Madi Bugg Hits Season-Highs in LOVB Week 9
Week 9 of League One Volleyball play featured a Weekend with LOVB in Atlanta, bringing plenty of action for the top-ranked Georgia team.
Atlanta opened the weekend against Houston, its greatest adversary in the league standings, but was without a key piece of its offense. Setter Rachel Fairbanks was scratched from the lineup due to injury, leaving the reins to 2024 Athletes Unlimited Pro Volleyball standout Madi Bugg.
The team posted strong numbers in the first two sets, winning 25-21 and 25-18, while Bugg sparked what would be a season-high 48-assist performance in Atlanta’s third straight five-set match.
Still, the resilient Houston squad made a third-set push strong enough for a 25-21 win and secured the reverse sweep victory. Two-time Defensive Player of the Week Madi Kingdon Rishel tallied 11 kills and a team-high 19 digs for the Texas team.
Despite the loss, which ended its eight-game winning streak, Atlanta’s weekend was only halfway through. The team took on Austin in its second of back-to-back match days. This time, the group found a different result, bouncing back from its Friday loss with a 3-1 (25-22, 24-26, 25-15, 27-25) win.
Still in the driver’s seat entering Saturday’s showdown, Bugg racked up 40 assists for her second 40-plus-assist performance of the season and locked things down defensively with 11 digs.
The 1-1 weekend result keeps Atlanta comfortably in first place with a 9-2 league record and five regular-season games remaining.
Salt Lake Shake-Up
Salt Lake entered Week 9 riding the momentum of a big-time win over Houston. The team sat in fifth place on the leaderboard with a 4-6 record, just below Omaha in fourth and Austin in third.
With its Thursday win over Omaha, Salt Lake leapfrogged both teams to finish the week in third place.
Salt Lake overcame a slow start to capture the 3-1 (16-25, 25-23, 25-23, 25-19) victory, with AU athletes Heidy Casanova, Claire Hoffman, and Manami Kojima playing instrumental roles. Hoffman recorded 14 kills and 10 digs, Casanova finished with 12 kills and seven digs, and Kojima walked away with a team-leading 17 digs.
Next Up in LOVB
With only four weeks remaining in the regular season, Week 10 action will be crucial for teams looking to solidify their places in the league standings.
Houston will host three teams, beginning with yet another meeting with Atlanta on Friday, giving it a chance to respond after Saturday’s loss to Maddison. The team will then wrap up its two-game week versus Austin.
Salt Lake will also take the court in Houston, facing a tall task versus Atlanta on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Omaha and Madison will meet on Wisconsin soil, where the two teams will battle it out for the fourth time this season.
Siera Jones is the digital media reporter at Athletes Unlimited. You can follow her on Instagram and X @sieraajones.
