HENDERSON, NV — They may not have reached their ultimate destination, but the journey was well worth the ride for the Indy Ignite.
While they battled hard in Sunday’s BIC Soleil Pro Volleyball Federation Championship, the Ignite fell in four sets to the Orlando Valkyries. The team that few outside the organization gave much of a chance heading into 2025 finished their inaugural PVF season second in the league.
Orlando won by scores of 25-21, 25-19, 19-25 and 25-15 at Lee’s Family Forum outside Las Vegas to claim the title and $1 million bonus in the league’s second year of existence. Indy heads home knowing it has built a solid foundation and robust fan base for the future.
“This is a big step for our organization,” said Azhani Tealer, the PVF All-First Team opposite hitter and All-Star who led the Ignite with 16 kills against the Valkyries. “The first year (for the franchise), being in this match is a huge thing. I don’t think any of us have forgotten that, so we’re really excited about that."
“We’re really young, no one expected us to be here in the first place,” she continued. “We have a lot of young people like that, hopefully coming back, so I think teams like Orlando should be really scared for next season. It was a great season for us, and we don’t take that for granted.”
Behind the “otherworldly” play of opposite hitter Brittany Abercrombie, who was named PVF MVP for the regular season on Saturday, Orlando pulled away late to win the opening two sets. Both times, the Ignite trailed just 15-14 but couldn’t get over the hump.
“It kind of felt like deer in the headlights a little bit to start the match,” Tealer said. “A little frantic, and that’s not really who we are. It’s hard to get yourself out of that hole when their team kind of has all the momentum.”
Indy rallied to control the third set from the outset, paced by Tealer’s seven kills and 54.5% efficiency, along with five kills from outside hitter Nina Cajic and three kills and a block by middle blocker Caroline “CC” Crawford.
The Ignite led 3-2 in the fourth set before the Valkyries went on a 10-4 run sparked by four block points. Leading 17-13, Orlando essentially put the match away with a six-point run from which Indy couldn’t recover.
“I wish we could’ve played a little more clean like we did on Friday,” Ignite head coach George Padjen said, referring to the Ignite’s semifinal over top-seeded Omaha. “We just looked choppy. It kind of felt like we had something going there in the third game, and (Orlando) just settled in nicely and kept passing the ball. Good by them.”
In addition to Tealer’s 16-kill performance, the Ignite received strong performances from middle blocker Lydia Martyn (eight kills, two blocks, one service ace), Cajic (10 kills, one ace), Crawford (eight kills, three blocks) and Hilley (37 assists, 11 digs).
Abercrombie was outstanding for Orlando, collecting 28 kills, three blocks, eight digs and an impressive 40.3% efficiency.
“Brittany kind of took over the entire game,” Hilley admitted. “To hit .403 as an opposite and have 28 kills, that’s pretty unreal. We couldn’t figure out how to really slow her down, and then it was hard for us to put a ball down. They served well, they defended well and it was hard for us to put a ball away.”
To which Tealer added, “Brittany, that’s otherworldly numbers. When you play that well and we play like how we played, it’s a recipe for not good.”
Nonetheless, the head coach and his players know the future shines bright for this team that left its mark in its inaugural season.
“We definitely had a lot of ups and downs this season, but I’m proud of us,” said Hilley, the PVF Setter of the Year and All-First Team pick. “I feel like everyone showed a lot of growth throughout this year, and I’m excited to see what year two has.”
Padjen pointed out how much his young team progressed on the court throughout the season, but he was just as proud of the type of women on the roster, top to bottom, that represented Indy so well.
“We came quite a long way,” he said. “The early matches in the season that we won, even, we still had no clue yet, and we were trying to figure things out. To get in this space, to the championship final, it’s great. Yeah, not the outcome you want, but my biggest takeaway is some of the people I met this year are some quality human beings.”
