Thompson Torches Omaha as Houston Sweeps

Superstar opposite Jordan Thompson continued her dominant form Thursday night, leading LOVB Houston to a decisive 26-24, 25-23, 25-16 sweep of LOVB Omaha at the H-E-B Center. Thompson powered down a remarkable 20 kills, hitting an efficient .486 with just three errors in 35 attacks. Her stellar performance brings her kill total to an astounding 78 in her last four matches, including 59 during Houston’s victorious run at the LOVB Classic last weekend.

“This has been a long week,” Thompson acknowledged. “We’ve had five games in seven days so we’ve had to rely on all 15 girls and I think it’s really cool that we can interchange players and encourage each other and find ways to continue to battle.” She also added two aces, a block, and four digs to her impressive stat line.

Jess Mruzik, who saw action in the previous match, contributed 12 kills and hit .346 for Houston, adding a block and eight digs. Madi Rishel chipped in with seven kills and nine digs, while libero Key Alves recorded 12 digs. As a team, Houston was efficient, hitting .303 with five aces and just three serving errors.

The first two sets proved to be tight contests, with Houston needing to rally to secure both. After leading 24-19 in the opening set, they finally clinched it on Thompson’s kill on the seventh set point. The second set saw a 23-19 advantage nearly evaporate, but Thompson once again came through, breaking a 23-23 tie with a kill followed by an ace. The third set, however, was never in doubt for the home team.

“Now is the time for three days off for the girls to rest,” said Houston coach Massimo Barbolini, relieved for the upcoming week-long break before their next home match against Salt Lake.

With the victory, Houston improved their regular-season record to 5-3, while Omaha dropped to 4-3. Kimberly Drewniok and Jaali Winters each had 13 kills for Omaha. “First two games we were feeling pretty good. We were a play or two away from opportunities here,” Omaha coach Suzie Fritz commented.