Schmale Breaks Blocks Record in Mavs' 3-1 Triumph
Nov 14, 2015 | Volleyball
FORT WAYNE, Ind. -- The Omaha volleyball team made it eight straight Friday night, topping Fort Wayne 3-1 (25-21, 27-29, 25-23, 25-13) at Gates Sports Center to extend the Mavericks' win streak to eight straight victories. Now one win away from a share of the Summit League regular-season championship, the Mavericks improved to 17-11 (12-3 Summit League), while the Mastodons dropped to 7-24 (4-11 Summit League).
Omaha was led by a monster night from senior middle blocker Megan Schmale, who had a team-leading 16 kills on .500 hitting along with seven blocks. The blocking performance led Schmale to break the school record for block assists, as her match total of six helped eclipse the previous mark of 436 set by former Maverick Ruth Evans (1985-88). Schmale, a native of Murdock, Neb., now owns 440 assisted stops over her four-year Maverick career.
Sophomore setter Sydney O'Shaughnessy achieved her team-leading 20th double-double of the season, finishing with 52 assists and 16 digs with four kills.
Sophomore outside hitter Mackenzie Horkey added 13 kills with seven digs, and freshman outside hitter Gessica Gdowski matched her with a season-high 13 kills alongside nine digs, four blocks and an ace. Senior rightside hitter Michaela Schimmer also had a double-figure kill night, posting 11 with six blocks and three digs.
Senior libero Kimberly Bailey collected a team-high 24 digs, which represented her 12th effort this season with 20 or more digs and her fourth straight such performance. Freshman defensive specialist Jessica Plake also had a strong showing, putting up 19 digs for the night.
As a team, UNO outblocked IPFW 11-5 and outhit the Mastodons .277 to .160. Fort Wayne was led by double-doubles from Nicole Rightnowar (21 kills/16 digs) and Somer Johnson (13 kills/13 digs).
A close first set included 11 ties, including a late 21-21 stall. The Mavericks then dominated in the final four plays, creating a 4-0 run on four straight kills. Schimmer nailed the first two before a Fort Wayne timeout, after which another kill from Horkey forced the Mastodons to call for another break. Schimmer then hammered home the last kill, giving UNO the win at 25-21.
Another competitive set included six ties in game two, including four stalls late between 24-24 and 27-27. The Mastodons pulled away for the final two points of the game with back-to-back Rightnowar kills, which sealed it at 29-27 and tied the match at 1-1.
In game three, Omaha took an 18-12 lead before an 8-4 IPFW run made it a two-point game at 22-20. The Mastodons then got within one on consecutive kills from Lauren Hoffman and Johnson before Schimmer responded with a kill of her own to make it set point at 24-22. Two plays later, Schmale closed the game with a kill for the 25-23 win and a 2-1 match advantage.
UNO left no doubt in the fourth set, hitting .393 as a team while holding Fort Wayne to a -.086 team efficiency. Schmale led the charge with five kills on six errorless swings to hit .833, while Gdowski added another four kills. After trailing 4-3 early, the Mavericks strung together seven straight points helped by a combined four kills from Schmale and Gdowski. Omaha eventually doubled its lead at 10-5, 12-6 and 18-9, with the last tied tally spurred by a 5-0 run. A kill by Schmale later made it 22-12, and another pushed it to match point at 24-13. A Mastodon miscue closed the night, giving Omaha the 25-13 set win and the 3-1 match victory.
Omaha returns to action on Saturday, Nov. 14, visiting IUPUI at 6 p.m. (CT). Links to live stats and video will be available on OMavs.com.
Omaha was led by a monster night from senior middle blocker Megan Schmale, who had a team-leading 16 kills on .500 hitting along with seven blocks. The blocking performance led Schmale to break the school record for block assists, as her match total of six helped eclipse the previous mark of 436 set by former Maverick Ruth Evans (1985-88). Schmale, a native of Murdock, Neb., now owns 440 assisted stops over her four-year Maverick career.
Sophomore setter Sydney O'Shaughnessy achieved her team-leading 20th double-double of the season, finishing with 52 assists and 16 digs with four kills.
Sophomore outside hitter Mackenzie Horkey added 13 kills with seven digs, and freshman outside hitter Gessica Gdowski matched her with a season-high 13 kills alongside nine digs, four blocks and an ace. Senior rightside hitter Michaela Schimmer also had a double-figure kill night, posting 11 with six blocks and three digs.
Senior libero Kimberly Bailey collected a team-high 24 digs, which represented her 12th effort this season with 20 or more digs and her fourth straight such performance. Freshman defensive specialist Jessica Plake also had a strong showing, putting up 19 digs for the night.
As a team, UNO outblocked IPFW 11-5 and outhit the Mastodons .277 to .160. Fort Wayne was led by double-doubles from Nicole Rightnowar (21 kills/16 digs) and Somer Johnson (13 kills/13 digs).
A close first set included 11 ties, including a late 21-21 stall. The Mavericks then dominated in the final four plays, creating a 4-0 run on four straight kills. Schimmer nailed the first two before a Fort Wayne timeout, after which another kill from Horkey forced the Mastodons to call for another break. Schimmer then hammered home the last kill, giving UNO the win at 25-21.
Another competitive set included six ties in game two, including four stalls late between 24-24 and 27-27. The Mastodons pulled away for the final two points of the game with back-to-back Rightnowar kills, which sealed it at 29-27 and tied the match at 1-1.
In game three, Omaha took an 18-12 lead before an 8-4 IPFW run made it a two-point game at 22-20. The Mastodons then got within one on consecutive kills from Lauren Hoffman and Johnson before Schimmer responded with a kill of her own to make it set point at 24-22. Two plays later, Schmale closed the game with a kill for the 25-23 win and a 2-1 match advantage.
UNO left no doubt in the fourth set, hitting .393 as a team while holding Fort Wayne to a -.086 team efficiency. Schmale led the charge with five kills on six errorless swings to hit .833, while Gdowski added another four kills. After trailing 4-3 early, the Mavericks strung together seven straight points helped by a combined four kills from Schmale and Gdowski. Omaha eventually doubled its lead at 10-5, 12-6 and 18-9, with the last tied tally spurred by a 5-0 run. A kill by Schmale later made it 22-12, and another pushed it to match point at 24-13. A Mastodon miscue closed the night, giving Omaha the 25-13 set win and the 3-1 match victory.
Omaha returns to action on Saturday, Nov. 14, visiting IUPUI at 6 p.m. (CT). Links to live stats and video will be available on OMavs.com.
Players Mentioned
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