Austin Powers Through Fatigue, Downs Salt Lake in Four Sets

Despite playing their fifth match in a grueling seven-day stretch, LOVB Austin showed no signs of slowing down, securing a 25-21, 25-22, 21-25, 25-21 victory over Salt Lake on Thursday night. In a balanced offensive effort, five Austin players reached double figures in scoring.

Veteran Khat Bell led the charge for Austin for the first time this season, tallying 11 kills in just three sets played. Bell also contributed six digs and an assist as interim head coach Chris McGown, in his second day at the helm, experimented with the lineup.

Setter Carli Lloyd earned the start and delivered a solid performance with 38 assists, a kill, two blocks, and nine digs. Austin, now with a 4-4 regular-season record, hit .219.

Madisen Skinner, fresh off her 23-kill outing, played two sets and added 10 kills with an efficient .350 hitting percentage, along with two blocks and five digs. Logan Eggleston also chipped in with 10 kills, while Asjia O’Neal was impactful with eight kills on 17 errorless swings and two blocks. Molly McCage led the blocking effort with a match-high six blocks to go with her seven kills.

“Chris came in with a lot of positive energy but he also did a good job of leading us and giving us free rein to figure things out,” O’Neal said, highlighting the team’s positive momentum. Libero Kotoe Inoue earned player of the match honors with a stellar 20 digs and four assists.

“This match comes at the end of a really long series of matches and travel. We just talked about bringing as much energy as we could, to find it somewhere, and I thought the girls did great,” McGown praised his team. “It was a true team effort. We had a lot of individuals play great and come off the bench and do really good things for us.”

Salt Lake struggled with a .109 hitting percentage in the loss. Heidy Casanova led their offense with 17 kills, while Serena Gray added 11. “My girls battled. It wasn’t always clean but volleyball is like that,” said Salt Lake coach Tama Miyashiro.