By Ethan Wolbach
Omaha hosted the University of South Dakota Coyotes Friday evening at Baxter Arena, in a pivotal match for the Mavericks as they near the end of Summit League play. South Dakota came into the match riding an 18-game win streak and sweeping their last 4 opponents. While the Mavericks rode into the night on a 4-game win and sweep streak of their own.
In set one, teams battled back and forth trading points until South Dakota took a 14-10 lead. After a timeout by Coach Buttermore, the Mavericks responded strongly eventually knotting the match at 16. Alternating points down the stretch, Omaha found themselves at set point 26-25 when sophomore Alexa Blase tallied a powerful kill giving the Mavericks the set one victory.
The storyline stayed the same in set two, as both teams traded blows with 4 lead changes and 7 ties before the set settled at 10-10. The Mavericks continued to play South Dakota tough, eventually taking a late lead 22-21. The Coyotes managed to tie the set at 24 and for the second straight set, the teams would play for extra points. A pair of kills from junior Sami Slaughter and Elizabeth Juhnke slammed the door on the Mavericks, 26-24. South Dakota evened the match at one set apiece.
In set three, the Mavericks continued to play their strongest volleyball of the season thus far. Omaha’s largest lead came at the 12-10 mark, however, South Dakota refused to go down without a fight as the Coyotes traded points all the way till 20-20. The Coyotes then went on a 5-1 run with the help of 3 crucial attacking errors by Omaha junior Claire Leonard. South Dakota took set three 25-21.
The Mavericks walked into set four needing a win to push the match to a winner-take-all fifth set. Omaha battled early, however, Lolo Weideman and Elizabeth Juhnke found their grove allowing the Coyotes to take their largest lead of the match at 17-12. The wheels seemed to fall off the Omaha offense late in the match as they struggled to find points. A 7-0 run by South Dakota ended the set and the match.
Junior Isabella Sade notched 16 kills in the match ahead of sophomore Sadie Limback with 15. Senior Courtney Morehead tallied 9 digs in the match as the lone senior was honored after the game for her contribution to the Omaha volleyball program.
Omaha falls to 14-12 on the season as they hold steady at fourth in the Summit League. South Dakota extended their win streak to 19 as they remain undefeated in Summit League play. With only 4 games left, the Mavericks hit the road and take on Purdue Fort Wayne next Friday, November 8th at 6 p.m.
