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Ignite
Grind out Fourth Straight Victory,
Top
Atlanta in Four Sets
GWINNETT, Georgia, February 21, 2026.– They don’t come any
tougher than Indy’s win at Atlanta, but the Ignite showed just how
resilient they are at Gas South Arena, downing the host Vibe in four
sets.
Indy
battled from behind in each of the final two sets, ending the
hard-fought match with a 25-21 23-25, 27-25, 25-23 victory. The win
is the fourth straight for the Ignite, equaling the franchise best
set last season. It also kept Indy safely alone atop Major League
Volleyball with a 10-2 record.
Capturing the win in such a slugfest is just fine with Ignite head
coach Lauren Bertolacci. It helps build character for further wins
later in the season.
“Getting us in situations like tonight is really important,”
Bertolacci said. “There was a moment where they kind of looked a bit
frazzled, we were down like 15-9 and I was like, ‘Hey, we've been
here before!’ and everyone was like, ‘Oh yeah, we have been here
before.’ The more situations we can be in and be successful at, and
fail and learn how to be successful at, the better for us as the
season goes on.”
Setter Mia Tuaniga, who played for the Vibe last season, was
masterful in her return to Atlanta. The second-year pro had 54
assists and tied for the team lead with 14 digs to earn her second
double-double of the season. As usual, Tuaniga spread the wealth
with five teammates scoring in double figures – led by Camryn
Hannah’s best performance as a pro with 23 points (20 kills, two
service aces and a block) and seven digs.
Hannah, who started for the second straight match at opposite hitter
in place of the injured Azhani Tealer, scored Indy’s first four
points of the night on two kills and back-to-back aces. She totaled
eight kills (and 10 points) in the set as the Ignite controlled the
tempo and took it by four points.
The
Vibe broke from a 22-22 tie in set two, scoring three of the final
four points to even the match, despite outside hitter Anna DeBeer’s
seven kills and seven digs, and Tuaniga registering 15 assists for
the second straight set.
The
third set exemplified the grit the Ignite have exhibited all season.
They fell behind 4-1, recovered to lead by as many as three, fell
behind again and rallied to tie at 22 – only to see Atlanta forge
ahead 24-22 and sit within a point of taking a 2-1 lead. The Ignite
warded off three Vibe set points – on an Atlanta service error
followed by kills from DeBeer and middle blocker Lydia Martyn –
before a Blake Mohler kill and Martyn service ace pulled out the
27-25 triumph.
Indy
dug out from an even deeper hole in the fourth set, rallying from an
11-4 deficit to even the score at 16. Neither team led by more than
a point again until the Ignite tallied the final three. Hannah’s
20th kill made it 24-23 and middle blocker Mohler’s second block
ended the match.
In
addition to Hannah’s 23-point outburst, DeBeer scored 17 (16 kills,
one block) and had 13 digs, outside hitter Leketor Member-Meneh had
16 points (14 kills, two blocks) and 14 digs, Martyn totaled 12
points (eight kills, two blocks, two aces) and Mohler 11 points
(eight kills, two blocks, one ace). As a team, Indy posted more than
respectable kill percentage (41.0%) and efficiency (23.6%) totals.
Tuaniga alluded to Hannah’s “calm spirit” for making her strong on
the court and lifting her teammates at the same time.
“Even under stress – and we were under stress a lot in those sets
going point for point, point for point,” Tuaniga said, “every time I
talk to her, she’s like bringing us back down and keeping us
focused.”
An
MLV All-Star last season when she played for Vegas, Hannah credited
that same cool-hand approach for her success on any night.
“Having the same mentality the whole game,” she said, “whether it's
point one or 24-24, I'm going to go up and I'm going to swing, I'm
going to be aggressive at whatever ball is given to me. I know that
my teammates have my back, so if I get blocked, it’s next ball and
on to the next.”
Her
coach couldn’t agree more.
“She
just rips it,” Bertolacci said. “We just want her to go out there,
swing on every ball, be aggressive, goldfish mentality. Don't care
if she gets blocked, come back around again and do the same thing.
She's best when she just swings really high and really hard, and I
think for most of the game she did it really well, especially at the
end there.”
The
Ignite close their three-match road swing with a visit Friday to
Columbus to take on the Fury at 7 p.m. ET, with a livestream
available on WTHR+, the MLV YouTube channel and Samsung TV Plus.
Indy returns home Sunday, March 1 to take on Omaha at 2 p.m. ET.
Atlanta takes to the road for the team’s next match against the
Omaha Supernovas on Thursday, February 26 at 8 pm ET. |