Indy Ignite have existed for two seasons and have yet to fail to make the playoffs.
The Ignite became the first Major League Volleyball team to clinch their spot in the four-team field beginning May 7 by beating the San Diego Mojo in five sets — 25-20, 19-25, 22-25, 25-19, 15-9 — Thursday. Indy (17-4) will set its sights on winning the regular-season championship with a 1.5-game lead on the Dallas Pulse with seven matches to play.
San Diego (10-11) became the fourth team unable to overtake the Ignite by the first playoff tiebreaker — points earned in match results. But, the Mojo went on an 8-1 run in the third set to take momentum of Thursday’s match until Ignite coach Lauren Bertolacci made match-changing tweaks to her lineup.
“We definitely want to go to Dallas, so now we are and that is important,” Bertolacci said. “Like I’ve said a million times, anything can happen in that kind of (playoff) format, but you’ve got to be there to make it happen. Winning breeds winning and we want to keep winning.”
Rookie Taylor Landfair started and had five kills on 10 swings (.500) in the set. Lydia Martyn also entered for the first time since March, returning from an ankle injury, and added two kills and a block.
The fifth set featured a one-on-one block by Martyn as Indy got off to a 4-0 start. It was keyed by setter Mia Tuaniga’s top-spin serve, which put pressure on the Mojo. Indy scored six straight points to start the decisive set before San Diego could side out.
The 6-foot-5 Landfair out of Nebraska had seven kills (.333) to fuel Indy with its backs against the walls. She gave way to Roncalli grad Emma Halter as a defensive replacement with a 7-2 lead in the fifth set as Landfair’s rotation went to the back row. Halter had a pair of digs before Landfair returned.
“I just wanted to take advantage of my opportunity,” Landfair said, “just because every opportunity is something new or something different. It’s really cool that I get to be able to play in this league and try to make sure that when I go into the game to just to go for it.”
Tuaniga had a pair of kills in the fifth set, dancing her way into a Mojo timeout with a 12-6 lead in hand. The second-year setter out of USC, and Long Beach, California native, finished with and 56 assists and six kills (.750) in her return to her home state.
Azhani Tealer led the way with 22 kills on 48 swings with three errors (.333). The Ignite hit .211 for the match but improved with Landfair’s emergence in the fourth set, when they hit .342, and .240 in the fifth set in which Martyn, Tealer, Landfair and Tuaniga each had a pair of kills.
The Ignite return to the Fishers Event Center at 3 p.m. Sunday against the Atlanta Vibe (8-12). The status of Leketor Member-Meneh after suffering an ankle injury was not yet known.
This story was updated with postmatch reaction.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indy Ignite clinch playoff spot for second straight season, seek MLV regular-season championship
Reporting by Aaron Ferguson, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
