LOVB: LOVB Houston wins inaugural LOVB Classic title

KANSAS CITY, Missouri – The hottest team in League One Volleyball?

Now it's LOVB Houston, which won three matches in as many days to win the inaugural LOVB Classic. In doing so, they put an end to LOVB Atlanta's seven-match winning streak across all competitions.

LOVB Houston had five players with 10 or more kills Sunday night in a 25-23, 25-27, 25-20, 29-27 victory that came on heels of a sweep of LOVB Madison on Friday and a four-set victory over LOVB Omaha in Saturday's semifinals.

"What a battle all weekend to have to put together three really tough matches," said opposite Jordan Thompson, who led Houston with 16 kills, including the match winner. "I'm just so incredibly proud of the way we battled. I think this is the most grit we've seen out of our team the entire season. You could see how much everybody wanted it.

"It made it so much fun to play with this team and the energy we had. I'm really excited for what's to come."

LOVB Classic All-Tournament Team

MVP: Jordan Thompson, LOVB Houston, Opposite Hitter
Outside Hitter: Logan Eggleston, LOVB Austin
Libero: Piyanut Pannoy, LOVB Atlanta, Libero
Setter: Micha Hancock, LOVB Houston, Setter
Middle Blocker: Amber Igiede, LOVB Houston
Opposite Hitter: Jordan Thompson, LOVB Houston

It comes rather quickly, because LOVB Houston is at LOVB Austin on Wednesday and then plays LOVB Omaha on Thursday in Austin before Austin plays visiting LOVB Salt Lake. Week 7 finishes with LOVB Madison at LOVB Atlanta on Friday.

Earlier Sunday in Municipal Arena, Salt Lake defeated Madison 17-25, 25-21, 25-19, 25-17 to take fifth place in the midseason tournament and then Austin downed Omaha 23-25, 26-24, 25-19, 25-19 to win third place.

"A bronze medal is better than fourth place," Austin coach Marco Bonitta said with a smile.

Houston's victory over Atlanta marked the first meeting between the teams. Jordan had those 16 kills with five errors in 50 attacks and added two aces, a block and 13 digs. She saw 18 kills Friday and 25 more on Saturday, giving her a total of 59 for the tournament.

Match Stats | Video Recap | LOVB Houston Roster | LOVB Atlanta Roster

Amber Igiede, named player of the match, had 13 kills with two errors in 22 swings to hit .500 and had an ace, three blocks, six digs and two assists. Jess Mruzik had 13 kills, a block, 17 digs and an assist. Grace Frohling had 11 kills and hit .474 and Madi Rishel had 10 kills, a block, 12 digs and three assists.

Setter Micha Hancock not only had three kills in seven errorless tries, but added 13 digs and 37 assists. She had one ace but her serve kept Atlanta out of system all match.

Danielle Cuttino led Atlanta with 19 kills, a block, 13 digs and an assist. Tia Jimerson had 12 kills, hit .381, and added a block and two digs as Atlanta lost for the first time since January 8.

McKenzie Adams and Kelsey Cook had nine kills each. Cook had a match-high 19 digs.

Houston, which has won five matches in a row and six of its last seven, hit .270 and had four aces and 11 serving errors. Atlanta hit .201 and had two aces and five errors.

In the match for third place, Logan Eggleston led Austin with 16 kills, an ace, a block, 16 digs and an assist. Molly McCage had her best match of 2025 with 11 kills and one error in 18 swings to hit .556 to go with an ace, six blocks, two digs and an ace.

Match Stats | Video Recap | LOVB Austin Roster | LOVB Omaha Roster

"She was lights out," Austin setter Carli Lloyd said.

Juliann Faucette had eight kills, an ace, four blocks and four digs and Chiaka Ogbogu had seven kills, hit .385, and had two blocks, three digs and two assists.

Austin hit .212 with five aces and seven errors.

Omaha, which hit .137, had three aces and 14 errors. Outside hitter Vicky Savard, getting the start, led with 13 kills, two blocks and eight digs. Kimberly Drewniok had 12 kills, two blocks and four digs. Emily Thater, who added four blocks, had eight kills. Jordan Larson had five kills, two aces, two blocks, 10 digs and two assists.

By beating Madison, Salt Lake snapped a three-match skid. Skylar Fields led with 15 kills, five blocks and four digs. Dani Drews, who did not play the first set, added 14 kills, an ace, six digs and an assist.

Match Stats | Video Recap | LOVB Madison Roster | LOVB Salt Lake Roster

Salt Lake hit .345 and had two aces and nine service errors.

Salt Lake coach Tama Miyashiro admitted "no one likes playing for fifth place," but her team was up to the task.

"I'm proud of our group to reset from a loss [Friday] and bring it today."

Madison, which has lost eight matches in a row across all competitions. hit .233 and had four aces and seven errors.

Sarah Franklin led with 12 kills, hitting .333, and had an ace, a block and 12 digs. Jennifer Janiska had 10 kills and Annie Drews Schumacher nine.