DES MOINES, Iowa – The Nebraska Omaha Mavericks volleyball team won a three-set match over the Drake Bulldogs on Wednesday night at the Knapp Center.

Nebraska Omaha (5-10) captured the non-conference contest 25-23, 25-20 and 26-24 while connecting on 48 kills and nine service aces. Drake was led by junior Amanda Platte's (Mount Vernon, Iowa) 12 kills while freshman Tegan LaBerge (Maple Grove, Minn.) smashed a career-high eight.

“We don't come out strong right away,” said Drake head coach Darrin McBroom. “We tend to size up the opponent instead of being aggressive and fully engaged to start the match. We dug ourselves into early holes and couldn't get out of them. Our issue tonight was our passing and not being able to get our hitters enough opportunities to swing.”

The Mavericks took a 14-10 lead in set one, which forced the Bulldogs to call their first timeout. UNO scored three-straight points after the timeout before Platte ended the scoring run with a kill. The point started a Bulldogs' scoring run that cut the deficit to 17-16. Following the break the Mavericks scored four of the next five points to extend their lead to 21-17 as the Bulldogs called their final timeout. Drake battled back as a block assist by Rebecca Brown (Bentonville, Ark.) and Effken cut UNO's lead to 24-23, but the Mavericks held on for the win 25-23. LaBerge had a team-high five kills in the frame.

UNO jumped out an early lead of 5-0 in set two, which forced Drake to burn its first timeout. UNO added to its lead to go up 20-10, but Drake answered with five straight points. However, the Bulldogs could not complete the rally as UNO went on to win 25-20.

Set three was back and forth early before Drake took an 11-7 advantage with a 4-0 scoring run, which caused UNO to call a timeout. The Bulldogs continued to build their lead going ahead 20-16 and forced the Mavericks to use their last timeout. Consecutive kills by Platte put Drake up 24-21, but the Mavericks rallied with a 5-0 scoring run to close out the match, 26-24.

“We met as a team tonight and we want to treat this as watershed moment,” said McBroom. “We need to get better at some little things. Even though it wasn't the outcome we wanted, we got better especially in that third set. We have to continue to improve in those areas.”

Brown guided the Drake offense finishing with a match-high 38 assists, while Sarah Madden (Van Meter, Iowa) led the Bulldogs defense with a match-best 17 digs. Brown added eight digs.

Drake returns to conference play this weekend when it hosts Missouri State and Wichita State on Friday and Saturday night, respectively. First serve is set for 7 p.m. both nights.