Leketor Member-Meneh hit 50 kills over the Indy Ingite’s first four matches, including 23 in Indy’s win over the Columbus Fury and 12 in the Ignite’s home opener against the Omaha Supernovas (pictured). (Justin Sicking)
The REPORTER
The second season of the Indy Ignite is off to a good start.
Lydia Martyn had 11 digs and 11 blocks during the Ignite’s win over the Fury. She made another block against the Supernovas (pictured), giving her 12 for the season. (Justin Sicking)
The Ignite, members of Major League Volleyball, won their first three matches of the season before falling to the Omaha Supernovas 3-1 on Saturday, Jan. 24. The Ignite are hoping for a repeat of last season where they made the MLV playoffs in their inaugural season.
Indy began the season Jan. 10 with a 3-1 victory over the Dallas Pulse. The set scores were 25-27, 27-25, 26-24, 25-20. Azhani Taler led offensively and defensively with 19 kills and 16 digs.
Leketor Member-Meneh also hit 10 kills and collected 10 digs. Libero Elena Scott made 13 digs. Mia Tuaniga handed out 32 assists, followed by 14 assists from Ainise Havili. Emoni Bush made three blocks.
Fighting off Fury
The Ignite played the Columbus Fury on Jan. 17 and won a five-set match, 25-23, 24-26, 25-18, 22-25, 22-20. The match took 2 hours, 46 minutes to complete.
Indy put down 73 kills as a team, with Member-Meneh hitting 23. Anna DeBeer hit 21 kills; they were joined in double digits by Tealer with 12 kills and Lydia Martyn with 10.
Scott scooped up 15 digs, with Martyn making 11 digs and 11 blocks. Tuaniga handed out 61 assists.
The Ignite won those first two matches on the road, and they went back on the road Jan. 22 to face the Orlando Valkyries. Indy won that match in four sets, 25-18, 23-25, 27-25, 25-18.
Azhani Tealer hit 16 kills for the Ignite against the Supernovas. (Justin Sicking)
Balanced offense
Kayla Lund was the hitting leader in that match, spiking 14 kills. Bush was next with 13, while Tealer was part of the balanced offense with 10 kills. Havili dished out 31 assists and Tuaniga handed out 28.
Lund also led the defense with 13 digs. Blake Mohler made six blocks.
Indy finally played its first home match Saturday, Jan. 24 when the Ignite hosted the Omaha Supernovas. Omaha won the match in four sets, 23-25, 25-22, 25-16, 25-23.
Tealer led the offense with 16 kills, while Member-Meneh hit 12 kills and DeBeer spiked 11. Tuaniga dished out 46 assists.
Scott collected 15 digs, while DeBeer scooped up 14 and Member-Meneh made 10 digs. Tealer also had four blocks.
The Ignite will play their next three matches at home. Indy hosts the Atlanta Vibe on Thursday, then has a re-match with Dallas on Saturday, Jan. 31. The Ignite finish their homestand on Friday, Feb. 6 with a match against the Grand Rapids Rise.
