"The hope which springs eternal" is the prevailing attitude at this week’s LOVB Finals, the tournament that’ll crown the inaugural League One Volleyball champion.
Case in point: "We're at the point of the season that nothing matters but the Finals," said Suzie Fritz, coach of LOVB Omaha. "I still believe we can do big."
And from her LOVB Madison counterpart:
"What a great opportunity to go win three games," coach Matt Fuerbringer said. "It's what we all signed up for.”
LOVB Finals Schedule and Broadcast Information
- The quarterfinals are Thursday, April 10, when fifth-seeded LOVB Austin (5-11) plays fourth-seeded LOVB Salt Lake (7-9) at 4:30 p.m. Eastern. Then at 7 Eastern, sixth-seeded Omaha (5-11) plays No. 3 LOVB Madison (8-8). Both matches can be seen on ESPN+.
- The winners advance to Friday's semifinals on ESPN2 and ESPN+ where top-seeded LOVB Atlanta (13-3) and No. 2 LOVB Houston (10-6) await.
- On Sunday, the semifinal winners play for the inaugural LOVB title at 4 p.m. Eastern, The match will be broadcast on ESPN2 and streamed on ESPN+ and Disney+ in the U.S, Latin America, the Caribbean and Australia/New Zealand.
All matches will be at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Kentucky.
"This league has many more five-set matches than any league in the world," Atlanta coach Paulo Coco said. "The standings don't mean what can really happen in the Finals. Anyone can win. It's a different tournament."
Just five times during the regular season did a team win matches on back-to-back days, and only two teams (Atlanta and Madison) put together regular season win streaks of more than three matches.
Omaha is the perfect example of the optimism a team can get with a clean slate in the winner-take-all tournament. It has lost 11 of the last 12 matches. And yet ...
"It's not going to take much for us to turn the corner," coach Susie said. "We feel like we've been right there for way too long. Once we find that breakthrough moment, I think we can go like crazy. I don't want to run out of time."
The time is now and hope springs eternal in the LOVB Finals.
LOVB Austin vs. LOVB Salt Lake
In a quirk of the schedule, the regular-season finale saw Salt Lake rally to defeat Austin just last Saturday. Salt Lake, down 2-1, won the fourth set and came back from a 12-8 deficit in the fifth to win 18-25, 25-16, 23-25, 25-17, 15-13.
Nothing has come easy in the season series. Salt Lake won in five when they met on February 1, Austin won in four on February 14 in the LOVB Classic, and then Austin won in four again on February 20.
"It shows how even the talent is spread in this league. Atlanta has had a great run this season, but there's not one team that has a star that's whupping people," Salt Lake Olympic middle blocker Haleigh Washington said.
Salt Lake leads LOVB in kills, which includes 204 by Roni Jones-Perry, who ranks third in the league overall and tops among outside hitters. Japanese Olympic libero Manami Kojima has been fantastic and leads LOVB with 225 digs.
"There seems to be a lot of energy around (the Finals)," Salt Lake coach Tama Miyashiro said. "A pretty interesting format that's cool where everyone gets to go. And then we battle it out."
Austin is going through a tough stretch, having lost four in a row – the last three in five sets. It last won on March 21 vs. Omaha in five.
"We're almost there in so many matches," Austin middle blocker Molly McCage said. "We do so many great things but not at the right time. But the cool thing about the playoffs is we all make it. If we do those great things at the right time, I think we're going to do really good."
Austin leads LOVB in blocks with 216, well ahead of Atlanta (179). Olympian Chiaka Ogbogu tops the list with 53 and Molly is fourth with 39. Madisen Skinner is fourth in kills with 201.
LOVB Omaha vs. LOVB Madison
Madison saw its seven-match win streak snapped last Saturday when it was swept by Houston. Still, Madison made a remarkable turnaround as despite losing eight in a row at one point, it was in contention for the No. 2 spot till the very last match of the regular season.
Omaha defeated Madison in four the first two times they played on January 18 and January 24. Madison returned the favor with four-set victories on February 28 and March 13.
When healthy, Annie Drews Schumacher has been nearly unstoppable. The veteran Olympic opposite is second in LOVB in kills with 210 and was the driving offensive force during Madison's winning streak. She's also tied for fifth with 13 aces. Rookie outside Sarah Franklin is second among outside hitters with 175 kills. Middle Taylor Sandbothe is third in the league with 15 aces and setter Lauren Carlini leads LOVB in assists and is tops at her position in digs.
"We're so excited to go to Louisville. Our team is tested in every part of the game and ready to go win and compete for a championship," coach Matt said.
Omaha's offensive leader is opposite Kimberly Drewniok, fifth in kills with 187. Middle Emily Thater is sixth overall in blocks with 34 and tied for second among middles with 105 kills. Four-time Olympic medalist Jordan Larson is fourth in aces with 14.
"We've had so many ebbs and flows with lineups. [Due to] injuries, we've been forced into trying some things and doing some things different," coach Suzie said. "I'm feeling cautiously optimistic when I think about what's in front of us. It's a pretty significant challenge, but we're not afraid of that."
Olympic libero Justin Wong-Orantes is fourth in LOVB in digs with 200, and Omaha has gotten a boost from the arrival of former Stanford standout Sami Francis, a 6-6 middle who is actually still in college but has 45 kills and 14 blocks in her five matches.
"We have nothing to lose at this point. We have extremely talented, physical, athletic people on our side of the net," Emily said. "And we have equally on the other side every single night. That's why it's such an honor to play in this league, because there just fantastic players going at it every night and going for it.
"There's a winner, there's a loser, that's sport and that's life also, but we're really hoping to go into the playoffs with an attitude of screw everything that's happened, let's forget it and let's go win."
LOVB Atlanta, LOVB Houston enjoy byes
Both of LOVB’s top-ranked teams were glad to get the extra day off, and both have momentum coming into the championship tournament.
Atlanta has won four matches in a row, including their first win over Houston in four attempts on March 27.
"I think we've been catching some rhythm down the stretch. I'm excited to see what we can do next week," Olympic veteran outside Kelsey Cook said after Atlanta ended its regular season last Thursday with a sweep of Omaha.
Do-all outside hitter Kelsey Cook ranks among LOVB’s top six in several categories, including digs (218) and aces (19). Middle blockers Tia Jimerson (second, 52) and Magdalena Jehlárová (fifth, 37) are among the league leaders in blocks, and opposite Danielle Cuttino is fifth in points with 211.
Houston ended the regular season with the sweep of Madison, procuring the No. 2 seed and quarterfinal bye that comes with.
Not that the team needs the rest to succeed. Houston was the No. 3 seed in the similarly formatted midseason LOVB Classic and won three matches in three days to claim the title, including a four-set victory over Atlanta.
"We've worked hard all season and want to prove ourselves now when it matters and go into the Finals confident and ready to run through it," Houston Olympic setter Micha Hancock said.
Olympic opposite Jordan Thompson leads the league in kills (224), Micha is the league leader in aces (21), and Amber Igiede is the league’s most dangerous attacking middle blocker.
Broadcast Information
The LOVB Finals semifinals and championship matches will be broadcast nationally on ESPN2, and all five matches will be streamed on ESPN+. Sunday’s finale will also be available Disney+ for the platform’s subscribers in the U.S, Latin America, the Caribbean and Australia/New Zealand.
Anne Marie Anderson will provide play-by-play for all five LOVB Finals matches, and Kevin Wong will serve as analyst. Michella Chester will serve as sideline reporter. Well renowned in the volleyball community, Anne Marie has called more than 1,500 women’s and men’s collegiate and professional matches, including LOVB throughout this inaugural season. Kevin has provided analysis at four Olympic Games, most recently last summer in Paris, and Michella is a reporter and host for NCAA.com, NCAA Digital and March Madness at Turner Sports.
New for the tournament, Kevin Barnett and Courtney Thompson will co-host a show between matches recapping the first contest of the day and previewing the second. The pair will also recap the final match of the day should broadcast time allow. Kevin has called games for LOVB, ESPN, NBC, Fox and the PAC 12 in addition to coverage at five Olympic Games. Like Kevin, Courtney is also a two-time Olympian. She led the University of Washington to a national championship in 2005 and has provided analysis for select LOVB matches in addition to her work as LOVB’s Head of Pro Coach and Athlete Success.
