The LBS Financial Credit Union Pyramid was home to match one of the League One Volleyball Championship on Thursday between teams from Austin and Salt Lake, and it’s fair to say they did not disappoint. The pair delivered a five-set thriller in front of the Long Beach crowd, as Salt Lake took the advantage at the midway point of the championship series with a 22–25, 25–21, 22–25, 27–25, 16–14 win.
A champion will be decided Saturday night inside the Pyramid, where the two teams will play their second and final match of the series. Salt Lake can secure the championship with a win, while a win from defending champion Austin would force a ‘Golden Set’ to 15 points to determine the winner.
“What a fun match and a gritty win from us,” said Salt Lake coach Tama Miyashiro after Thursday’s match. “There were some really nice volleyball plays and some not-so-great ones, but to turn it around and stay the course was huge for us. Down the stretch we just stuck to our game plan, and staying disciplined paid off.”
Salt Lake attacked at an efficient .253 rate on Thursday night while holding Austin to .190 hitting. Salt Lake outside hitter Alexa Gray led that attack and was awarded Player of the Game, ending the night with a match-high 24 kills on .276 hitting with just one error and three blocks.
“We’re just trying to play our best volleyball when it counts. We didn’t always do that tonight, but I think we did a lot of good things, so I’m proud of the fight,” Gray said. “No one likes to play five sets in the first game of a series, but now we have a lot of information we can use to our advantage on Saturday. If we clean a lot of things up, I think Saturday can go a lot smoother.”
Originally from Alberta, Gray became a standout during her time at BYU before having numerous professional stints prior to LOVB and a long standing run with the Canadian National Team. Thursday was her first time playing in the Pyramid, which she described as a unique experience.
“I’ve only seen this gym on TV, and I don’t think it does it justice with how expansive it is,” Gray said. “It’s been fun playing in America, first of all, but I also know there’s a rich volleyball community in Long Beach, so it’s been fun to be here in front of people who understand the game and appreciate what we’re doing.”
Austin opened the match on a 4-0 run with a couple of blocks and eventually closed out the set on an 8-2 run despite a strong push from Salt Lake midway through. Salt Lake responded in the second before Austin delivered its most dominant set of the night, leading by as many as eight midway through a third set win.
With their backs against the wall, Salt Lake earned three set points in the fourth before eventually converting on the fourth to force a fifth set. Austin led for most of the fifth, including a 3-0 run to open it, but Salt Lake eventually erased a late two-point deficit and closed on a 4-1 run for the win.
“As the season has gone on, I think we’ve gotten really good at just staying in the current point,” said Salt Lake setter Jordyn Poulter. “So regardless of the score and whatever the last play was, I think we’re focused on the current moment. I don’t think those big moments ever feel bigger than they are, and we’ve been able to stay pretty composed in those situations.”
Poulter dispersed the ball to four different hitters with double-digit kills, as Heidy Casanova had 18 while Serena Gray and Claire Hoffman each had 10. Poulter, a founding athlete for LOVB, finished with 59 assists and a team-high four blocks, and spoke about her feelings going into Saturday.
“Ultimately, everyone’s doing their job really well, and we just need to stay together and stay the course through some of these big momentum swings,” Poulter added. “I’ve had moments in my career where you’re one of the last teams standing, so to be in this situation again, I feel really grateful to do it with these women and our staff.”
Austin was led by opposite Madisen Skinner, who had a team-high 17 kills with three blocks. Logan Eggleston and Asjia O’Neal each had 12 kills while Madi Banks had 10, and setter Carli Lloyd had 47 assists with a team-high 16 digs.
“It’s disappointing to not get a win there, but I liked our resiliency and how we fought,” said Austin coach Erik Sullivan. “With this format, you’ve got to win Saturday—that’s the day that matters. Obviously, we don’t like to lose, but we have to learn from it, move on and go win this thing Saturday.”
The pair will see each other again in the LBS Financial Credit Union Pyramid on Saturday at 5pm.
