Ignite to be Well Represented on the World Stage this Offseason
MLV Indy Ignite

Ignite to be Well Represented on the World Stage this Offseason

Published on May 20, 2026 under Major League Volleyball (MLV)
Indy Ignite News Release


The start of the Major League Volleyball off season comes with even more elite competition for Indy Ignite Head Coach Lauren Bertolacci, Assistant Coach Haley Brightwell, Libero Elena Scott, and Outside Hitter Emoni Bush.

Bertolacci, 2026 MLV Coach of the Year, is coaching the Swiss Women's National Team in Switzerland, Finland and North Macedonia in June while Brightwell has signed on to coach in the U.S. Women's National Team Development Program this summer and fall.

Brightwell will serve as an assistant coach for the USA Women's U19 and U23 National Teams, which compete in the North, Central America and Caribbean Volleyball Confederation (NORCECA). They'll play in the Girls U19 Continental Championship in Costa Rica in July and the Women's U23 Pan-American Cup in Nicaragua in August and September.

Scott, who completed a break-out season in which she was named an MLV Libero of the Year, included on the All-MLV First Team roster and also named an MLV All-Star, is beginning training this week as part of the U.S. National Team. The team trains in Anaheim, Calif., and is scheduled to play in Quebec City, the Philippines and Japan.

Bush will participate as part of the long list roster for Canada Women's National Team, which is hosting the first week of the 2026 Volleyball Nations League in Quebec City.

"I am very proud to have several Ignite representatives across the world," said Bertolacci. "National Team work is its own beast. It is intense, short and pushes an enormous amount of growth into players and coaches."

While she described the 2026 MLV season as draining, Bertolacci, who is Australian and coached pro volleyball in Switzerland for 12 years before coming to the Ignite, said she is happy to be back in her former home country for a few weeks. She returns to Indiana to begin preparations for the 2027 season in late June; Bertolacci's contract runs through the 2029 Ignite season.

Scott credited Bertolacci and the rest of the Ignite coaching staff, her teammates and family for their support in helping her get to the U.S. National Team. She said she is most excited about the chance to play with former teammates and compete overseas against some of the best volleyball players in the world.

"It's truly an honor to be able to represent Team U.S.A. at such a high level and continue to compete," Scott said. "Having this experience under my belt will definitely benefit different parts of my game, whether it's physically or mentally and it will just overall prepare me for the next professional season."

Brightwell is taking on a new challenge, too, as she begins work with the U.S. Women's National Team Development Program. She traveled to the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs last weekend.

"I am really looking forward to the experience," she said. "The U.S.A. is well known for taking home gold medals in their youth national teams so I am preparing to provide everything I can to continue the standard."

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Major League Volleyball Stories from May 20, 2026


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