After career nights from Natalie Foster, Kaz Brown and Brittany Abercrombie the Orlando Valkyries are headed to the playoffs, completing a 3-0 road sweep over the Columbus Fury (8-16) by set scores of 25-17, 25-18, 25-17. The Valkyries join the Atlanta Vibe and the Omaha Supernovas as the three teams that have clinched a postseason bid to date. Orlando will have their chance to compete for a championship in Vegas from on May 9 & 11.
In what was a good night to get the offense back into a rhythm, the Valkyries hit to the tune of an incredible .333 efficiency, the first time they’ve hit over .300 since February 27, when they swept the Omaha Supernovas on the road. In each set, the Valkyries were able to get out to early leads that made it difficult for Columbus to challenge.
In the first set, Orlando set the tone from the jump, getting out to a 12-7 lead, where Brown recorded three-straight blocks, foreshadowing things to come for Orlando later. Even with Columbus fighting hard and cutting down the lead to as much as two at 17-15, Abercrombie and Brown would combine for nine kills in the first, as Orlando took set one 25-17.
The second set was completely different for Columbus, as the offense finally opened up, trading blows early and often with Orlando. As Orlando led 11-8, the Valkyries would gradually light it up offensively, growing their lead to 20-14, en route to a 25-18 win. The Valkyries finished the set with an outstanding .457 efficiency, led by Abercrombie who had eight kills on a .727 efficiency, tying her highest efficiency percentage in a single set this season.
Riding with all of the momentum, the Valkyries continued to keep their foot on the gas, as they climbed to a 9-2 lead in the third set. Just like the first set, Columbus would fight all the way back to a 10-7 deficit. With a chance to clinch so close to them, Orlando would go off, getting out to a 9-2 run and marking the score up to 19-9. Orlando would start and finish just like they did in set one, completing the road sweep 25-17.
In what was a huge win all around for the Valkyries, they also came away with some records. Abercrombie finished with 19 kills on the night and increasing her season total to 397, now the most kills in a single season in league history.
Foster, the league’s leader in service aces with 57, tied a league record with six service aces in a three-set match. This is the second time she has tied a league mark, where she recorded six service aces in a four-set match back on February 8 versus the Indy Ignite.