Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes
WEST VALLEY CITY — Every time the ball smashed the Terraflex court, the crowd inside the Maverik Center rose to its feet, raised their collective arms over their head, and shouted, "Rooooof!" in celebration.
It's the biggest energizer in volleyball; and for the players from LOVB Salt Lake, their six blocks against LOVB Atlanta were an even bigger jolt of energy.
Add in Haleigh Washington — the two-time Olympic medalist for the U.S. women's national team making her home debut for Salt Lake — and the energy jumped up a notch in the first match of the team's "Weekend with LOVB."
"Getting a block is one of the best feelings in the world," said Tori Dixon, the former three-time All-American middle blocker at Minnesota who had five kills and a block in Salt Lake's four-set (20-25, 25-23, 25-18, 25-18) loss to LOVB Atlanta. "It's just fun to celebrate them, and when the crowd gets going, the energy keeps coming.
"Salt Lake City knows volleyball really well," she added. "It's really impressive that they get so jacked for us. You've got Haleigh running around like a crazy person feeding off all that energy, too. But we really appreciate all the fans and the crowd support."
Washington, who added six kills and three blocks Friday night, didn't play in Salt Lake's League One Volleyball home opener — called "First Serve" — two weeks ago at Salt Lake Community College, a 3-1 win over LOVB Houston in front of a sold-out crowd of 3,006 fans.
The 6-foot-3 former national champion middle blocker at Penn State was in the building, rallying the crowd and adding her unique blend of energy on the sideline while nursing a minor injury. But she was back Friday, and she made her presence known, alongside leading scorer Skylar Fields who had 11 kills and four digs at opposite.
"It was good to be back in front of Salt Lake fans," Washington said. "It was so exciting when we played at Bruin Arena; what an environment and an atmosphere. I'm gonna be honest: we came to the Maverik Center for serve-pass, and I thought, that's a lot of seats.
"But Salt Lake City brought the energy. It wasn't a sellout like Bruin Arena, but there are so many great fans in this audience. Even when we're down, people are still cheering and waving their signs. It's just a testament to the community that we have here and that we can continue to build. It was really cool to see."
Gia Day had six kills and Tessa Grubbs five of her match-best 23 kills as Atlanta (5-1) hit .394 in the first set to Salt Lake's .300 to take a 25-20 win in the opening set.
Dani Drews brought Salt Lake back in the second en route to eight kills and five digs. The former four-time All-American at Utah who prepped at Brighton High had four kills in the second set, including one that forced test point, 24-23, before a net violation clinched the equalizer 25-23.
But Grubbs pushed Salt Lake to the brink, putting down 20 points and two blocks for 22 points in the first three sets to take a 2-1 lead over the host of the four-team Weekend with LOVB that continues Saturday at 4 p.m. MST.
Atlanta served Salt Lake (3-4) off the line, downing 10 aces from the back to just one for Salt Lake.
We love a lefty on the left 💪 pic.twitter.com/IAzk4I388g
— LOVB Salt Lake Volleyball (@lovbsl) February 8, 2025
"It's important to play with good balance," said Atlanta coach Paulo Coco, the Brazilian national team assistant since 2003 who helped the Canarinhas to Olympic gold in Beijing and London. "But the serve is the first weapon you have as a team. So it's important to serve well."
Added Day, who finished with a match-high four aces to go with 13 kills: "Paulo has really been challenging us to serve strong. He encourages us by tagging the speed of each of our serves in practice, so we know exactly how fast each serve is. That helps us push as strong serve while keeping it in.
"It's a strong suit for us, and it's challenging our opponents a lot."
Saturday's doubleheader at the Maverik Center begins with LOVB Atlanta and LOVB Madison at 4:30 p.m. MST, followed by the nightcap between LOVB Salt Lake and LOVB Omaha at 7 p.m. MST.
Both matches will also stream on YouTube.
