By Leia Baez
As 8,627 Nebraska volleyball fans filled the Bob Devaney Sports Center on Sunday, the UNO volleyball team did not prove their potential. They were defeated 30-25, 30-26, 25-30, 30-17 by the No. 11 University of Nebraska at Kearney.
An afternoon full of errors and inconsistency plagued the Mavs. Head Coach Rose Shires said she was disappointed in the team’s performance. The Mavs committed 38 hitting errors and 13 service errors throughout the match.
Senior middle hitter Michelle Wemhoff and freshman middle hitter Erin Gudmundson each notched 12 kills to improve the Lopers to 15-2 on the season and 5-1 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. Gudmundson added 12 blocks. Sophomore outside hitter Erin Arnold recorded 11 kills and led the team with 22 digs.
Senior middle hitter Jewelia Grennan was the only Maverick to reach double figure kills as she pounded 15 kills to lead both UNO and UNK. Grennan also added 14 digs. Junior setter Kylie Lebeda recorded 44 set assists and 16 digs for UNO. Sophomore libero Heather VanAckeren led both teams with 26 digs.
Although the Nebraska Volleyball Classic was a success with the record crowd for a Division II volleyball game. Shires said she hoped for a better presentation from the UNO volleyball team.
“This was an awesome place to play but you have to come to play,” Shires said. “Our team didn’t play sharp.”
The Mavs are now 11-7 and 1-2 in the North Central Conference. The Mavs also traveled to Minnesota State-Mankato on Thursday. See Tuesday’s Gateway for results of the NCC match-up.
Nebraska Volleyball Classic Results:
UNL defeated Creighton 30-11, 30-15, 3-14.
UNO defeated UNO 30-25, 30-26, 25-30, 30-17.
