MADISON, Wisconsin – The extra work and perseverance finally paid off for LOVB Madison.
Six weeks after its last victory, LOVB Madison defeated LOVB Omaha 18-25, 25-22, 25-16, 25-21 Friday night.
Opposite Annie Drews-Schumacher had 23 kills – seven in the second set and seven in the fourth – as Madison snapped an eight-match losing streak, which included two losses in the LOVB Classic.
Video Recap | Match Stats | LOVB Omaha Roster | LOVB Madison Roster
Madison improved to 2-7 in the regular season as it hit .259 and had five aces with 10 serving errors.
"This feels great. We worked really hard this week and we talked a lot about executing," said LOVB coach Matt Fuerbringer, who credited his team for rallying after the first-set loss.
"I was really proud of the girls. They kept believing in that moment and that was a big test. That's a big moment. Us winning in three easy would have been nice, but us losing that first set after all we've been through, to come back and win in three, I think that says a lot more about the progress we've made."
Omaha dropped to 4-4 in the regular season, hitting .230 with one ace and five errors.
"It's been a difficult season for a lot of reasons but we've tried to come in every day and get one or two percent better," Annie said, noting that even though Madison is in last place halfway through the League One Volleyball season, all six teams can win the LOVB Finals in April.
"It's an interesting format," she said. "Everyone has a chance at the Finals and we want to play our best in March and April."
She was at her best on the last day of February, hitting .340 with just five errors in 53 attacks to go with three aces, a block and six digs.
Outside Claire Chaussee, who came off the bench in the first and second sets and then stayed in, had 13 kills and eight digs. She was a perfect example of what Annie referenced when she said, "We've done a nice of everyone letting go of the role they thought they have and what they want to have and just have everyone ready to help us out coming off the bench. It's hard not having the role you want, so I'm so proud that we have everyone ready to help us every day."
Middle Ana Beatriz Correa had seven kills, an ace, three blocks, four digs and an assist. Outside Jennifer Janiska had seven kills with one error in 29 swings, an ace, three blocks, nine digs and three assists. Middle Anna Hall had six kills in 12 errorless attacks, four blocks and seven digs.
Setter Lauren Carlini, on her 30th birthday, had 50 assists, two blocks and 12 digs. Libero Milica Medved had 12 digs and two assists.
Jordan Larson led Omaha with 16 kills, 12 digs and an assist. Fellow outside Madi Kubik-Banks had 14 kills – five each in the first two sets – hit .333 and had an ace, four blocks, four digs and four assists.
Kimberly Drewniok had 12 kills and 12 digs, and Lauren Stivrins had 10 kills while hitting .421 and had a block, three digs and an assist.
Setter Laura Dijkema had a kill, 37 assists, two blocks and 12 digs. Libero Justine Wong-Orantes had 14 digs and three assists.
Omaha has lost four in a row, two in the LOVB Classic and twice since.
"The season is still long and we have much to win and it's our job to stay positive and work through this," Laura said.
"We're fighting through some things right now and trying to focus on the controllables," Omaha coach Suzie Fritz said. "We are so capable and they're so wonderful. Frankly I have to coach them better and find a way to prepare them better. We're trying different things, trying to find solutions as quickly as we can, and they're bought into what we're trying to do. We just have to do it better."
League One Volleyball is back at the Alliant Energy Center on Saturday for a doubleheader when league-leading LOVB Atlanta plays Omaha at 4:30 p.m. Central, followed by LOVB Austin vs. Madison. Both matches can also be seen on LOVB Live, the Women’s Sports Network via Samsung TV Plus and YouTube.
