Madi’s moments: Austin stun top-seeds Atlanta to reach LOVB Finals title decider
Madi recorded a season-best 25 kills as Austin upset the odds in Louisville
Published
12 APR 2025
Est. reading time
3 min
Madi played a starring role as Austin shocked top-seeds Atlanta to reach the inaugural LOVB Finals title decider.
The 23-year-old delivered in the campaign’s biggest match yet — producing a season-best 25 kills and hitting .364, while registering three aces, a block, seven digs and two assists.
Her performance helped Austin complete their second consecutive reverse sweep, to defeat favorites Atlanta 3-2 at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville.
Paulo Coco’s team started strongly and raced into a two-set lead, following scores of 21:25 and 15:25 in the game’s opening exchanges.
But the Texans roared back in spectacular fashion — winning the next set 25:22, before levelling things up with a convincing display in Set 4 (25:10).
A 16:14 triumph in the decisive final set sealed the comeback, as Austin once again beat the odds to secure progress.
“Really, the momentum began to pick up in the fourth," said Madi, following Friday’s dramatic victory.
“I felt like they [Atlanta] were on their heels a little bit and it was an opportunity to attack and dominate and I think we took advantage of that moment and rode the wave the rest of the way.”
Chris McGown’s team had lost all four of their previous meetings with Atlanta and were seeded fifth heading into the LOVB Finals, following a four-game winless run to end the regular season.
They made a mockery of their underdogs tag, though — and Austin’s head coach was clearly delighted with his side’s performance.
“I feel like we're pretty battle tested, the number of five-set matches we've had to go through and the times we had to figure it out,” McGown said.
“We did exactly what we wanted and hung in there and in the middle of the third I got kind of fired up and said ‘hey, we need to leave everything out there. Hit the ball as hard as you can’ and I think our team did great.
“I just saw this level of aggression and intensity and they responded perfectly.”
Austin’s reward for their semi-final victory is a clash with Omaha, to decide who gets their hands on the LOVB Championship trophy.
That match gets underway at 4pm EDT on Sunday (13th April) — and the Texans should be full of confidence after securing two impressive results in as many days.
Omaha will be buoyant too, though, having recorded similar upsets.
Remarkably, they finished bottom of the regular season standings, but defeated Madison 3-1 before beating second-seeds Houston 3-2 yesterday.
But having won three of the teams’ four previous meetings, Madi’s side should have a degree of optimism ahead of Sunday’s seismic encounter.
Nothing can be taken for granted, however, as this topsy-turvy LOVB Finals is proving.
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