MADISON, Wisconsin – JT snapped out of her funk.
Olympic opposite Jordan Thompson, who hit negative in her last match, had 17 kills, hit .317, and added an ace, five digs, a block and an assist Wednesday night as LOVB Houston swept at LOVB Madison 25-19, 25-17, 25-21.
While Houston improved to 3-2, Madison dropped to 1-5.
Video Recap | Match stats | LOVB Houston Roster | LOVB Madison Roster
Outside Madi Rishel added 10 kills for Houston to go with 20 digs and an assist and middle blocker Amber Igiede had seven kills, hit .333, and had four blocks and three digs. Jess Mruzik cooled off offensively – the rookie outside hitter had just two kills and hit .000, but had two aces, a block and 13 digs.
Olympic setter Micha Hancock, who had 33 assists and is used to setting Jordan on the U.S. National Team, had a kill and 13 digs. Her team hit .231 in the first LOVB match in Madison's Alliant Energy Center.
Jordan, named player of the match, admitted she's used to playing in Europe all fall. This year, after the Paris Olympics, she was off until LOVB got underway.
"It's been a little bit bumpy starting the season," she admitted.
"It's weird to have three months off, and I've been trying to find my rhythm again. I'm just really lucky to have a great connection with Micha and we have a great feedback loop. So after a tough match against Salt Lake, we got back in the gym and worked on it."
It obviously paid off as Houston, playing Madison for the first time, was in command throughout.
Houston led 10-9 in the first set before going on a 7-2 run from which Madison never recovered. Madi had six of her kills in the first set.
In the second set, Houston was in control again, but Madison took a 16-15 lead. Coach Massimo Barbolini subbed in Italian outside Sara Loda for Franklin and it immediately paid off. Sara had a block to tie it and had two kills – including the one to end the set – with no errors in four attacks in the 9-1 run that followed the timeout.
"I am very happy tonight because it's the first match we've won 3-0," Massimo said. "It wasn't easy to play in Madison against this team, but I want to congratulate my team because they never stopped concentrating with no mistakes at important moments."
Houston took the lead for good in the third set when Jordan’s kill made it 6-5. The lead was 20-14 when Madison made a mini-run aided by four Houston service errors. After Madison turned aside a trio of match points, Houston found the winner when Hancock connected with Igiede for an explosive quick.
Madison has now lost four in a row, twice to Omaha and then in five last Saturday to Atlanta.
"We are close, like 15-15, 16-16, and then in crunch time we lose the moment," said Madison's Jennifer Janiska, who played libero and had nine digs. "We stop fighting a little bit. In the end it's working on little things."
Madison, dealing with injuries and illness, hit .121 against Houston.
Sarah Franklin led with 10 kills, but had seven errors to go with a team-high 15 digs. Ana Beatriz Correa had six kills, three blocks and three digs and Claire Chaussee had six kills with one error in 36 swings to go with seven digs.
Setter Lauren Carlini had 25 assists, a block and seven digs.
"All year we've been fighting really hard and we've been battling some stuff. Right now, that game is really disappointing for us," Madison coach Matt Fuerbringer said. "We could never get a rhythm offensively. We didn't side out well enough and didn't take advantage of the chances we had.
"We've got to look inside ourselves right now and get tougher and be better. And we will be."
The next League One Volleyball match is Friday when LOVB Salt Lake (2-2) goes to LOVB Atlanta (2-1) in a rematch of the league’s First Serve. The 7:30 p.m. Eastern first serve in Gateway Center Arena can be seen on ESPN+.
Houston is off until Wednesday, February 5, when it plays at LOVB Austin.
"We have a couple of days off to get healthy and to get right," Matt said. "We have to make sure our team is together and we get our chemistry right."
Madison is off until Saturday, February 8, when it plays Atlanta in Salt Lake.
