The Orlando Valkyries lost 3-1 against the Indy Ignite Thursday night at Additional Financial Arena. With Orlando’s defeat, Indy became the only undefeated team in Major League Volleyball this season.
“I think we wanted to play aggressive in transition,” Ignite coach Lauren Bertolacci said. “We wanted to do our best to slow down Abercrombie, she is a superstar for a reason. I think we did a pretty good job, slowing her down and being able to take advantage in transition. So, it’s a really good win. It’s a great team. I’m happy to be three-and-zero early in the season, but one step at a time.”
Valkyries outside hitter Charitie Luper led the game with 15 kills, 17 digs and five blocks. Despite her performance, Orlando dropped their first game of the season after a successful two game road trip.
Orlando’s star opposite hitter and reigning MLV MVP Brittany Abercrombie was held to her lowest kill percentage on the season with 21%. Abercrombie’s seven kills is her lowest mark in a full match in her Valkyries career.
Game Flow
Orlando started off well as the team held a five point lead for the first half of the set. Indy would mount a comeback and would ultimately win the set. The Ignite sparked a 14-4 run to close the first set, handing the Valkyries their first loss in Set 1 in the 2025-26 season.
The second set was back-and-forth the entire way, including 14 ties and lead changes. After trailing 22-21 late, the Valkyries went on a 4-1 run to close the set. Natalie Foster collected her MLV-leading 10th service ace, while Orlando won on a service error.
For most of the third set, the Valkyries held the lead and fought off attempts from the Ignite to take the advantage. Tied at 19, the teams had a 38-touch point that Orlando won on an attack error.
Orlando only needed one point to win the set, but Indy would answer and take their first lead of the set 25-24 and win it 27-25.
“I think the team is very gritty, like, but it’s what we want to be, is what we have to be,” Bertolacci said. “This league is like, it’s crazy. Every game you go into, you’re gonna win sets by one or two. You can’t win by one, but two points, and it’s gonna go to overtime every time. So I think that we have to be greedy, we have to be ready to take those chances and just be more aggressive, and sometimes we’re gonna lose them because of that style of play, but I think we’ll get better at it as the season goes on. So I’m very happy with that.”
Down 2-1, Orlando would have to start the fourth set well but would fail to do so. The Ignite quickly built a 12-3 lead, one that they would not give up. Despite going on an 8-3 run after falling behind by nine, the Valkyries could not take the lead.
“The biggest thing was how fast they go on offense and transition, but until you see it live, you really can’t get the feel for how fast,” Pauly said. “I mean, it’s really, really fast, and they do such a good job of getting off of the net and getting back on to transition, and they play great short court up at the net. And like, so I think the bottom line is now that we’ve seen it once, we’ll have an idea of how it goes the next time.”
Next Up
Orlando will look to bounce back at home against the Dallas Pulse on Sunday. The match will be the first meeting between the expansion team Pulse and the Valkyries.
“You have to have a short memory in this league,” Valkyries middle blocker Kazmiere Brown said. “I mean, it’s a really quick turnaround, so we take this and we learn from it. We watch film, we digest it, and then we prepare for Dallas, a really good team, and, you know, another opportunity to play on our home floor.”
First serve against the Pulse is set for 3:00 p.m. on Jan. 25.