MADISON, Wisconsin – In a league filled with Olympians and seasoned veterans, young Jess Mruzik has quickly established herself as an offensive force.
Jess, not a month removed from blasting Penn State to the NCAA title, had 17 more kills Saturday night as LOVB Houston defeated LOVB Salt Lake 25-9, 25-16, 25-27, 25-12.
The 6-1 outside hitter hit .381 and also tallied an ace, four blocks and 12 digs.
Video Recap | Match Stats | LOVB Salt Lake Roster | LOVB Houston Roster
Jess had 13 kills – plus five blocks and 13 digs – in a player-of-the-match effort during Houston’s season opener and 11 more the next day despite getting swept by LOVB Omaha.
"We had a good week of practice working with the hitters and trying to connect," LOVB Houston setter Micha Hancock said. "We had a good game plan going into the game.
"We had to step up a little bit when they came back in the third, but I thought we stayed on them. I'm impressed that we put service pressure on them and we finished strong. It was good to see it."
And while Jess peppered Salt Lake throughout the match, Houston had two big individual runs that were key.
Hancock opened the match with four aces in Houston's first five points as she continued to unleash her vicious left-handed top-spin serve. Micha finished with 36 assists, 12 digs, and although she didn't get any more aces, kept Salt Lake out of system whenever she went to the back line. What's more, her team hit .348 with 57 kills and just 10 errors in 135 swings.
The other run came in the middle of the lopsided fourth set. Grace Frohling, playing at opposite, finished with two kills and three blocks, getting two of those kills and two of those blocks after the 12-point mark as Houston ran away with the set.
Hancock's fellow Olympian, Jordan Thompson, had 12 kills, two blocks, 11 digs and eight assists. Madi Rishel had 12 kills, an ace, two blocks and 14 digs.
"We kept our foot on the gas. I don't think we necessarily played terrible in the third," Madi said. "It wasn't like a blowout. We were right there."
Indeed, Houston led 24-22 before Salt Lake rallied.
"We still had the momentum going into the fourth and the confidence we could win," Madi said.
Amber Igiede had nine kills with one error in 16 attacks to hit .500 and had two digs, and Christina Bauer had five kills in seven errorless attempts, an ace, a block and a dig. Libero Anna Pogany had 18 digs and four assists. Houston held a 12-5 blocks advantage.
Falling to 1-2 on the year, LOVB Salt Lake was left looking for answers. The team was coming off a tough five-set loss Friday to Madison. Against Houston, coach Tama Miyashiro tried all the combinations she could, but her team couldn't keep pace.
Skylar Fields had eight kills and seven digs, all in the first two sets. Heidy Casanova had seven kills, including three in a row early in the fourth set. She added nine digs. Sophie Fisher had six kills with one error in 15 attacks and had three blocks and a dig. The other middle, Tori Dixon, has six kills in 15 errorless attempts, a block and two digs.
Libero Manami Kojima had 12 digs and three assists and setter Jordyn Poulter had 33 assists and nine digs. Her team hit .124.
Veteran outside Dani Drews had five kills and seven digs.
"I think this weekend was a really good learning opportunity for the whole team and myself individually, too," Dani said. "I'm glad this challenge happened early in our season so we can reset and get better from it.
"We have to figure out how to make that turnaround quickly and play at our top level. I know we're a really good team and I believe in us and even though the result didn't go our way tonight we can do some big things together."
Her coach agreed.
"They were able to put pressure on us early and it took us a while to find better solutions," Tama said. "That's volleyball and we'll bounce back. We'll get in the gym. But the nature of the league is showing. Those back-to-back games; not an excuse, but a reality. We're going to need some time to figure it all out."
She said she told her team to hang in there.
"You have some really tough days and what you do to respond is huge," Tama continued. "We'll bounce back and we'll work hard."
The teams will face each other again on Wednesday, January 22, this time in Salt Lake City for LOVB Salt Lake’s First Serve. That match begins at 7 p.m. Mountain at Bruin Arena.
