LOVB Nebraska made its home opener count Sunday, outlasting LOVB Houston in an exciting five-set battle 22-25, 37-35, 25-19, 21-25, 15-10.
“When it comes to games like this, margins are really thin,” said Houston head coach Sanja Tomašević. “Every play matters. I can think right now of a couple points that we have made in a couple of these sets that, if we could fix that, it’s a different outcome. But from the way we played on Thursday to how we played tonight, I thought today was a lot better match.”
Sunday’s match delivered from the start, featuring long rallies and strong defensive plays on both sides. Houston struck first, taking a 25–22 set one win.
Set 2 turned into a marathon as Nebraska outlasted Houston 37–35 in the longest set in LOVB Pro history. Houston held nine set points during the frame but was unable to capitalize, and Nebraska won the elongated set to even the match.
Nebraska carried that momentum into Set 3, pulling away for a 25–19 win. Nebraska’s balanced offense made it difficult for Houston to find its rhythm. Houston responded in Set 4 with improved out-of-system play and sharper decision making, winning 25-21 and forcing a decisive fifth set. But Nebraska closed the door in the fifth, finishing the match 15–10.
Opposite hitter Jordan Thompson led the way with 23 points, including 22 kills, while adding a block and eight digs. Outside hitter Jess Murzik added 16 kills with three blocks, two aces and nine digs.
Despite the loss, Houston tied the league record for most points in a single match with 94.
Although proud of the team’s improvement from last week’s match against LOVB Salt Lake, Tomašević wants to work on minimizing hitting errors. “What hurt us most was hitting in-system. We couldn’t terminate as much. We made six hitting errors off good passes, and that can’t happen.”
LOVB Houston now turns its attention to LOVB Salt Lake in a rematch of January 8’s season opener. The two teams play again on January 22 at 8 p.m. CT in Salt Lake City, Utah. That match will be broadcast on ESPN+.
