League champions, meet the top of the league.
Reigning LOVB title-holders LOVB Austin takes on currently top-ranked LOVB Madison to begin a busy week of five League One Volleyball matches. USA Network’s Game of the Week, Madison (2-0) hosts Austin (2-1) on Wednesday, January 21 at 7 p.m. Central/8 p.m. Eastern.
Austin’s already seen plenty of court time this season, winning two five-set matches in the first week and going to four at LOVB Atlanta last Wednesday. Madison, meanwhile, has played just twice, sweeping LOVB Salt Lake in their season opener and downing LOVB Nebraska in four.
Madison leads the league in points and blocks per set (18.4 and 3.57, respectively) and is second in aces and digs per frame. Founding Athlete Lauren Carlini has the best setting efficiency in LOVB – teammates are hitting .275 off her sets – while opposite Gong Xiangyu and middle blocker Callie Schwarzenbach are among the league leaders in points per set. Callie’s 1.29 blocks a frame are second-best, while Gong, a true six-rotation player, is highly rated in good touch percentage, aces and digs per set.
Austin, meanwhile, is led by the point-scoring duo of Madisen Skinner and Logan Eggleston, who rank third and fourth in total points. Madi’s 44 kills are also third-best in LOVB, middle blocker Asjia O’Neal is tied for third with nine blocks, and libero Kotoe Inoue tops all others with 50 digs. New to Austin, outside hitter Madi Banks is making her presence known defensively – she’s tied for the league lead with a 2.61 pass efficiency – and Canadian National Team setter Brie O’Reilly is orchestrating a strong offense with a .263 setting efficiency.
Thursday, January 22 | LOVB Houston at LOVB Salt Lake | 7 p.m. MT/8 p.m. CT | Stream on ESPN+
Saturday, January 24 | LOVB Madison at LOVB Salt Lake | 7 p.m. MT/8 p.m. CT | Stream on Victory+
Also this week, LOVB Salt Lake (1-1) opens their 2026 home slate by hosting LOVB Houston (0-2) on Thursday, January 22, and Madison on Saturday, January 24. Both matches are at Bruin Arena on the campus of Salt Lake Community College.
Salt Lake and Houston met on January 8 in Houston with Salt Lake sweeping the season opener on the back of a historic performance by middle blocker Serena Gray. The Temple City, California, native hit .824 (14 kills, 0 errors, 17 attempts) for the best hitting percentage in LOVB history (minimum 15 attacks). Outside hitter Alexa Gray led the match with 21 total points in her LOVB debut while reigning LOVB Opposite Hitter of the Year Jordan Thompson set the standard for Houston.
Saturday, January 24 | LOVB Houston at LOVB Austin in San Antonio | 6:30 p.m. CT | Stream on Victory+
The year’s first Texas Showdown is also scheduled for January 24, and it’s truly an all-Texas affair, taking place in San Antonio. Houston led the in-state series 3-1 in 2025, but it’s Austin who’s off to a stronger start in 2026. Houston went 0-2 to begin the season but largely played without the setting prowess of Micha Hancock, who was limited due to injury. As of Wednesday, January 21, Hancock is listed as probable on LOVB’s injury report.
A LOVB Austin home match, the teams are playing in San Antonio’s Frost Bank Center, home of the NBA’s San Antonio Spurs. Spurs Sports & Entertainment is part of Austin’s ownership group that was announced last summer.
Sunday, January 25 | LOVB Nebraska at LOVB Atlanta | 6 p.m. ET/5 p.m. CT | Watch on ESPN 2
On January 25, LOVB Nebraska and LOVB Atlanta once again concluded the week’s slate, facing off for the second consecutive Sunday. Last Sunday, Nebraska got its first-ever win over Atlanta by using three late-set runs to stun and sweep their guests. This time, Atlanta welcomes the midwest foe to the Big A and looks to even the season series at one match apiece. Nebraska opposite Kimberly Drewniok and Atlanta opposite Tessa Grubbs are tied for the league lead in points, each scoring 61 times this year. Kimberly’s has come mainly through kills (56) while Tessa’s second in LOVB in kills (49) and tied for third in blocks (9).
