I was standing behind the baseline in Cedar Park on Thursday night when Logan Eggleston ripped the kill that sealed the second set 29-27. The crowd at the H-E-B Center was already standing. They had been for a while. It was Fan Appreciation Night at LOVB Austin, but the energy in that building had nothing to do with giveaways or promotions. It was desperation. The good kind.
Austin needed that match. Salt Lake needed it just as badly. And across professional volleyball right now, with regular seasons winding down in both leagues, that combination is producing some of the best volleyball I have watched all year.
This was the week the margins disappeared. In LOVB, a four-time Olympic medalist reminded first-place Houston that the regular season title is not a formality. In MLV, the back half of the standings got a jolt from a franchise record-breaker in Columbus and an eight-match winning streak that refuses to end in Dallas. Nobody blinked. Nobody backed down. And the playoff picture in both leagues is still being written.
Indoor: MLV
MLV came back from the All-Star break on Friday night with two matches that told very different stories about where this league stands heading into the final month.
In Columbus, the San Diego Mojo swept the Columbus Fury 26-24, 25-21, 25-20 at Nationwide Arena and moved back into fourth place at 9-10. Grace Loberg led the way with 13 kills on a .433 clip, two aces, and nine blocks. Her 13th ace of the season ties the franchise single-season record. Maya Tabron added 11 kills and quietly passed Ronika Stone and Kendra Dahlke to become the Mojo's all-time career kills leader with 388. And Marlie Monserez, who directed the offense with 32 assists and seven digs, became just the second player in league history to surpass 2,500 career assists. Three milestones in one sweep. San Diego served seven aces as a team, tied for the second most in franchise history and the most in any three-set match. This is a team that remembers what it feels like to miss the postseason, and is determined not to feel it again.
In Grand Rapids, the Dallas Pulse won their eighth straight in a four-set thriller over the Grand Rapids Rise, 22-25, 25-22, 25-23, 26-24, where every single set was decided by three points or fewer. Mimi Colyer paced Dallas with 23 points on 18 kills, four blocks, and an ace, reaching 400 career points in the process. Sofia Maldonado Diaz followed with 18 kills, six digs, and two aces. Setter Natalia Valentin-Anderson posted her 17th double-double of the season with 43 assists and 14 digs. Grand Rapids' Paige Briggs-Romine battled back with 15 kills and 13 digs, but Dallas found another gear every time they needed one. The Pulse are 16-5 and applying steady pressure on first-place Indy, which enters this weekend at 15-4 after signing middle blocker Emma Clothier from Italy's Serie A1 to replace the injured Blake Mohler. Clothier played her final match in Macerata on Saturday, drove to Rome on Sunday morning, flew to Indiana, and was in practice by Monday. That is the kind of urgency you bring when the league title is on the line.
Indoor: LOVB
If MLV's week was about milestones and momentum, LOVB's was about survival. Every match this week carried playoff implications. Every result shifted the standings. And the biggest statement came from the team with the most to prove.
On Wednesday, LOVB Nebraska hosted LOVB Houston for the LOVB Match of the Week and put on the kind of performance that changes how a league sees you. Houston took the first set 27-25, and for about 20 minutes it looked like the first-place team would handle business on the road. Then Nebraska flipped a switch. They took the next three sets 25-17, 25-14, 25-18, hitting a season-best .405 as a team. Anne Buijs was the engine with 22 kills and 11 digs, including back-to-back blocks on Jordan Thompson late in the match that felt like punctuation on a statement nobody expected. Kimberly Drewniok added 19 kills at a .471 clip. Laura Dijkema posted 52 assists and 10 digs. And Jordan Larson, playing in the penultimate home match of her career, recorded 16 kills and 14 digs for a double-double.
"One of our core values is being joyful," Larson said afterward. "We have a lot of people that, when they are in that space, that's when they play the most free."
Houston's Jordan Thompson was held to 15 kills, her third-lowest output of the season. The league's top offense hit just .229. Nebraska is 10-9 and writing their own ending. It is starting to look like a very good one.
Thursday brought two more matches where the word "elimination" was not an exaggeration. In Cedar Park, Austin swept LOVB Salt Lake 25-18, 29-27, 25-21 in front of a building that understood exactly what was at stake. I was on the baseline for this one, and what struck me was how composed Austin looked from the opening serve. Molly McCage set the tone early with a back-to-back block and kill. Madisen Skinner had seven kills in the first set alone. And when the second set tightened to 27-all with long rallies and hustle plays, it was Eggleston who found the kill to close it at 29-27. She finished the night with 17 points, 14 kills, two aces, and 11 digs. Madi Banks added 11 kills and 12 digs. The team hit .421 for the match, their most efficient night of the season and their first three-set victory. Austin (9-10) moved past Salt Lake (9-10) into fourth place with the head-to-head tiebreaker. They now control their own destiny.
"It's hard to sweep a team in this league," setter Carli Lloyd said. "We believe we can do it."
Across the country in Madison, LOVB Atlanta survived a five-set fight with LOVB Madison, 23-25, 25-14, 25-18, 21-25, 15-11, to clinch a top-two finish. Ivonee Montaño led all scorers with 22 points on 18 kills and four blocks. Magdalena Jehlárová earned Player of the Match with 10 kills on 17 errorless swings, six blocks, and an ace. The win sets up a showdown against Houston on Saturday for the regular season title. Atlanta (11-8) needs to sweep Houston and overcome a 21-point differential to clinch the head-to-head tiebreaker. Those are steep odds. But Atlanta has swept five opponents this season, and Houston just proved they can be beaten.
The Week Ahead
Saturday is the final day of the LOVB regular season, and all six teams are in action. Houston travels to Atlanta at McCamish Pavilion for a 5 p.m. Eastern tip on ESPN+ with the regular season title on the line. Nebraska hosts Austin at 7 p.m. Central at Baxter Arena in what will be Jordan Larson's final regular season home match. A Nebraska win clinches their playoff spot. An Austin win clinches theirs. Both teams know it. Salt Lake visits Madison to close out their seasons, with the result still capable of reshuffling the final playoff bracket.
In MLV, the first full weekend back from the All-Star break has Indy traveling to the Omaha Supernovas, who have handed the Ignite half their losses this season. The Atlanta Vibe hosts the Orlando Valkyries downtown on Saturday, and Dallas heads to San Diego on Sunday for a matchup between two of the hottest teams in the league. The stretch run is here. And this week proved that nobody is willing to go quietly.
Matt Powell is a professional sports content creator based in Houston who specializes in volleyball photography. See his volleyball portfolio or get in touch about coverage for your program or athlete.
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