Madi’s moments: Austin reach semi-finals after reverse sweep of Salt Lake
Austin come back from the brink to set up a semi-final clash with Atlanta
Published
11 APR 2025
Est. reading time
3 min
Austin reached the last four of the LOVB Finals on Thursday, following a remarkable comeback against Salt Lake.
Madi’s team were trailing 2-0 after the first two sets in Louisville, but turned things around in spectacular fashion to beat the fourth seeds 3-2.
The Texans came into this quarter-final clash on the back of four straight defeats, including a 3-2 loss to Salt Lake just last weekend.
And things appeared to be trending in the same direction, after Tama Miyashiro’s side took the first set by 26:24 before repeating that scoreline in Set 2.
But Austin displayed an impressive level of resilience to get back into the game — initially by pulling back from the brink in Set 3 (25:27), then levelling things up immediately afterwards (23:25).
With the tension rising, the underdogs completed the reverse sweep by triumphing in the last set (16:18), to set up a semi-final with top seeds Atlanta later today (Friday).
Unsurprisingly, Austin head coach Chris McGown was delighted with his team’s dramatic victory:“What a volleyball match — these are the things you dream of being a part of,” he exclaimed, following the game.
“It wasn't pretty the whole time, for sure. We had to be gritty through some ugly volleyball at times and in the end I told them, ‘hey, we found a way.’
“And I'm really proud of how hard they fought. What a great match by Salt Lake. They did everything they could to win, as well.
“Sometimes you get a little lucky and we came out on the right side.”
McGown later added: “I love the fight our team showed the entire match.
“We were down 0-2 and I'm in the huddle and I'm looking at ‘em and I could see it in their eyes.
“They weren't done yet and they were not giving up and they believed they could come back. And here we are.”
In a match that contained an eye-catching 43 blocks, Madi played a key role in Austin’s victory.
The 23-year-old posted more points than any other player on the court (23), with 21 kills, an ace, a block and 10 digs.
She will need to be at her best once again tonight, though, if Austin are to make the inaugural LOVB Pro final.
Upcoming opponents Atlanta won each of their four regular season meetings with the Texans, so Madi’s team will be underdogs once again at the KFC Yum! Center.
That doesn’t appear to concern McGown, though.
“We're gonna coach two more days, I'm telling you right now,” he said, in the aftermath of Thursday’s comeback.
One thing for certain is that we won’t have to wait long to find out. Austin vs Atlanta gets underway at 6.30pm EDT this evening in Kentucky, and promises to be a scintillating semi-final encounter.
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