MADISON, Wisconsin — January 10, 2026 — LOVB Salt Lake faced a tough road test Saturday, falling to LOVB Madison in straight sets, 25-23, 25-15, 25-18, at the Alliant Energy Center.
The opening set was tightly contested with Salt Lake pushing Madison late, but the hosts gained control as the match wore on. Madison’s presence at the net proved decisive, outblocking Salt Lake 13-10 and holding the visitors to a .056 team hitting percentage in the match.
“Hats off to Madison, they played a good match,” Salt Lake head coach Tama Miyashiro said. “We weren’t able to get much going. We tried to hang in there and turn it around, but we couldn’t find our rhythm. The biggest thing is learning from this. This is the reality of the season, and we’ll get better as we keep charging forward.”
Serena Gray led Salt Lake with nine points, including seven kills on a team-best .500 hitting percentage. Roni Jones-Perry added seven kills and eight total points while Alexa Gray contributed six points, five of them kills.
Setter Jordyn Poulter recorded 27 assists and six digs and added three kills on four attempts. Libero Manami Kojima anchored the back row, leading all players with 15 digs.
Madison was led by Gong Xiangyu, who finished with a match-high 15 points and 12 kills. Callie Schwarzenbach added six blocks.
LOVB Salt Lake (1-1) will return home to face LOVB Houston (0-1) in its home opener Thursday, Jan. 22, at 7 p.m. MT.
