MADISON, Wis. - January 21, 2026 - LOVB Madison suffered its first loss of the season Wednesday night, falling at home to LOVB Austin (25-22, 21-25, 23-25, 25-12, 15-9).
“I thought Austin won the serve and pass battle against us,” said head coach Matt Fuerbringer. “They played really clean and good volleyball. Despite that we were just hanging in there and finding ways. But in the end, we just ran out of gas a little bit.”
Austin took the first set led by opposite hitter Madisen Skinner who put up seven kills to lead her team to the set win at 25-22.
Madison shifted the momentum in their favor late in the second set to take it 25-21. They then carried over that momentum, getting off to a hot start in the third. Austin closed the gap and kept it close for the rest of the set. Opposite hitter Temi Thomas-Ailara came up huge with a kill to get to the set point and the team closed it out at 25-23.
Austin flipped the script, taking a quick lead and holding on for the entire fourth set to win 25-12. Skinner led Austin again with six kills and an ace. The visitors then closed out the match with a 15-9 win in the fifth set.
Skinner took home MVP honors, leading Austin with 24 kills, two aces and a total of 27 points. Outside hitter Logan Eggleston helped Austin’s efforts with 15 kills and four aces. Austin out-paced Madison 14-10 in blocks and 68-60 in kills. Madison was led by Thomas-Ailara who had career high 20 kills and four aces.
“Tomorrow, new day, reset,” said reigning LOVB Offensive Player of the Week Callie Schwarzenbach. “We can focus on what we need to take away from this match and focus on Salt Lake.”
Next up, LOVB Madison heads out for their first road matchup of 2026. They will face LOVB Salt Lake for the second time this season at SLCC Bruin Arena on Saturday, January 24 at 8 p.m. CT. Tickets are available for purchase or fans can stream the game on Victory+.
