AUSTIN, Texas – February 25, 2026 – For the first time during the 2026 League One Volleyball season, LOVB Salt Lake has lost consecutive matches, falling Wednesday night, 25-17,19-25, 25-16, 25-19 at LOVB Austin.
“This game was interesting. It was one punch then a punch back. We were kind of going back and forth,” said Salt Lake outside hitter Claire Hoffman. “It’s how can we be consistently good throughout a match. Who can steady out? We’ve had that very well at times [this year].”
The match opened with Austin controlling the first set, hitting .667 in the frame and never trailing. Salt Lake returned the favor in the second, but the home team retook the lead by taking set No. 3. In the fourth, Salt Lake was up 16-14 and seemingly in position to force a fifth set tiebreak, but a seven-point Austin run reversed momentum and led to the four-set victory for the home squad.
Alexa Gray led Salt Lake with 18 points, 16 from the attack, and added 10 digs. Hoffman paired 14 kills with 10 digs of her own, and middle blocker Serena Gray landed 10 kills on a .368 attack efficiency and added one block. As a team, Salt Lake hit .196 with Madi Bugg and Jordyn Poulter both seeing time at setter.
Libero Manami Kojima made a season-high 24 digs on a .960 dig percentage in the loss.
Austin outside hitter Logan Eggleston was named Player of the Match, leading all players with 18 kills and19 total points. Three others scored double-digit points for LOVB Austin, who collectively hit .321.
“We don’t want to be the team that peaks at the beginning of the season,” said Alexa Gray after the match. “It’s nice to have these reality checks. I have faith in our group that it won’t be like this the rest of the season.”
Despite the loss, Salt Lake (8-3) remains atop the LOVB standings, one game ahead of LOVB Houston (7-4), who upset the league leaders last weekend in Salt Lake City. Houston hosts LOVB Nebraska on Thursday, February 26.
Prior to Wednesday’s contest, Salt Lake was unbeaten against Austin (7-6) this season. On January 28, Salt Lake reverse-swept Austin at Bruin Arena for a five-set win, and they completed the traditional sweep of Austin at the LOVB Classic February 13.
“At the end of the day, we’ve got to get some rest and get back to work,” Salt Lake head coach Tama Miyashiro said. There’s a lot of games left and a lot of people who want to knock us down off the leaderboard.”
Salt Lake will look to rebound on Sunday, March 1 when they travel to LOVB Atlanta. That match begins at 1 p.m. Mountain/3 p.m. Eastern and will be streamed live on ESPN+.
