ORLANDO, Fla. — The Orlando Valkyries took another hit in the Major League Volleyball playoff race Sunday afternoon, falling in straight sets to the San Diego Mojo, 25-17, 25-19, 25-23, at home. The loss dropped Orlando to 10-14 on the season and made the path to the postseason even tougher with the regular season winding down.
Coming into the match, the Valkyries were chasing San Diego for one of the final playoff spots in Frisco, Texas. Instead, the Mojo strengthened their position with a composed performance that kept Orlando from finding any real momentum until late in the match.
San Diego, which opened the season 1-6 and has now turned that slow start into a 13-11 record, controlled the pace from the opening set. The Mojo established themselves early behind strong work at the net and efficient attacking, forcing Orlando to play from behind almost all afternoon.
“Credit to San Diego, there’s a reason why they’ve had the turnaround that they’ve had,” head coach Amy Pauly said after the match. “Their middles played really well against us and made it difficult for us to get things going.”
The Mojo grabbed a 2-0 lead behind a balanced attack, with outside hitter Grace Loberg accounting for 10 of San Diego’s first 25 kills. Orlando struggled to get into rhythm through the first two sets, but the third brought a response.
Looking for a spark, the Valkyries opened the third set with a different lineup, going with Adanna Schad, Charitie Luper, Natalie Foster, Bre Kelley, Zoe Weatherington, Hannah Pukis and Teodora Pusic. The adjustment helped Orlando come out with better energy, and the Valkyries built a 12-9 lead as the home crowd tried to will them back into the match.
But San Diego answered quickly.
A 7-2 run flipped the score to 16-14, and once the Mojo regained control, Orlando was never quite able to take it back. The Valkyries pushed late and made the third set the most competitive of the match, but San Diego closed it out to complete the sweep.
Even in the loss, Orlando had a few bright spots. Natalie Foster continued her strong season with another efficient outing, hitting .700 with 7 kills on 10 swings. She also added an ace, giving her 50 on the season. Foster has now hit better than .500 in four straight matches when recording more than 10 swings.
She also shared the team lead in points with Hannah Maddux, as both players finished with 10.
Orlando also got an important lift from the bench. Zoe Weatherington finished with 7 kills and Adanna Schad added 4, with both players setting new career highs in kills for the Valkyries this season.
“We’ve had to go through so many different lineups over the course of the season, and it’s been frustrating how it’s been recently,” Pauly said. “When you see the type of depth we have, where you saw Adanna and Zoe coming off the bench and giving you some point scoring juice tonight, we have the talent, it just hasn’t been clicking like we’ve liked it to.”
One of the clearest differences in the match came at the net, where San Diego outblocked Orlando 12-3. That edge helped the Mojo dictate the flow of key stretches and kept the Valkyries from sustaining offensive pressure.
Despite the loss and the tighter playoff outlook, Orlando is not backing away from the challenge ahead.
“At the end of the day, we’ve still got a chance to get in this thing, so we’ll regroup, get back after it and get us in a position to be ready to go against Indy,” Pauly said.
Notes
- Hannah Maddux and Natalie Foster led the Valkyries with 10 points
- San Diego outblocked Orlando 12-3
- Natalie Foster recorded her 50th ace of the season
- Zoe Weatherington (7) and Adanna Schad (4) both set new career highs in kills for Orlando this season
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