PHOENIX—Omaha defeated NJIT, 3-1, in the opening match of the season-ending GCU Invitational for both team Friday in women's volleyball action hosted by Grand Canyon University.
 
Formally known as the University of Nebraska Omaha, but branded "Omaha", the Mavericks upped their season record to 12-18 with the 25-23, 22-25, 25-17, 25-19 win over the Highlanders (11-21).
 
Junior Kelley Wollak and freshman Mackenzie Horkey paced the Omaha attack with 10 kills each. Freshman setter Sydney O'Shaughnessy got thing started for the Mavericks with 37 assists. She also served 4 of her team's 11 aces.
 
The winners had three players register double-figure digs, with O'Shaughnessy and Horkey collecting 11 apiece and junior libero Kimberly Bailey posting 10 digs.
 
Omaha was credited with 6.0 total team blocks, as Megan Schmale led the with with a block solo and 3 block assists. O'Shaughnessy, Amy Taylor, and Horkey all had two block assists each.
 
NJIT's Danica Vukotic posted a match-best 13 kills and senior Valerie Carroll added 12 kills. Highlander setter Alyssa Armada's 40 assists were match-high. The Highlanders served 7 aces, topped by 3 for senior Fran Edmondson.
 
On defense, senior Camilla Tinari led the way with a match-best 16 digs, followed by 13 for Edmondson and 11 for Danica Vukotic.
 
The Highlanders, who managed just 2.0 total team blocks, got a block solo from Nina Vukotic and block assists from Carroll and Edmondson.
 
Despite the close 25-23 score of the opening set, there were no lead changes and two ties, however, one of them came at 23-23 after back-to-back Danica Vukotic kills and an Omaha ball-handling error. Taylor, who committed the error, made amends with a kill on the next point and then Michaela Schimmer posted a kill for set point.
 
Omaha jumped to a 7-1 lead at the opening of the second set, but NJIT came back for an 18-18 tie on Edmondson's kill. The surge continued and the Highlanders took the set, closing out on a 12-5 run.
 
Omaha took the third set, 25-17, going ahead to stay at 9-8.
 
The Highlanders scored the first point of the fourth set, but Omaha scored the next two and never trailed thereafter, going ahead to stay at 5-4, which was part of a 4-0 Maverick spurt.
 
NJIT was set to play Incarnate Word from San Antonio, TX, later on Friday in the first day's action of the two-day, five-team tournament.