Ignite Fire Back into Win Column with Victory over San Diego
Tealer, Cajic and Mohler Lead Attack as Indy Advances to 5-4 on Season
By: Mark Robinson
FISHERS, Ind. (February 13, 2025) – The Indy Ignite returned to their winning ways tonight, pounding past the visiting San Diego Mojo in four sets before an ecstatic crowd at Fishers Event Center.
The victory, by scores of 25-21, 25-14, 18-25 and 25-15, ended a two-match losing skid and advanced the Ignite’s record to 5-4 in Pro Volleyball Federation competition. The Mojo lost for the fourth straight time, dropping their record to 3-6.
“We needed that,” Ignite outside hitter Azhani Tealer said of the win. “We know we’re really good, but this is a tough league and we’re going to take some Ls. To get a win against a team that’s really good, it’s a lot of fun, so it was good for us.”
Tealer, one of three Ignite players named Tuesday to the PVF All-Star Team, was among several Indy players to have a lot of fun in the match. She tied for the team high with 16 kills and led the Ignite with four blocks for points and two service aces. Fellow outside hitter Nina Cajic also had 16 kills to go with a block. Middle blocker Blake Mohler totaled 11 kills and a block.
Mohler was particularly effective in the opening set when she notched five kills as the Ignite bolted to a 10-4 lead and were never headed. She credited her slide move to attack at the pin for the big night.
“I felt a lot of confidence coming from my setter,” Mohler said, dishing an assist to Ignite setter and PVF All-Star Sydney Hilley, who handed out 47 assists in the match. “It was just a really calm setting match so it was easy to score when the ball was so perfect in my range.”
Indy pulled to a 16-8 lead in the second set when outside hitter Leketor Member-Meneh – the third Ignite All-Star – left the match with an apparent left ankle injury and didn’t return. Even without the league’s leading scorer, Indy held strong for a 25-14 second-set win.
San Diego found its mojo in the third set, jumping to a 10-4 lead that led to a 25-18 set win and extended the match. Indy never trailed in the final set, scoring four straight points to take a 13-7 lead and meticulously extending the advantage to the final 10-point margin.
“The first two sets, everything was working well,” Tealer said. “Obviously, Lek goes down and that’s tough. She’s a lot of points, a lot of production, a lot of personality and leadership, and so that’s hard. Ultimately, I think we scored a lot from the middle and blocked a lot in the middle, and we haven’t done that necessarily at that level that we did today. That was big from our middles tonight.”
The Ignite head back on the road Sunday, meeting the Atlanta Vibe for the first time in a match that airs live on CBS Sports Network at 6 p.m. ET. Heading there coming off a win is important, according to Mohler.