by Jamison Kruse
KANSAS CITY, MO -- Day 3 of the League One Classic and this was for all the marbles. It was a full day of volleyball that included a triple header to secure each team in position. Madison versus Salt Lake for fifth/sixth place. Austin versus Omaha for third/fourth place. Houston and league leader, Atlanta for the first ever Classic Champion.
Not only was a mid-season tournament championship on the line, but some big money as well. For the third place finishing team, they are awarded $20,000. The second place team earns $40,000. And the winner takes home a $100,000 grand prize, with the MVP earning another $10,000 bonus. There was a lot on the line here.
In the opening match of the day, we would see a battle between Salt Lake and Madison take place. Two teams that have only gone head to head once this season would meet again for stock at the bottom of the standings. We would see a hot star from Madison, taking the opener by a score of 25-17.
Madison would see their flame die slowly but surely as the team from the mountains would take the following three sets by scores of 25-21, 25-19, and 25-17. The spark from SLC was provided off of the bench by former Cal standout, Maddie Haynes. Haynes logged 10 points on the night after starting Set 2 onward. USC All-American, Skylar Fields led all scorers in the match with 20 points, five of those coming in the block department, a match leading stat as well. Two-time Olympic medalist Jordyn Poulter was named game MVP with 43 assists.
Fifth and sixth place teams have been determined. Now, it is time to determine third and fourth and who will take home some prize money. Austin enters this one with a one match to none lead on Omaha in the regular season. But with Austin playing two games already in the tournament versus Omaha's single match, you'd think that could take an effect on the match. It look like that could've very well been the case too. With Omaha taking the first set by the slimmest of margins, 23-25, it was quite the battle.
Despite the tough battle in Sets 1 and 2, this game would play out very similarly to the fifth-place match. Austin would take the next three rather convincingly. It was the play of veteran, MB Molly McCage that was such a game changer tonight. Without playing in the first matches of the classic, McCage started this one and was ready to go. With a match leading 18 points, McCage was absolutely untouchable. 11 of her 18 would come via her offense, in which she was attacking at a staggering .556 clip on the night. She then added on to that a season-best six blocks.
Alongside McCage, Logan Eggleston would continue her impressive weekend with a match of 18 points; 16 of those 18 would come in the kill department where she led all attackers. Adding on to that an impressive 37.5% in system pass percentage on 24 attempts, Eggleston went on to be named the tournament's Best Outside Hitter.
And now for the event of the night, the first ever LOVB Classic Championship. Houston taking on Atlanta for the FIRST time of the season. It could have been truly anyone's game without any precursor to tell. Houston was coming into this match with a 2-0 record on the weekend and seemingly getting stronger and stronger with each day of play. Atlanta managed to fend off a raucous Austin team without their leading scorer OPP Tessa Grubbs the night prior. Now, with $100,000 on the line and a LOVB Classic title, who will take it all?
Throughout this entire match, you could not have asked for a bigger battle than this. With three of the four sets being won by margins of two, two of those sets would be determined in overtime. This was everything you could ever want in a championship style match like this.
Right off of the bat, we'd get the glimpse of what was to come with a mega rally between these two teams. The swings were electric and the digs were popping. OPP Jordan Thompson, the woman of the Classic, would secure the first point, setting the tone for the remainder of the night. Following this, Houston would storm off to a lead as much as 13-6 in the early goings before seemingly having this opening set taken care of with a lead of 17-11. Not for long though, Atlanta would find a way to crawl their way back to make things spicy. Atlanta was able to find MB Tia Jimerson in the middle which proved the difference. Within the following 8-12 point run, Jimerson managed to score four points. So close, but not quite enough, Houston would take set 1 by a score of 25-23.
Set 2 was as tight as you can get in this game. With neither team finding a separation of more than three points, a majority of this game was spent at even scores up until the very end. A late push in the set by Atlanta was what the doctor ordered and the ladies in pink would take it in ovetime, 25-27. OPP Danielle Cuttino continued to be a leading force for Atlanta as she notched five points in this one to tie it up. As for Houston, OPP Grace Frohling proved to be an impact off of the bench as she rattled off four points of her own in double sub action.
Despite the box score's close set scores, it was in set 3 that we learned who had the say in this match. A little back and forth at the beginning and a late surge in the end by Atlanta, Houston had complete control. Leading as much as 19-11 at one point, Frohling proved to be a force in that double sub, adding on another five points! The south Texas team was firing on all cylinders and simply couldn't be contained.
Final set of the night, it is for the championship if you're Houston and it is for a chance to force a tie-breaker for Atlanta. This was not going to be done without a fight from either side. And that is just what we got. Thompson would truly come alive and where see her clutch ways take shape. With seven points in this deciding set alone, it was truly the difference maker for Houston. She was joined alongside Jess Mruzik as well in the effort as she put down five of her own in Set 4. When you have players like these two batting off like this, it is not going to be good for the other side. Houston takes Set 4, 29-27 and wins the first ever LOVB Classic.
For her incredible efforts on the weekend, tallying over 60 points, Jordan Thompson was named Best Opposite and the Classic's first-ever MVP. As well as Thompson, Amber Igiede was named the Classic's Best Middle Blocker and Micha Hancock was named Best Setter. Igiede had an astounding 29 points, she was named MVP of the Championship game after tallying 17 and hitting .500 on the night. Hancock had eight points and 62 assists through the semis and the finals.
Alongside the HTX Trio on the All-Tournament list; Logan Eggleston was named Best Outside Hitter and Atlanta's Piyanut Pannoy was named Best Libero.
