Final Home Match Helps Ignite Prepare for Rigors of Postseason
Indy Drops Five-Setter to Atlanta but Remains Focused on PVF Playoffs
By: Mark Robinson
FISHERS, Ind. (May 1, 2025) – It was a playoff-like atmosphere with two playoff-bound teams tonight at Fishers Event Center. And while the Indy Ignite came out on the short end against the Atlanta Vibe, there’s plenty the Ignite can take from the defeat to prepare for next week’s Pro Volleyball Federation Championship.
Atlanta pulled a reverse sweep to extend its PVF record to 13 straight wins and keep alive its hopes for securing the top seed in the playoffs. Indiana is set as the No. 4 seed and will play either the Vibe or the Omaha Supernovas in the semifinals on May 9.
Indy won the opening two sets tonight – 28-26 and 25-21 – that included a miraculous first-set rally to recover from a 23-17 deficit and fight off two Atlanta set points. The Vibe (19-8) rebounded to win the third and fourth sets by identical 25-21 scores. Indy led the fifth set 9-8 before Atlanta scored seven of the last eight points to win the set 15-10 and the match 3-2.
Despite the defeat in the home finale that dropped his team to 13-14 on the season, Ignite head coach George Padjen was pleased with how the difficulty of the match will make his team more battle-tested when they reach the playoffs.
“I think we started out so strong, we executed in all the ways we wanted to,” Padjen said. “Atlanta’s a great team, though. They haven’t won 13 in a row without being really talented. You’ve got to tip your cap sometimes when somebody comes out and plays like that.
“I’m proud of the way we played tonight, obviously (against) a top team,” he added. “We’re going to be in something close like this no matter who you play next week. They’re going to be good, that’s just going to be a fact. And we’re really good. I stick to it that we’re incredibly dangerous. We’ve just got to buy in all the way.”
Middle blocker Nnedi Okammor, who anchored Indy inside tonight with seven kills and a team-high five blocks, said she and her teammates need to keep applying pressure to opponents when they have a chance to close out a sweep. Tonight marked the seventh time the Ignite lost the third set when leading 2-0, with three of those matches (including tonight) turning into reverse sweep losses.
“The third set, we really need to come out stronger,” Okammor said. “If we’re up the first two sets, we need to come out strong and pull out a sweep. We can’t let another team just come up from behind if we want to make a deep run in these playoffs.”
Outside hitter Anna DeBeer led the Ignite attack with a season-high 25 kills (eight more than her previous best), three blocks (equaling her season best) and 10 digs. Finally back to near full health after recovering from a serious ankle injury sustained in the NCAA championships in December that kept her out of her first 10 PVF matches, the Louisville product said the Ignite can benefit from tonight’s result to make them more resilient in the postseason.