ATLANTA, Georgia — April 4, 2026 — LOVB Houston clinched the regular season title with a five-set battle, (25-16, 15-25, 34-36, 25-21, 15-9), against LOVB Atlanta Saturday at McCamish Pavilion.
The title also gives LOVB Houston (13-7) the No. 1 overall seed in LOVB’s four-team postseason tournament, which begins with the semifinal round next week in Louisville, Kentucky.
“I’m really proud of this team,” said head coach Sanja Tomašević. “Tonight was special for us because we got the regular season champion title. They fought hard. We had a lot of adversity early on in the season with injuries, so a lot of credit to them and what they have done as a team.”
Houston came out in control of the opening set Saturday, dictating the pace with efficient offense and winning the set 25-16. The momentum flipped just as quickly in the second as Atlanta evened the match with a 25-15 set win.
The third set became a marathon thriller, the second-longest set in league history. Both teams traded blows deep into extra points, combining for 70 total points. Opposite Jordan Thompson poured in an impressive 19 points in the set alone, but Atlanta narrowly edged the set 36-34, handing Houston a 2-1 deficit.
Houston answered with a surge from the left side and middle in the fourth, with Jess Mruzik and Amber Igiede each adding four points to spark the offense. Limiting Atlanta’s runs, Houston closed the set 25-21 to force a decisive fifth. In that final frame, Houston delivered its most complete stretch of the match. The team controlled the tempo early and never relinquished it, closing out the match 15-9.
“We have to give a lot of credit to Atlanta, they played really good volleyball. They put a lot of pressure on us and being against that is tough,” Thompson said. “It’s good for us to feel that adversity because now we’re going to playoffs and we want to be battle tested going forward, so I think this was the perfect match to really lead us into this playoff run.”
Thompson again rewrote the LOVB history books against Atlanta, tallying 32 points and 31 kills to tie the records she set March 11. The outburst was good for her 10th Player of the Match this season, further cementing her status as the top contender for league MVP.
Middle blocker Amber Igiede added 14 points (11 kills, three blocks), while Raphaela Folie delivered one of her most efficient outings of the season, balancing eight kills on a .571 attack percentage with three aces and two blocks. Madi Rishel and Jess Mruzik contributed 10 and nine points, respectively, while setter Kaisa Alanko orchestrated the offense with 54 assists, adding five points and 15 digs.
Houston’s first match of the LOVB Playoffs is Friday, April 11 at 5:30 p.m. Central against fourth-seeded LOVB Salt Lake The second match of the two-match series will take place Sunday, April 13 at 1 p.m. Central. Should the series be tied 1-1, a golden set to 15 points will immediately follow the second match.
