HENDERSON, Nev. - The Vegas Thrill (6-2) ended its two match home stand with a four-set triumph (25-23, 25-23, 19-25, 25-19) against the Atlanta Vibe (4-3), defeating them for the first time in franchise history on Sunday night at the Lee's Family Forum. The Thrill was previously 0-6 against the Vibe, including 0-3 this season before Sunday night's victory.
Set 1
Both teams traded points to get the match started as Vegas outside hitter Hannah Maddux delivered with a pair of kills, tying the set at 3-3. Vegas took its first lead of the set, 7-6, after a Morgan Stout kill, and they went on a 3-0 after that to make it 9-6 Thrill. Atlanta went on a 4-0 run to take a 13-11 cushion and Vegas scored back-to-back points to tie the match thanks to a pair of Maddux kills, her fourth and fifth of the set. The Vibe regained a two-point lead, 16-14, thanks to a Vegas attack error and a Khori Louis kill. A 4-0 Vegas run tied up the set, 19-19, and they took a 20-19 lead after an Atlanta attack error. Maddux picked up a big-time block to put the Thrill up 23-22 followed by an Atlanta pass error put them up by two. The Thrill secured the 25-22 set one victory, the first of the season, after an Atlanta service error. Maddux tallied five kills, two digs, one service ace, one assist and one block while setter Alisha Childress posted 12 assists. Additionally, outside hitter Charitie Luper put up four digs.
Set 2
Maddux had a stellar start to begin set two as the second-year pro put up five digs and was able to put Vegas ahead, 11-10. DeFalco and Luper were lights out on defense, collecting key digs and forcing Atlanta to give away points on dig errors. The Vibe tied the set, 13-13, and took a 15-14 lead on a Whitney Bower service ace. Vegas' Stout posted her first kill of the set to put Vegas up 16-15 and after the set was tied 17-17, Vegas forced Atlanta to register back-to-back attack errors. The Thrill tallied a key 3-0 run to put them up 20-17 after an Atlanta pass error off a Luper serve. Maddux's seventh kill of the set put the Thrill up 23-20 and they battled through to collect a 2-0 lead thanks to a 25-23 set two triumph. In set two, Maddux posted eight kills on a .583 hitting percentage, Luper posted five kills and two digs, and as a team, they hit an impressive .372 clip. The Thrill also limited 2024 PVF Player of the Year Leah Edmond and 2025 first overall pick Merritt Beason to four combined kills in set two.
Set 3
Vegas got off to a hot start to begin set three as they went up 6-3. Maddux put the Thrill up 7-3 after her second service ace of the match. The Vibe responded by going on a 3-0 run before Luper put a stop to that with a solid kill, her sixth of the match. Atlanta would go on to tie the set, 9-9, and took their first lead of the set after a Vegas pass error. The Vibe stormed through for a three-point advantage, 16-13, before the media timeout. The momentum for Atlanta showed as they went on a 4-0 run and Beason put up a key service ace for a 19-13 lead. Atlanta's biggest lead of the set was 21-14 and they came through for the 25-19 set three win. Edmond put up six kills and hit .300 overall, while libero Morgan Hentz captured four digs. Atlanta's hitting percentage through three sets was .384 compared to Vegas' .245 clip.
Set 4
Just like set three, Vegas got off to a solid start with a 4-1 lead. The Vegas lead grew even bigger by them going up 9-4 after a solid Luper kill that forced Atlanta to call a timeout. Maddux tallied her 14th kill of the match to put the Thrill up 12-7. A pivotal moment in set three came from Childress' assist laying on the ground to put the Thrill up by six, 15-9. Hannah recorded a much-needed solo block going into the media timeout with Vegas up, 16-10. Hannah delivered once again with her second kill of the set for a five-point advantage. Vegas' momentum shined through the latter half of set four as they went up 22-15, their largest lead of the match. It was all Thrill from there as they won set four, 25-19, and earned their first win in franchise history against the Vibe.
Key Stats
The Thrill were led by outside hitter Hannah Maddux's 16 kills, seven digs, two solo blocks and one assist on one assist. Charitie Luper put up nine kills, eight digs, while Alisha Childress tallied 41 assists and nine digs. Camryn Hannah posted another double-digit kill performance with 10 kills, five digs and two solo blocks. Libero Teagan DeFaclo registered 15 digs and three assists. The Vibe were paced by outside hitter Leah Edmons' 16 kills and eight digs along with Merritt Beason's 15 kills and eight digs.
NEXT FOR THE THRILL: The Thrill hit the road where they will face the San Diego Mojo for the first time this season on Friday, Feb. 7 at 7:05 p.m. PT.