By Ethan Wolbach
Omaha walked into Hamilton Gymnasium Saturday ready to battle with the No. 1 seed South Dakota Coyotes in the first semifinal match of The Summit League Volleyball Championship. In a nail biter of a match, the Mavericks topped the Coyotes in four sets winning 25-21, 28-26, 29-27 and 26-24.
Inside set one, South Dakota took advantage of early attack errors by Omaha to jump out to an 8-4 lead. The Coyotes continued to dominate the early stages of the set behind the hands of Sami Slaughter and Elizabeth Loschen. However, the Mavericks refused to quit as they took their first lead of the match 15-14. Teams fought tooth and nail as a service ace by Lolo Weideman gave the Coyotes a 22-20 lead. On a Maverick service error and a block, the Coyotes snatched a set one victory 25-21.
Teams opened set two neck and neck, trading points early. A kill by Isabella Sade tied the set at 10 all for Omaha. The Maverick offense ran through the hot hand of Sade in the second set as the Mavericks recorded 4 consecutive kills to take the lead 13-11. South Dakota managed to regain the lead late, however a well-placed service ace by Claire Mountjoy tied the match at 23. After back-to-back kills by Blase and Sade, Omaha found themselves at set point with Kenzie Michalek at the serving stripe. Michalek notched a service ace off an error by Anne Rasmussen to take set two 28-26 for the Mavericks
South Dakota quickly soared to a 9-3 lead in set three, before Omaha began to claw their way back. Three consecutive attacking errors by Slaughter for South Dakota opened the door for the Mavericks to take the lead 15-14 off a Limback kill. Omaha never relinquished the lead as the Mavericks found themselves at match point 24-19. South Dakota quickly responded with five points of their own to extend the match. However, the unwavering Mavericks capitalized on two kills by Limback and Blase to take the match 29-27. With the win, the Mavericks took advantage in the match 2-1.
Looking to close out the match, the Omaha offense caught fire early in the fourth set as they claimed a 6-3 lead. With their season on the line, the Coyotes battled back taking advantage of an untimely service error by Sami Clarksonat 10-10. Omaha led the remainder of the set as the offensive onslaught continued for the Mavericks behind a Clarkson kill to extend the lead 17-14. After a South Dakota timeout, the Coyotes continued to compete, tying the match at 24-24. Looking to refocus the Mavericks, head coach Matt Buttermore quickly used his final timeout. Out of the timeout, Omaha picked up a quick point by a Blaschko kill and a final attacking error by South Dakota gifted the set and the match to the Mavericks.
A handful of Mavericks lead the offensive onslaught in the match, with Sade (17), Blase (15), Blaschko (15) and Limback (10) all tallying double-digit kills. Kenzie Michalek and Claire Mountjoy also accounted for 42 combined digs in the match, against arguably the best offense in The Summit League. Omaha dominated the Coyotes at the net, notching 61 kills in the match.
With the win, Omaha advances to The Summit League Volleyball Championship match against the winner of the Denver Pioneers and Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons. The championship match will begin at 3 p.m. CST and all the action can be heard on mavradio.fm. Be sure to follow along on social media, @MavRadioUNO on Twitter and Instagram for highlights from the match.
