A balanced attack helped lead the Omaha Mavericks past the South Dakota State Jackrabbits 25-21, 25-18, 25-21 Friday night at the Sapp Fieldhouse.
"It's been a trademark of ours this entire year to have multiple hitters that are doing well and we try to spread the love as much as possible," said Coach Shires after the game. "I think that needs to continue for us to be successful."
Sophomores Isabella Sade and Anna Blaschko hit an identical .571 with 9 kills on 14 swings. Freshman Sadie Limback led the Mavericks with 13 kills hitting .524 on 21 swings. Freshman setter Sydney Case had her hand in 42 total points, recording two assisted blocks and a kill to go along with her game-high 39 assists.
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| Freshman Sadie Limback paced the Mavs with 13 kills. |
South Dakota State (4-21, 1-11) never let Omaha pull away, and had a three point lead late in the third set. The Jacks were led by junior Makenzie Hennen, who recorded a game-high 14 kills on 31 swings, troubling Omaha all night.
"[South Dakota State] hasn't won a lot of games, but they're a team that comes at you and comes at you. I don't think that there was one time where I felt that they were giving in. We just had to stay mentally tough."
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| Makenzie Hennen led both teams with 14 kills. |
Due to the Mavericks hockey game being played at the usual home, Baxter Arena, the volleyball match was moved to the much more intimate Sapp Fieldhouse. Despite a below-average attendance of 355, the packed-in crowd was on top of the game all evening.
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| "It is tremendous home court advantage playing at the Sapp." -Omaha Head Coach Rose Shires |
"I love playing at the Sapp. Baxter is a phenomenal facility, but the crowd is so involved, right on top of the court, and it is a tremendous home court advantage playing at the Sapp."
Freshmen are Key
The Freshmen duo of setter Sydney Case and OH Sadie Limback are absolutely dynamic. In the front row they connected with each other about 20 times, and their serving styles complement each other perfectly. Case prefers methodical location to potentially pull a setter out of system; Limback prefers to hammer the ball as hard as physically possible and force serve-receive to react appropriately.
A for Effort
South Dakota State brought a very small bench to the game. While Omaha has 17 total players on their roster, SDSU brought just 16 people to Omaha in total, including 12 players and 4 coaches. Three of the six players on the SDSU bench were assigned to holding clipboards.
Despite the numbers, SDSU fought hard all match, and Omaha was never able to completely pull away in any set.
Freshmen are Key
The Freshmen duo of setter Sydney Case and OH Sadie Limback are absolutely dynamic. In the front row they connected with each other about 20 times, and their serving styles complement each other perfectly. Case prefers methodical location to potentially pull a setter out of system; Limback prefers to hammer the ball as hard as physically possible and force serve-receive to react appropriately.
A for Effort
South Dakota State brought a very small bench to the game. While Omaha has 17 total players on their roster, SDSU brought just 16 people to Omaha in total, including 12 players and 4 coaches. Three of the six players on the SDSU bench were assigned to holding clipboards.
Despite the numbers, SDSU fought hard all match, and Omaha was never able to completely pull away in any set.
Looking Ahead
The Mavericks are set to host the South Dakota Coyotes Sunday afternoon, in a match up that will have important seeding implications for the Summit League tournament in Denver. Both teams are tied at 10-3 overall in the conference with just 3 games remaining.
"South Dakota is really playing well. [Second place in the standings] is very important to us, and we're going to have to block very well."
The match for Omaha's senior day Sunday afternoon is set for 1 PM Central Time in Baxter Arena.
