Game Preview: Orlando Valkyries at San Diego Mojo: March 19, 2025
March 18, 2025 - Pro Volleyball Federation (PVF)
San Diego Mojo News Release
Game 18: Orlando Valkyries (11-6) and San Diego Mojo (6-11)
San Diego and Orlando will play for the fourth and final time this season and second time in San Diego. The Valkyries were victorious in the first two matchups, sweep the season opener in Orlando on January 9 then topping the Mojo in four sets in San Diego on January 16. San Diego defeated Orlando on the road last week, winning in five sets on March 13.
The Mojo and Valkyries have met seven times heading into Wednesday's game with Mojo leading the series, 4-3. San Diego has a 1-2 mark at home against Orlando. Five of the seven games in the series have gone the full five sets.
Former Mojo outside hitter and current Valkyrie Lindsey Vander Weide will face her former squad for the fourth time. Vander Weide ranked second on the team in scoring last season with 3.4 points per set and earned PVF Player of the Week honors after establishing league records with 32 points and 30 kills in the last match between the Mojo and Valkyries on May 9.
Mojo Promotions and Giveaways
The Mojo are celebrating Extended St. Paddy's Day and the first 1,000 fans in attendance will receive a free Mojo St. Paddy's Day Scarf.
Tune-In
The game will air live in San Diego on KUSI on channel 51 and stream nationally on YouTube.
* Tanner Collins (play-by-play) and Lori Thomas (analyst) will be on the call.
San Diego Mojo Outlook
San Diego Mojo returns home after splitting a pair of road games last week, topping then first-place Orlando on March 13 in five sets, then falling in Atlanta in March 15 in another five-set thriller.
In Atlanta, rookie outside hitter Maya Tabron had a career night for the Mojo, establishing career highs of 25 points, 20 kills and two aces, while also adding three blocks and completing her third double-double of the season with 12 digs. Her 25 points are tied for the sixth-most in San Diego history and are a season-high for the Mojo.
Outside hitter Kendra Dahlke collected her ninth double-double of the season, registering 15 kills and 21 digs to go along with a pair of blocks. The 21 digs are the fifth-most in Mojo history. DaYeong Lee also had a stellar outing, as the setter dished out a season-best 54 assists, the fifth-most ever for a Mojo player, and added 16 digs for her 10th double-double of the year while also picking out two blocks and three kills.
Middle blocker Ronika Stone equaled a career high with 15 kills and had a .375 hitting percentage on the night, while libero Shara Venegas collected 18 digs and opposite Lauren Page scored 10 points with seven kills and three blocks.
Dahlke has been one of the top players in the Pro Volleyball Federation in 2025, ranking among the top 10 in kills (221/5th), kills per set (3.56/8th), points (240/6th), points per set (3.87/8th), digs (192/8th), and digs per set (3.10/6th). Lee is fourth in the PVF in total assists with 629 total assists on the year and assists per set averaging 10.15 per frame.
Stone remains a force among middle blockers in the league, ranking fifth in the league in total blocks (38) and blocks per set (0.58). Middle blocker Regan Pittman has also been among the best middles in the league, totaling 26 blocks, while averaging 0.79 blocks per set, the third-best average in the league. She has also collected six aces on the year and is averaging 0.18 aces per set, tied for the ninth-best mark in the league.
Venegas has come up huge in court coverage, averaging 3.85 digs per set with 235 total digs, the second-best marks in the PVF in both categories.
San Diego is one of the best blocking teams in the league this season and currently ranks fifth in the PVF averaging 2.32 blocks per set. The Mojo has had at least 10 blocks in six of the last seven games.
Orlando Valkyries Outlook
Orlando arrives in San Diego with home losses in their last two games, the five-set loss against San Diego followed by a four-set loss to first-place Omaha. Prior to the two setbacks, the Valkyries had won a league-record nine consecutive games and held a 7-1 mark at home.
The Valkyries are 4-3 on the road this season, including wins at San Diego, Atlanta and Omaha.
Rookie middle blocker Natalie Foster has tallied a PVF-record 38 service aces this season and is leading the league averaging 0.59 aces per set. She has registered at least three in four of the last five games. In the lone blemish, she had zero aces against the Mojo. Foster ranks fourth in the league with a .340 hitting percentage and fifth in with a 43.8% kill percentage.
Opposite hitter Brittany Abercrombie leads the league with 295 kills, 4.47 kills per set and 4.89 points per set, while her 323 total points is second and her 39.8% kill percentage is 10th. Middle blocker Kazmiere Brown is third in the PVF with 42 total blocks and seventh in kill percentage at 40.4%, while setter Pornpun Guedpard is second with 11.20 assists per set and 672 total assists.
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Pro Volleyball Federation Stories from March 18, 2025
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- Game Preview: Orlando Valkyries at San Diego Mojo: March 19, 2025 - San Diego Mojo
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