Denver Stuns Mavs 3-2 in League Championship Match
Nov 23, 2015 | Volleyball
DENVER, Colo. -- The Omaha volleyball team saw its 2-0 match lead whittled away by Denver Sunday afternoon, as the Pioneers rallied to send UNO home with a 3-2 (28-26, 25-23, 20-25, 18-25, 10-15) loss at the Summit League Championship Final at Hamilton Gymnasium. The Mavericks finished an incredible run in their first Division I postseason appearance with an overall record of 19-13, while DU advances to the NCAA Tournament with the conference's automatic bid and a record of 27-6.
Sophomore Sydney O'Shaughnessy tallied her 24th double-double of the year with 55 assists and 17 digs, as well as two blocks and two kills. The effort marked her ninth performance this season with 50 or more assists in a match. Sophomore outside hitter Mackenzie Horkey also put together an outstanding effort for her 13th double-double, tying her career highs with 18 kills and 19 digs.
Senior middle blocker Megan Schmale added 16 kills with a match-high five blocks and an ace, and senior middle blocker Amy Taylor had 11 kills on .500 hitting with three more blocks. Senior rightside hitter Michaela Schimmer was the fourth Maverick with a double-figure kill effort, posting 10 along with two stops at the net.
Defensively, senior libero Kimberly Bailey shined with a team-leading 27 digs, and freshman defensive specialist Jessica Plake added 12 more. Freshman outside hitter Gessica Gdowski also had a career-high 14 digs with eight kills and three blocks.
As a team, Omaha outblocked Denver 8.0 to 7.5, while the Pioneers outhit the Mavericks .236 to .168.
Denver was led by a double-double from Cassie Baird, who had 19 kills and 15 digs. Kayla Principato notched another 16 kills, and Ruth Okoye, named the tournament's most valuable player, added more 11 on .588 hitting.
Omaha came out of the gates with a balanced attack, taking a 7-2 lead on kills from Horkey, Taylor, Schimmer, and Gdowski. UNO and DU battled for the next eight points to push the score to 11-6 in Omaha's favor. DU then used a 4-1 run to pull within two. After UNO surged to a 19-13 lead, DU cobbled together a 5-0 run to make it a one-point game at 19-18. Kills by Horkey and Taylor padded Omaha's lead to 21-18, but DU took five of the next six points for its first lead of the set at 23-22. The Mavericks fended off set point twice on multiple DU errors to even it at 24-24, then went ahead on a Schimmer kill, 25-24. Denver worked through the Mavericks' advances at 25-24 and 26-25 before Omaha put a stamp on the epic first set, 28-26.
The Pioneers built a steep 7-1 advantage to open the second game, forcing Omaha to call an early timeout. UNO took the next two points out of the break, but the next four points went back and forth to extend DU's lead to 9-5. Led by a pair of Baird kills, the Pioneers scored on three of the next four plays, making it 12-6. After Denver went up 14-8, Omaha outscored the Pioneers 7-1, ignited by kills from Taylor, Schmale, and Gdowski, to knot the score at 15-15. Omaha took its first lead of the set at 18-17 on a blistering kill by Horkey, then never looked back, taking seven of the final 13 points. An O'Shaughnessy/Taylor block and kills from Horkey, Taylor and Schimmer spurred the Mavericks, who won the second set 25-23 to lead the match 2-0.
Omaha and Denver locked at a 6-6 tie to start the third game before the Mavericks went ahead 8-6 on a Horkey kill and consecutive DU errors. A pair of UNO attacking miscues and Principato kill helped DU stage a 3-1 spurt, stalling the set at 9-9. Back-to-back kills from Schimmer and Schmale then put Omaha in front 11-9, but the Pioneers heated up with a 10-2 run to take the lead at 19-13. A 6-3 Maverick rally brought Omaha within three at 22-19, but DU took three of the final four points to win set three, 25-20.
In the fourth set, kills by Gdowski, Schimmer and Schmale, paired with a two DU attack errors, created an early 5-1 advantage for Omaha. DU answered with a 6-1 run to take a 7-6 lead. A trio of kills from Taylor and a Gdowski/Taylor block then gave the lead back to Omaha, 13-9. Principato hammered three kills over the next five points, and a kill from Nola Basey knotted the score at 14-14. Neither team could secure a substantial lead, with the eighth tie of the set bringing it to 18-18. Denver then closed on a 7-0 run, seizing game four 25-18 and sending the match to a decisive fifth set.
Omaha opened the fifth game with a dominant 5-0 lead on a combined three kills from Gdowski and O'Shaughnessy, a Bailey ace and a DU attack error. The Pioneers grabbed the next three points, but a Schmale/Gdowski block and a Schmale kill pushed Omaha ahead 7-3. A 6-2 DU run then gave the Pioneers their first lead of the set at 9-8 and forced UNO to call timeout. The Mavericks tied it immediately on a Schmale kill at 9-9, before DU took the lead for good. Denver closed with a 6-1 run, winning the set 15-10 and the match 3-2.
Following the finale, Schmale and Taylor were both named to the Summit League Championship All-Tournament Team. Taylor averaged 2.62 kills, 0.92 blocks and 0.54 digs per set with .397 hitting over the weekend's three matches, while Schmale came in at 2.46 kills, 1.00 blocks and 0.54 digs per set on .348 hitting.
Sophomore Sydney O'Shaughnessy tallied her 24th double-double of the year with 55 assists and 17 digs, as well as two blocks and two kills. The effort marked her ninth performance this season with 50 or more assists in a match. Sophomore outside hitter Mackenzie Horkey also put together an outstanding effort for her 13th double-double, tying her career highs with 18 kills and 19 digs.
Senior middle blocker Megan Schmale added 16 kills with a match-high five blocks and an ace, and senior middle blocker Amy Taylor had 11 kills on .500 hitting with three more blocks. Senior rightside hitter Michaela Schimmer was the fourth Maverick with a double-figure kill effort, posting 10 along with two stops at the net.
Defensively, senior libero Kimberly Bailey shined with a team-leading 27 digs, and freshman defensive specialist Jessica Plake added 12 more. Freshman outside hitter Gessica Gdowski also had a career-high 14 digs with eight kills and three blocks.
As a team, Omaha outblocked Denver 8.0 to 7.5, while the Pioneers outhit the Mavericks .236 to .168.
Denver was led by a double-double from Cassie Baird, who had 19 kills and 15 digs. Kayla Principato notched another 16 kills, and Ruth Okoye, named the tournament's most valuable player, added more 11 on .588 hitting.
Omaha came out of the gates with a balanced attack, taking a 7-2 lead on kills from Horkey, Taylor, Schimmer, and Gdowski. UNO and DU battled for the next eight points to push the score to 11-6 in Omaha's favor. DU then used a 4-1 run to pull within two. After UNO surged to a 19-13 lead, DU cobbled together a 5-0 run to make it a one-point game at 19-18. Kills by Horkey and Taylor padded Omaha's lead to 21-18, but DU took five of the next six points for its first lead of the set at 23-22. The Mavericks fended off set point twice on multiple DU errors to even it at 24-24, then went ahead on a Schimmer kill, 25-24. Denver worked through the Mavericks' advances at 25-24 and 26-25 before Omaha put a stamp on the epic first set, 28-26.
The Pioneers built a steep 7-1 advantage to open the second game, forcing Omaha to call an early timeout. UNO took the next two points out of the break, but the next four points went back and forth to extend DU's lead to 9-5. Led by a pair of Baird kills, the Pioneers scored on three of the next four plays, making it 12-6. After Denver went up 14-8, Omaha outscored the Pioneers 7-1, ignited by kills from Taylor, Schmale, and Gdowski, to knot the score at 15-15. Omaha took its first lead of the set at 18-17 on a blistering kill by Horkey, then never looked back, taking seven of the final 13 points. An O'Shaughnessy/Taylor block and kills from Horkey, Taylor and Schimmer spurred the Mavericks, who won the second set 25-23 to lead the match 2-0.
Omaha and Denver locked at a 6-6 tie to start the third game before the Mavericks went ahead 8-6 on a Horkey kill and consecutive DU errors. A pair of UNO attacking miscues and Principato kill helped DU stage a 3-1 spurt, stalling the set at 9-9. Back-to-back kills from Schimmer and Schmale then put Omaha in front 11-9, but the Pioneers heated up with a 10-2 run to take the lead at 19-13. A 6-3 Maverick rally brought Omaha within three at 22-19, but DU took three of the final four points to win set three, 25-20.
In the fourth set, kills by Gdowski, Schimmer and Schmale, paired with a two DU attack errors, created an early 5-1 advantage for Omaha. DU answered with a 6-1 run to take a 7-6 lead. A trio of kills from Taylor and a Gdowski/Taylor block then gave the lead back to Omaha, 13-9. Principato hammered three kills over the next five points, and a kill from Nola Basey knotted the score at 14-14. Neither team could secure a substantial lead, with the eighth tie of the set bringing it to 18-18. Denver then closed on a 7-0 run, seizing game four 25-18 and sending the match to a decisive fifth set.
Omaha opened the fifth game with a dominant 5-0 lead on a combined three kills from Gdowski and O'Shaughnessy, a Bailey ace and a DU attack error. The Pioneers grabbed the next three points, but a Schmale/Gdowski block and a Schmale kill pushed Omaha ahead 7-3. A 6-2 DU run then gave the Pioneers their first lead of the set at 9-8 and forced UNO to call timeout. The Mavericks tied it immediately on a Schmale kill at 9-9, before DU took the lead for good. Denver closed with a 6-1 run, winning the set 15-10 and the match 3-2.
Following the finale, Schmale and Taylor were both named to the Summit League Championship All-Tournament Team. Taylor averaged 2.62 kills, 0.92 blocks and 0.54 digs per set with .397 hitting over the weekend's three matches, while Schmale came in at 2.46 kills, 1.00 blocks and 0.54 digs per set on .348 hitting.
Players Mentioned
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MB
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MB
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