It ain’t just a rough patch—it’s been a whole stormy month for Lexi Rodriguez’s pro squad, LOVB Omaha. And Friday night? Oh, it was another heartbreaker. Omaha had four match points in the final set, standing right on the edge of victory, but Austin had other plans, pulling off a gutsy comeback to snatch the win: 24-26, 25-20, 25-15, 23-25, 18-16. Emily Thater came in swinging with 14 kills, while former Huskers Madi Kubik-Banks and Vicki Savard chipped in 10 each. But despite all that firepower, Omaha just couldn’t shake this losing streak—it’s now eight straight losses and counting. The first set was a back-and-forth thriller, ending in Omaha’s favor after key kills from Jaali Winters and Sami Francis.
But then, Austin turned the heat all the way up, stealing set two with a sizzling 9-2 run and absolutely torching set three with a 12-1 closing stretch. Omaha clawed back in the fourth thanks to Jordan Larson, who stepped up big in crunch time, forcing a decisive fifth set. And oh, what a set it was—Larson had Omaha right there, delivering huge kills to give them four chances to seal the deal. But Austin? They just refused to go down. They fended off every Omaha match point before flipping the script and taking the final three points to steal the win. Yet through all the chaos, Lexi Rodriguez kept doing what she does best—shining like a star in the storm.
Lexi Rodriguez keeps on shining!
League One Volleyball took to TikTok to bless the timeline with a little Lexi Rodriguez magic, and let’s just say—she knows how to make an entrance and leave her mark. In one of the sets, Lexi put on a flawless performance, serving it up on a silver platter for her teammate to slam it down on the other side. Boom—point secured, crowd hyped, and her teammates? Oh, they weren’t holding back the love. They swarmed her, lifted her up in pure joy, because when Lexi’s in the mix, the energy shifts.
And the caption? LOVB knew exactly what they were doing with this one: “How did Lexi set the ball”—like even they were in awe. But wait, they doubled down with “Lexi is just TOO good” because, honestly, facts. Talking about team, let’s just say it’s been a rough ride, and March hasn’t been any kinder. Just a few days back, they clashed with LOVB Madison at the Alliant Energy Center, and, well, it wasn’t pretty. Madison ran the show, taking the match 25-16, 25-17, 26-28, 25-16 in their last home game of the season.
Schumacher was an absolute powerhouse at the net, hitting a blazing .500 with 19 kills, while Franklin was practically untouchable, swinging at an unreal .667 with 18 kills. Omaha tried to hang on, even snagging a set, but Madison wasn’t letting them off the hook that easily. While Madison’s win streak is burning hot, Omaha’s skid is freezing over. With things looking this rough, the team might just be shaking things up behind the scenes, maybe even making some last-minute roster tweaks to stop the bleeding.
LOVB Omaha in a tough spot!
After dropping seven straight, Omaha shook things up, and Lincoln Arneal hopped on X to break the news. On March 18, he revealed, “LOVB Omaha adds another middle blocker to its roster ahead of two matches this weekend. Sami Francis brings an impressive resume from Stanford and will be eligible for Friday’s match.” Translation? Omaha isn’t just sitting around letting the losses pile up—they’re making moves and stacking talent.
But let’s be real, roster shifts aren’t the only thing fans are talking about. Omaha has already been under fire, and not just because of their losing streak. Lexi Rodriguez? She’s been riding the bench way too much for people’s liking, and fans are not happy about it. Back on February 28, Avid Volley took to X and dropped a stat that had everyone fuming: “We’re two months into the LOVB season and the only liberos to not start a match are Omaha’s Lexi Rodriguez and Annie Cesar. What a waste of opportunity and resources.” Yikes.
And just when you thought Avid Volley was done, they doubled down, adding, “This isn’t about JWO either (who is the best). But placing Rodriguez on a team that has the best American libero is??? Lexi brings as many eyes to the sport as any American right now and for what? To do fashion shoots and dances on the bench?” Oof—shots fired. And let’s be real, they’ve got a point. On one hand, you have Justine Wong-Orantes, an Olympic gold medalist and defensive mastermind. On the other? Lexi Rodriguez, the young phenom who just shattered JWO’s Nebraska school record in December with 1,897 career digs. For now, though? Lexi’s back on the court, and trust—she’s making waves.
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