A balanced offensive attack and a pile of blocks led the way for the South Dakota State Volleyball team to down Omaha 3-0 on Friday in both teams Summit League opener on Friday in Omaha, Neb.
The Jackrabbits, who won by the set scores of 25-16, 25-23 and 25-16, improve to 8-3 overall and 1-0 in Summit League play, while the Mavericks, playing in their first-ever league game, fall to 5-6 overall and to 0-1 in the league.
Bailey Philippot led the Jackrabbits, and tied for match-high honors, with 10 kills, adding a solo block and four block assists. Kelli Fiegen and Kelly Herrmann both added seven kills, with Fiegen adding a solo block and a block assist for the Jacks, who won the blocking battle 11-3. Herrmann also helped out on defense with 10 digs.
Margit Hansing posted 19 digs to go with her three kills and two service aces, while Shay Birath led the defense with 20 digs.
Kelley Wollak led the Mavericks with 10 kills. Kimberley Bailey led the UNO defense with 13 digs.
The Jackrabbits fell behind 12-9 in the opening set, but battled back to tie the set at 13-all, and then used a 9-0 run to go up 22-13 to secure the opening set win.
The second set featured 18 ties and seven lead changes. SDSU fell behind 23-22, but rattled off three in a row with kills from Philippot and Fiegen, along with an Omaha attach error, to win the set 25-23 and take a 2-0 lead in the match.
The third set started off close, but a series of short Jackrabbit runs after a 5-5 tie allowed the Jackrabbits to build a lead that they would not give up.
The Jackrabbits return to action on Sunday, when they host North Dakota State at Frost Arena at 5 p.m. The Bison play at Omaha on Saturday before making the trip to Brookings.
