OMAHA, Neb. – The 2025 volleyball season began on Friday evening with the host Omaha Mavericks earning a straight-set win over the Milwaukee Panthers at Baxter Arena.
 
The Mavericks committed just 12 errors and hit .351 offensively, led by Kali Jurgensmeier who paced the offense with 16 kills and a .464 hitting percentage. Ella Tiarks and Faith Venable each had 10 kills apiece for the Mavericks.
 
"Omaha is a very physical team," said head coach Susie Johnson after the match. "They made it very difficult for us to score at the net."
 
The Panthers finished the match with a .098 hitting percentage. Natalie Schmitz led the team with seven kills. Bella Lipski hit a team-best .364 with six kills, while Sam Vanda had six kills in her collegiate debut.
 
Josie Noble picked up five kills and Ella Schuetz chipped in with three, both making their first collegiate appearances. Noble also contributed four blocks up front for the Panthers.
 
Defensively, Kara Erdmann recorded a team-high 17 digs, while Josie Johnson tallied six digs and a team-leading 14 assists. Milica Tomic added 10 assists in the effort.
 
"Our back row was fighting to keep up in the match," Johnson added.
 
Omaha jumped out to an early seven-point lead in the first set at 14-7 and eventually closed out the set on a 4-1 run to take the opener 25-16.
 
A back-and-forth second set saw the Panthers tie the score on five separate occasions before taking a 14-13 lead on a kill by Schmitz. The Mavericks rallied and took a 20-18 advantage, but MKE leveled the set again at 20 before Omaha closed the set on a five-point run.
 
An 8-2 outburst by the Mavericks early in the third gave them a comfortable 13-6 lead, which they held en route to a 25-18 win to complete the sweep.
 
"We look forward to making adjustments and coming back tomorrow to compete," finished Johnson.
 
Milwaukee and Omaha will wrap up the weekend set on Saturday at 3:00 p.m. at Baxter Arena.