By: Ben Helwig
(OMAHA, Ne)—Armed with their new coach and a lot of returning talent, Omaha Volleyball returned to the court Friday afternoon, ready to begin their 2019 campaign. Hosting the Omaha Challenge, the Mavericks welcomed in Abilene Christian, Idaho State and Albany for a round-robin tournament to kick off the season.
The Mavericks opened the season with a matchup against Abilene Christian. The Wildcats out of the Southland Conference finished fourth in league play last year.
Out of the gates, Omaha had to shake off the rust a bit. A few mental errors and communication issues caused Omaha to play catch-up for most of the first set. However, thanks to some great plays at the net by Claire Leonard and Anna Blaschko, Omaha rallied from behind to take the first set 25-23.
That’s when Omaha really hit the gas pedal. Omaha dominated the second set, behind the solid play of junior Isabella Sade. The 6-2 Sade dominated at the net, garnering unreturnable kills and a strong blocking presence on defense. The Mavericks cruised in set two, 25-11.
Omaha continued the momentum into set three before Abilene Christian rallied back. Trailing 17-15, first year head coach Matt Buttermore called a quick timeout. After that, Omaha proceeded to go on a 10-1 run to close out the set and the match, winning 25-18.
Isabella Sade finished with an impressive 19 kills in her first game.
Omaha utilized quite a few freshmen in the match as well, repeatedly calling on a trio of Megan Woods, Rachel Faribanks and Erin Williams to come in and get quality time.
Perhaps the only real question mark in game one was the status of Sadie Limback. Last year’s MVP of the Omaha Challenge and leader of kills did not play at all in the match, despite dressing. Her status for the rest of the tournament remains unknown.
Omaha continues play Friday against Idaho State at 7 p.m. and Saturday at 2 p.m. against Albany. All matches can be heard live on MavRadio.fm
