had 25 assists and the latter 20, with each recording 10 digs. This is the fourth double-double of the season for Curry, and the first of Leuck's career.

Up Next 
The Mavericks have one more home match this week when they host South Dakota in a rematch of last year's Summit League Tournament Championship this Saturday at 7 p.m.