Orlando Rallies to Defeat Indy Ignite in Four Sets
Ignite Can’t Keep Momentum Going after Capturing Opening Set
By: Mark Robinson
ORLANDO, Fla. (February 8, 2025) – They don’t get any easier as the Pro Volleyball Federation season rolls on. While they put up another valiant effort tonight, the Indy Ignite fell short against the Orlando Valkyries, losing in four sets.
After beginning the match with a courageous 28-26 win in the opening set when they fought off a pair of Valkyrie set points, the Ignite could not get over the hump again. They never led in the second or third sets and only briefly in the fourth set, dropping them by scores of 25-19, 25-21 and 25-20.
The defeat is the fourth in the last five matches for the Ignite and evens their record at 4-4 on the season. Orlando moved to 5-4 with the home triumph at Addition Financial Arena on the University of Central Florida campus.
Despite the string of recent setbacks, Ignite opposite hitter Azhani Tealer – who led the team with 20 kills tonight and added a pair of blocks and 12 digs – remains confident the Ignite will recapture that winning formula in the highly competitive PVF.
“We’re all super competitive, we’re winners, we’ve won our whole careers, so losing’s not fun for any of us,” Tealer said. “We’re a little frustrated but we have to stick together, stay together, and we’re going to turn it around. It’ll be good.”
Outside hitter Nina Cajic added 18 kills to the effort, including a team-high eight in the opening set. Setter Sydney Hilley totaled 52 assists on the night, upping her league-leading average to 11.84 per set.
Orlando was led by middle blocker Natalie Foster, who set a PVF season high with six service aces and added 12 kills without an error for a stellar 60 percent kill percentage and kill efficiency. The Valkyries also doubled the Ignite in block points, 10-5.
“We kind of struggled to block, had to finish balls at the net, defend a little bit and made a couple bone-headed plays,” Tealer said. “And that’s a good team so we can’t give them that many opportunities. It’s tough but they’re a really good team, lots of big service runs. Obviously, Foster has got a gnarly serve and that’s tough on any team. We have to handle it better than we did tonight.”
Hilley stressed that the Ignite players and coaches will analyze what happened tonight and work harder to benefit from it.
“Every match, you can win, you can lose but you’ve got to learn from it,” she said. “This is a long season and every single team in this league is super talented. We’ve got to get back in the gym, find ways to get better every single day.”
Indy Ignite Volleyball Editor Mark Robinson may be reached at Mark@indyignitevb.com