The first four matches of League One Volleyball's inaugural pro season had a little bit of everything. There were sweeps, a four-setter, and even a reverse sweep to get things going. And there were great performances and surprise stars.
What will the second week bring?
Next up is LOVB Atlanta at LOVB Austin at 7 p.m. Central Wednesday at the H-E-B Center at Cedar Park. It can be seen on LOVB Live on lovb.com. Create a LOVB Insider account to stream for free.
The action moves Friday to the Wisconsin Field House, home arena for the Wisconsin Badgers.
Friday's match between LOVB Salt Lake at LOVB Madison at 8 p.m. Central and can be seen on ESPNU, LOVB's first on a linear network.
Then there are two matches Saturday at the Wisconsin Field House when LOVB Houston plays LOVB Salt Lake at 6 p.m. Central on ESPN+, followed by LOVB Omaha vs. LOVB Madison again on ESPNU.
Here's a look at how all six teams did in the first week:
LOVB Atlanta
The host team of the league's inaugural match lost in four to visiting LOVB Salt Lake before a sold-out crowd in the Gateway Center Arena. Danielle Cuttino led Atlanta with 13 kills and Kelsey Cook had 11. Cuttino, Madi Bugg, Kayla Haneline and Gia Day had an ace apiece. Kayla led with four blocks and Tia Jimerson had three. Madi led with 16 digs and Kelsey had 13.
LOVB Austin
Austin was the victim of a reverse sweep in the opener at Houston but bounced back with a sweep of Madison. Madi Skinner led in the loss with 22 kills and four blocks, Alessia Gennari had 13, and Anna Haak 10. Alessia also had three of the team's five aces and four blocks. Olympic middle Chiaka Ogbogu had a match-high nine blocks to go with six kills.
Austin responded with a sweep the next day of Madison and 35-year-old Juliann Faucett, who had not played pro in four years, was the player of the match with 13 kills - hitting .600 - a team-high 11 digs and a block. As she told us that night, "I envisioned something like this in coming back because you want the hero moment, but to really feel it and do it and have my first professional start after having three children is pretty amazing."
Anna added nine kills and Logan Eggleston seven. Chiaka had five more blocks.
LOVB Houston
Houston was understandably ecstatic after opening its season with a 25-27, 24-26, 25-22, 27-25 16-14 comeback victory over Austin. Jess Mruzik, fresh off leading Penn State to the NCAA title, was the player of the match after getting 13 kills, five blocks, an ace and 13 digs. Setter Micha Hancock had four aces and 12 digs. Jordan Thompson led with 16 kills. Madi Rishel had 11 kills and 15 digs. Amber Igiede had nine kills with one error in 16 attacks to hit .500 and added four blocks. Anna Pogany had 15 digs.
LOVB Madison
Annie Schumacher, the U.S. Olympic opposite, was the bright spot in the defeat to Austin. She had 16 of Madison's 38 kills. Anna Hall had three blocks and Simin Wang led with 13 digs.
"I think it showed that it was our first match," Madison coach Matt Feurbringer said. "We had a lot of nerves, but I'm excited. We learned a lot about what we need to do and we're ready to build and grow the team."
LOVB Omaha
LOVB Omaha was relentless in defense and at the net in their lone match against Houston last week, outblocking their hosts 16-5 and posting a 78.2% digs percentage. Candelaria led the way at the net with six blocks while five others tallied at least one. Jordan Larson was a perfect 10-for-10 on her dig attempts, and Justine Wong-Orantes dug up nine Houston attacks. Offensively, Jaali Winters led the team with 15 points, 13 of them kills.
LOVB Salt Lake
The team withstood some strong Atlanta rallies and went on some impressive runs in its 25-22, 27-25, 21-25, 25-21 victory. Roni Jones-Perry, the player of the match, led with 23 kills while hitting .314, a block and eight digs. Heidy Casanova added 22 kills, hitting .354 and she had an ace. Serena Gray had a great day in the middle of the court with 10 kills while hitting .384 to go with three blocks.
