Kojima, Drews Anchor LOVB Salt Lake in Thrilling Five-Set Victory
With just two weeks remaining in the League One Volleyball regular season and playoff seeding hanging in the balance, what better time to post impressive stat lines and climb the league leaderboard?
In Week 12, LOVB Salt Lake did just that, powered by instrumental backcourt performances from Manami Kojima and Dani Drews in a five-set match that put the team’s endurance to the test.
The squad went head-to-head with Omaha on Saturday night, and after a 26-24 first-set win for Omaha, the two teams went point-for-point again in the second, resulting in a 33-31 win for Omaha and the longest set in LOVB history.
Despite the two-set deficit, Salt Lake proved it had the upper hand in endurance, capturing a 25-19 third-set win and stunning Omaha with a 25-15 victory in the fourth. A five-point serving run by Drews in the fifth set put the win out of Omaha’s reach, while Salt Lake improved to 6-8 on the season and moved from fifth to fourth in the standings with the 3-2 (26-24, 33-31, 25-19, 25-15, 15-11) victory.
Drews and Kojima led the way defensively for Salt Lake with 20 and 21 digs, respectively, marking a season high for Drews. She also recorded nine kills in the match.
Kojima’s performance earned her Defensive Player of the Week honors for the second time this season. The veteran libero dug 84% of the Omaha attacks that came her way and became just the second LOVB athlete to reach the 200-digs benchmark in a single season.
Offensively, Heidy Casanova and Tori Dixon recorded 7 and 9 kills behind a 22-kill performance by Roni Jones-Perry.
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Five-Set Showdowns in Austin
Salt Lake wasn’t the only team to stretch its matchup to five sets over the weekend, and Omaha got a double dose of marathon match action. The hosting Austin kicked off the Weekend with LOVB at Austin versus Omaha, where the Nebraska team captured the first set. From there, the teams went back and forth until Omaha clinched a 3-2 (25-23, 17-25, 25-16, 23-25, 15-12) win.
Despite the loss, middle blocker Molly McCage had a standout performance for Austin with 10 kills and three blocks.
Austin then faced third-ranked Madison on Sunday, falling in another five-set match. After dropping the first set, Madison recovered to win the next two and finished strong for a 3-2 (22-25, 25-23, 25-12, 23-25, 15-11) victory.
Atlanta Claims the Top Seed
Houston played host to Atlanta on Thursday in the final regular-season meeting between the league’s top two teams.
Madi Kingdon Rishel led the offensive charge for Houston with a team-best 15 kills, but after a 25-13 first set win, the Texas team didn’t have the fuel to beat Atlanta. The visitors claimed the next three sets in quick succession, cementing their top spot in the upcoming LOVB Finals tournament.
Setting the Stage for the Finals
With one week left of regular season play, Atlanta is the only team to clinch its spot, but Houston is close to claiming the second seed–requiring either a win, or a Madison loss to make it official.
The tournament-style Finals will feature all six LOVB teams, which will compete for the league’s inaugural championship starting April 10.
League Standings Ahead of Week 13:
- Atlanta (12-3)
- Houston (9-6)
- Madison (7-7)
- Salt Lake (6-8)
- Austin (5-10)
- Omaha (5-10)
Siera Jones is the digital media reporter at Athletes Unlimited. You can follow her on Instagram and X @sieraajones.
