LOUISVILLE, Kentucky – Since the season began in January, the six teams in League One Volleyball continually pointed to this weekend, the LOVB Finals, where everyone was invited and everyone had a chance to win.
And they were right, because at 4 p.m. Eastern on ESPN2 and ESPN+, a most unlikely scenario will unfold in the KFC Yum! Center when fifth-seeded LOVB Austin and six-seeded LOVB Omaha will battle for the inaugural-season title.
Watch on ESPN2 or stream live on ESPN+ or Disney+ at 4 p.m. Eastern
Austin, like Omaha 5-11 in the regular season, opened the LOVB Finals on Thursday by pulling off a reverse sweep against fourth-seeded Salt Lake in a match that set the tone for what would become two days of pro volleyball action for the ages.
In the nightcap, Omaha then upset third-seeded LOVB Madison in four sets.
And then came Friday when Austin stunned regular-season champion LOVB Atlanta – which finished eight games ahead of Austin at 13-3 – in another reverse sweep.
But the LOVB surprises were not finished.
In the second semifinal, Omaha pulled off a reverse sweep on second-seeded Houston, which went 11-5 in the regular season.
Consider:
- Five-setters were hardly uncommon in the regular season and midseason LOVB Classic – there were 19 – but 11 have happened in the last month. Two of them were between Austin and Omaha.
- In the 48 regular-season matches, there were only a total of four reverse sweeps.
- Austin has played in eight of those five-setters, which included going 1-5 in the regular season.
- Omaha is 3-3 in five-setters.
- There have been 243 sets played this season and 64 percent of them (157 of 243) have been decided by five points or less.
Austin won the first three matches against Omaha, but Omaha won the last time they played, and there have been some exciting outcomes.
Austin won 25-23, 25-20, 25-15 in Omaha on January 25. Madisen Skinner, who has been red-hot at the LOVB Finals, led with 10 kills and just one error in 20 attacks.
Austin won 23-25, 26-24, 25-19, 25-19 on February 16 in the LOVB Classic in Kansas City. Logan Eggleston led Austin with 16 kills and Molly McCage had 11 kills with one error in 18 swings and six blocks.
Austin won one of those five-setters in Omaha on March 21, coming away with a 24-26, 25-20, 25-15, 23-25, 18-16 victory in which Chiaka Ogbogu not only had 14 kills and hit .524, but the Olympic middle had an ace, two digs and a season-best nine blocks. That one was particularly painful for Omaha, which led 14-12 in the fifth.
Omaha, which had by then lost seven in a row overall, finally broke through on March 28 at Austin with a 25-23, 17-25, 25-16, 23-25, 15-12 victory. Kimberly Drewniok led with 21 kills and Madi Kubik-Banks had 17. Madi, however, is injured and will not play in the championship match. Setter Laura Dijkema had her best match with a season-best 62 assists, two kills in five errorless tries and 14 digs.
Skinner had 22 kills for Austin.
It all adds up to what should be an exciting title tilt as the LOVB season concludes a little over four months after LOVB Salt Lake defeated LOVB Atlanta on January 8.
