LOVB Houston Bests Austin in Marathon Matchup

League One Volleyball (LOVB) Houston’s never say die attitude, in a marathon first, set the tone for the entire match, as they defeated LOVB Austin in four sets. 

Houston overcame five set points in the opening frame, after twice being down by four points, to take the set 33-31.  The 40 minutes set was the longest in the LOVB inaugural season. 

“It was a really difficult set and to get that one under our belt helps to build confidence, not only in the game, but also throughout the season,” reflected Jordan Thompson on the opening set. 

The momentum from the first set continued in Houston’s favor, building a 11-6 lead, only to see Austin tie the match twice, first at 21-all and then at 23-all, before Houston took the set 25-23. 

Austin reached deep and avoided a straight-set loss by taking the third set 21-25. 

“Austin fought like hell,” said Thompson.  “It’s amazing to see such strong teams competing against each other.”

Unfortunately, Austin couldn’t sustain the energy need to drive a come-back and dropped the fourth set, 25-16. 

Houston was led by Jordan Thompson with 25 points and 23 kills (38%), followed by Madi Rishel with 19 points, 15 kills (40%) and two aces.   

Madisen Skinner tallied 23 points for Austin with 20 kills (39%).  Logan Eggleston added 14 points and 20 kills (58%).  Asjia O’Neal served two aces.  

“One thing I love about our group is that we have a lot of fight in us,” LOVB Austin’s Carli Lloyd said. “We still have pieces we need to figure out, but there are moments of greatness and I think we really need to lean into that.”