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The Indy Ignite professional volleyball team capped off its very first season of existence by falling one victory short of a league championship.
The Ignite lost a four-game battle to the Orlando Valkyries on Sunday in the Pro Volleyball Federation’s title match. Playing at Lee’s Family Forum outside Las Vegas, the Valkyries won 25-21, 25-19, 19-25 and 25-15 to claim the championship and a $1 million team bonus.
The Valkyries joined the Omaha Supernovas as the only two teams to win the PVF championship in the second-year league.
Indy, seeded No. 4 in the four-team championship tournament, qualified for the title match by beating top-seeded Omaha in five sets on Friday night. The Valkyries, seeded third, beat second-seeded Atlanta in the other semifinal.
Valkyries opposite hitter Brittany Abercrombie, who was named league MVP on Saturday, had 28 kills, three blocks and eight digs against Ignite.
All-Star opposite hitter Azhani Tealer led the Ignite with 16 kills against the Valkyries.
“This is a big step for our organization,” Tealer said. “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.”
The Ignite got strong performances from middle blocker Lydia Martyn (eight kills, two blocks, one service ace), outside hitter Nina Cajic (10 kills, one ace), middle blocker Caroline Crawford (eight kills, three blocks) and setter Sydney Hilley (37 assists, 11 digs).
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