WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah – Just call them LOVB Hot-Lanta.
LOVB Atlanta did it again, this time sweeping LOVB Madison on Saturday night for its sixth win in a row and establishing itself as the team to beat in next weekend's LOVB Classic.
In the nightcap in the Maverick Center, LOVB Omaha took a 2-0 lead but then had to rally in the fifth set to come away with a victory over LOVB Salt Lake.
Atlanta, coming off a four-set win over host Salt Lake on Friday, assured itself as the No. 1 seed in the mid-season LOVB Classic that starts Friday in Kansas City. Omaha will be the second seed and also gets a first-round bye.
Streaking Atlanta wins again
LOVB Atlanta (6-1) won back-to-back matches for the second straight weekend with its 25-20, 25-15, 25-21 sweep of LOVB Madison (1-6).
"Another good win," Atlanta coach Paulo Coco said.
Match Stats | LOVB Madison Roster | LOVB Atlanta Roster
Atlanta, which hit .376, led 21-20 in the first set when it finished with a flourish on kills from four different players.
In the second set, Madison led 11-9 when Atlanta went on a 9-0 run.
"We gave up runs that you just can't do at a high level," Madison coach Matt Feurbringer said.
In the third, Tessa Grubbs had eight of her match-high 13 kills with no errors in 12 attacks.
Hitting .000 after two sets, she finished at .308 and had a block and two digs.
Gia Day, named player of the match, had nine kills, hit .333 and had two of her team's six aces and 11 digs.
Kayla Haneline had seven kills in as many swings, an ace and a block, and the other middle, Tia Jimerson, had seven kills, hit .400, and added a block and four digs. And Kelsey Cook had six kills, hit .385, and had three aces, nine digs and two assists.
"This was good preparation for next weekend," Kelsey said. "We're going to have to play back to back again. While it's not the best feeling on our bodies, I think mentally we have to prepare for that, but I think last weekend and this weekend helped prepare us."
Setter Rachel Fairbanks had 31 assists and three digs. Madi Bugg added 10 assists.
LOVB Madison, which hit .229, will be the No. 6 seed in Kansas City after losing its fifth in a row.
Lauren Carlini had 24 assists, a kill and three digs.
"We're looking forward to a better week next week," Carlini said.
Temi Thomas-Ailara led with eight kills and had a block and six digs. Sarah Franklin had seven kills, one of her team's two aces, a block and four digs. Taylor Sandbothe had five kills in nine errorless attacks and three digs.
"The girls are working hard and practicing hard," Feurbringer said. "We've got to figure out a way to translate that into games. We've got a lot of work to do and we're gonna get it done."
Omaha holds on for a five-set victory
Jaali Winters had 20 kills and was named player of the match as LOVB Omaha defeated LOVB Salt Lake 25-17, 25-21, 18-25, 19-25, 15-12. It left Omaha 4-2 and dropped Salt Lake to 3-5.
Jaali, who hit .298, had 10 digs and an assist. Fellow outside Jordan Larson added 10 kills, three blocks and 14 digs.
Match Stats | LOVB Omaha Roster | LOVB Salt Lake Roster
Omaha got strong production from their middle blockers as Emily Thater had six kills in 14 errorless swings, an ace, four blocks, three digs and an assist and Candelaria Herrera saw five kills, an ace, five blocks and five digs.
The visitors also got key points from a couple of players who made an impact for the first time. Audriana Fitzmorris had five kills and Madi Kubik-Banks had one kill that gave her team a 13-11 lead in the fifth.
In the fifth, Salt Lake went up by three early and led 7-4 before the set tightened. Omaha took its first lead at 11-10 on a Salt Lake hitting error and went up 12-11 when Herrera blocked Skylar Fields. Fields was fantastic for Salt Lake, finishing with 20 kills, an ace, three blocks and seven digs.
Herrera had another block on Fields that made it 14-11. She next ended the match with a tip for a kill.
“We played so crazy spontaneous,” said Omaha head coach Suzie Fritz, “we were flying around like crazy trying to touch it. It felt like we were outworking and willing points. I don’t know how clean it was or how pretty it was, but sometimes it’s okay to win that way, too.”
Omaha, which hit .206, saw setters Laura Dijkema (40) and Gabby Blossom (17) combine for 57 assists. Libero Justine Wong-Orantes had 17 digs and defensive specialist Lexi Rodriguez had two digs and a key ace in the fifth.
Haleigh Washington had 10 kills for Salt Lake with one error in 20 attacks to hit .450, and added two aces, five blocks, three digs and an assist. Roni Jones Perry had nine kills, an ace, three blocks, 12 digs and two assists. Dani Drews added eight kills but hit .000 and had two blocks and 10 digs.
Salt Lake hit .196 as a team. Setter Jordyn Poulter had 38 assists, an ace, a block and seven digs and Tamaki Matsui added 10 assists and five digs.
“Bouncing back from yesterday was a huge turnaround,” Tama Miyashiro, LOVB Salt Lake head coach, said. “Although we left a couple plays on the table, it was a blast to put it out there and see what we can do. We had longer stretches of run where we showed that. Of course it stings when you’re that close, but I’m proud of my crew for that.”
LOVB Classic Standings are Set
No. 1: LOVB Atlanta
No. 2: LOVB Omaha
No. 3: LOVB Houston
No. 4: LOVB Salt Lake
No. 5: LOVB Austin
No. 6: LOVB Madison
Held February 14-16, 2025, the LOVB Classic is an in-season tournament taking place in Kansas City, Missouri’s Municipal Arena. It runs in conjunction with the Triple Crown NIT, the nation’s premier junior volleyball tournament.
Atlanta and Omaha are the top two seeds in next week’s LOVB Classic and have earned byes to the tournament’s semifinal round. Salt Lake will meet LOVB Houston in the first quarterfinal match, and LOVB Houston and Madison will meet in the second.
The quarterfinal contest between Salt Lake and Austin will begin at 4:30 p.m. Central on Friday, February 14.
