Houston secures No. 2 seed, LOVB Finals bye with sweep
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – LOVB Houston secured the No. 2 seed at next week’s LOVB Finals and the corresponding quarterfinal bye with a 25-20, 25-19, 25-21 sweep of LOVB Madison Saturday afternoon at Bruin Arena.
Houston ends the regular season with a 10-6 record and second in the League One Volleyball standings. They’ll also begin play at next week’s championship tournament, held in Louisville, Kentucky, in the semifinal round. Madison, 8-8, will be the No. 3 seed and face No. 6 LOVB Omaha in the quarterfinals.
Setter Micha Hancock paced Houston to its most efficient attack of the season – the team hit .385 with just seven total errors in 96 swings – while earning player of the match honors. Hancock made 35 assists and four digs while scoring five times herself. All five of Hancock’s hitters tallied an attack efficiency of .316 or better.
Opposite Jordan Thompson led scoring with 17 kills on a .378 efficiency mark, outsides Madi Kingdon Rishel Jess Mruzik landed eight and seven kills, respectively, while middle blockers Raphaela Folie and Amber Igiede tallied five kills each, Folie on nine swings with one error, Igiede on eight errorless attempts.
Houston libero Anna Pogany led the team with 11 digs while Kingdon Rishel added seven. The Arizona alumna ends the 2025 regular season with 202 digs and is the fourth LOVB athlete to reach the 200-dig milestone.
Madison, which saw its seven-match win streak snapped, hit .153 in comparison and was out-blocked 13-2. Opposite Annie Drews Schumacher led the team with 13 kills, landing her 200th kill of the season during the second set. Outside hitter Sarah Franklin added nine kills. Setter Lauren Carlini provided 31 assists and three digs.
LOVB Austin and LOVB Salt Lake will conclude League One Volleyball’s inaugural regular season Saturday night, again in Salt Lake City. The LOVB Finals begin Thursday, April 10, with two quarterfinal matches at Louisville’s KFC Yum! Center.
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