By Michael Adams
Texas Volleyball Journal

CEDAR PARK – Another five-set marathon. Another win.

LOVB Austin continued its early-season grind Sunday night, surviving its second straight five-set test to defeat LOVB Atlanta 21-25, 25-17, 25-17, 17-25, 15-11 at the H-E-B Center.

For the second straight match, Austin dropped the opening set before settling in, a trend that has defined the league’s defending champions through two matches. After falling behind early, Austin responded with improved serve pressure and cleaner execution in sets two and three to take control of the match.

“We keep doing that it’s going to be a long season,” said LOVB Austin head coach Erik Sullivan. “I’m really proud of our team, the word resilience keeps coming back to me. We’re doing a nice job of competing. It’s definately not as smooth as we’d like, but that’s probably to be expected early in the season like this.”

Madisen Skinner led Austin with 17 kills on 36 percent hitting, adding three blocks in an all-around performance. Madi Banks was equally effective, finishing with 12 kills on 32 percent hitting while contributing four service aces. Asjia O’Neal added six kills and five blocks, anchoring an Austin front line that produced 15 total blocks.

“Brie (O’Reily) been putting me in amazing positions, and been giving me balls that are tight and able to see space, and high enough to where I can get after it at the same time,” Skinner said. “She’s finding me and locating me perfectly right now, which is making my job a lot easier.”

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Atlanta answered in the fourth set, forcing a decisive fifth behind a balanced attack.

Tessa Grubbs powered the visitors with a match-high 20 kills, while Tia Jimerson chipped in seven kills and five blocks. Rookie Eva Hudson, playing her first professional match just three weeks after appearing in the NCAA national championship with Kentucky, finished with five kills and showed flashes of her high-level potential.

“Being thrown in and being able to handle herself, it really shows (Hudson)’s skill level and how she is as a player, and it’s really cool to see someone coming straight off a national championship in college and be able to jump in, because I know it’s tough,” Grubbs said of Hudson’s debut.

The fifth set reflected Austin’s poise under pressure. After an early exchange, Austin used a strong serving run to build separation and closed the match at the line, improving to 2-0 on the season.

Austin hits the road this week and will travel to Atlanta on Wednesday. First serve is set for 7 p.m. and will be televised on the USA Network. It’s the first of five road games for Austin, which includes a Jan. 28’s match with LOVB Houston at the Frost Bank Center in San Antonio.

Austin will return to the H-E-B Center on Feb. 4 to face Atlanta.