By Ethan Wolbach
The Omaha Mavericks secured a quarterfinal victory against the No. 5 seed North Dakota State (NDSU) Bison in The Summit League Volleyball Championship presented by U.S. Air Force Special Warfare.
The Mavericks defeated the Bison 3-1 (25-18, 24-26, 25-18, 25-17) in a very competitive match to advance to the semifinal round against the No. 1 seed South Dakota Coyotes. With the victory, Omaha completes the season sweep against NDSU
In set one, both teams battled before Omaha took a 8-5 lead on a kill by Anna Blaschko. The Mavericks held momentum throughout a majority of the first set leading by as many as five. However, a late surge from the Bison cut the Mavericks’ lead to just two, 16-14. Late in the set, Isabella Sade added to Omaha’s lead with a kill, 22-17. The Mavericks finished on a 5-1 run to put the Bison away in set one.
Early in set two, teams traded points all the way until Omaha took a 10-9 lead behind a kill from Sadie Limback. NDSU then found their rhythm as the Bison proceeded to rattle off a 6-0 run to take the lead 16-10. Omaha searched for a way to dig themselves out of the hole, pulling within five 21-16 after a kill by Rylee Marshall. A late 4-0 run by the Mavericks tied the match at 23, however attack errors by Claire Leonard and Blaschko handed the set to the Bison 26-24.
Neither team wavered in the early stages of set three, until a Limback kill gave Omaha the lead 10-9. Omaha refused to relinquish the lead as the Mavericks lead for the rest of the set. The offense began to click for the Mavericks in set three as they cruised to a 6-1 run to take dominant control of the match 18-13. After two quick points by the Bison, Omaha waltzed their way to another 6-1 run, as Sade tallied three consecutive kills. Limback dropped the hammer on the Bison, to close the set 25-18 for the Mavericks.
Set four was all Mavericks early as they took a 11-5 behind a kill from Blaschko. Omaha carried that momentum throughout the rest of the set after a kill by Alexa Blase extended the lead 18-13. NDSU continued to battle in the set, however too little was too late for the Bison as the Mavericks coasted to a 25-17 victory, taking the match 3-1 from NDSU.
Three Mavericks tallied double-digit kills in the match, Sade (21), Limback (16) and Blaschko (11). With her performance, Limback extends her double-digit kill streak to 17 matches. The undersized Mavericks played extremely strong at the net, racking up 9 blocks on the match.
Omaha will appear in their second semifinal match since entering The Summit League. The Mavericks will face off against the No. 1 seed South Dakota who rides to Denver on a 24-match win streak after finishing 16-0 in Summit League regular season play. South Dakota has won both matchups against the Mavericks this season, 3-2 in Vermillion, SD and 3-1 at Baxter Arena in Omaha, NE. Winner will advance to The Summit League Volleyball Championship match Sunday, November 24.
Tomorrow’s semifinal match is slated for 4 pm CST and can be heard on mavradio.fm!
