Austin, Texas- February 4, 2026 – Wednesday night brought another heartbreaking five-set loss for LOVB Atlanta as they fell to LOVB Austin in five sets, 25-22, 21-25, 25-14, 21-25, 15-13. With the loss, Atlanta drops to 1–5 on the season despite a tightly contested battle that swung back and forth from start to finish.
“It was a tough match, but our team fought hard. I'm proud of them. It was so close with two points, but Austin took the victory.” Atlanta head coach Paulo Coco said.
Atlanta's offense found a strong rhythm throughout the night, led by another 20-point performance from opposite Tessa Grubbs. She paired 18 kills with two aces and a block for 21 total points, her fourth time scoring 20+ this season.
Middle blocker Onye Ofoegbu gave a season-best performance, finishing with 14 points on 11 kills, two blocks and an ace. Outside hitter McKenzie Adams added 15 points, while Magdalena Jehlárová, added 10, pairing six kills with four blocks.
“We need to work on our discipline, not satisfied with the outcome, but satisfied with how we showed up and fought.” McKenzie Adams said.
Setter Rachel Fairbanks dished out 52 assists, and Adams led the defensive with 11 digs, followed closely by libero Piyanut Pannoy at 10.
Austin opposite Madisen Skinner, LOVB’s scoring leader, led the match with 23 total points, including 21 kills. Middle blocker Asjia O’Neal landed 17 kills on a .667 attack percentage for Player of the Match honors, and outside hitter Logan Eggleston added 16 total points.
Atlanta now heads to Madison for the next stop of a five-match road stretch. If they can carry the momentum from tonight and turn that energy into consistent execution, there’s still plenty of time for Atlanta to flip the script with eight weeks left in the season.
The next home match is Sunday, February 22 at Gateway Center Arena. Get tickets now at lovbatl.com.
