GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (April 17, 2026) – It was a case of déjà vu for the Indy Ignite against the Grand Rapids Rise, and not in a good way. For the second straight meeting, Indy took the first set but Grand Rapids ran off the next three to capture the Major League Volleyball victory. The loss dropped Indy to 18-5 this season. While the Ignite remain atop the MLV standings, they are but a half-game ahead of Dallas (18-6). It sets up a showdown for first place Sunday when the Pulse visit Fishers Event Center at 6 p.m. ET. The match is a sellout with more than 6,500 tickets distributed, but standing room tickets are available at this link. Indy grabbed Friday’s first set from Grand Rapids going away, 25-18, behind six kills and a block from opposite hitter Azhani Tealer, 12 assists and six digs from setter Ainise Havili and a stringent Indy defense that limited Grand Rapids to a meager 6.7 percent hitting efficiency. The Ignite struggled to put together any runs in the closing three frames, though, falling by 25-20, 25-23 and 25-23 scores. Only once after the first set did the Ignite string together more than three points, scoring four in a row to take a 6-2 lead early in the fourth. The Rise responded with a five-point run to lead 17-16, and while the Ignite rallied to tie three times after that, they couldn’t forge ahead and force a fifth set. “We understand every game we’re going to play, we’re going to have an absolute fight,” Ignite coach Lauren Bertolacci said. “This is a healthy Grand Rapids, where earlier that was not the case and they dropped a few games. We knew what kind of quality team we were playing today and they played fantastic.” “I thought their pins did a really good job scoring a little bit through our block,” Indy’s coach added. “I think our serve pressure just dropped off a little (after the first set). We brought it back at the end of the game, but when they have their pins scoring at that rate, it’s going to be a tough situation for us. Offensively, we didn’t do a bad job today so I was looking more on the defensive side.” Grand Rapids’ pin hitters were quite effective on this night. Opposite hitter Elizabet Inneh led the Rise with 19 kills and outside hitter Carli Snyder added 17, as Grand Rapids rose from its paltry opening set to finish the match with an impressive hitting efficiency of 30.5 percent. As Bertolacci mentioned, the Ignite offense was effective as well. Indy bested Grand Rapids in kill percentage (43.1 to 41.1) and the Ignite were a hair better with a 30.7 percent efficiency. Tealer, the reigning MLV Player of the Week, topped the visitors in scoring with a season-high 24 kills along with a block, a service ace and 10 digs. Outside hitter Leketor Member-Meneh totaled 20 points on 18 kills (her second-best effort of 2026), a block and an ace, as well as nine digs. Starting for the third time at setter and first since January 22, Havili posted a season-high 51 assists to go with 14 digs and two kills. Normal starting setter Mia Tuaniga played sparingly, resting some minor aches with an eye toward being fully ready for the MLV playoffs in three weeks. While disappointed with the defeat, Member-Meneh said that it will fuel the Ignite for their remaining matches. She knows just where the focus will be. “Being more resilient and working on our defense and our blocking,” she said. “I’m not worried about it at all. As soon as we leave here, we’re going to get back in the gym and get working. So yeah, lots of time to improve.” Indy has already clinched one of the top two seeds in the four-team MLV Championship that runs May 7-9. They can take a major step toward securing the No. 1 seed with a win Sunday over Dallas. The match starts at 6 p.m. and will be preceded by a 2 p.m. scrimmage between the rival Purdue and Indiana volleyball teams, followed by a college tailgate at 4 p.m. on Forum Credit Union Plaza in front of Fishers Event Center. About The Author troyderengowski61@gmail.com See author's posts
