
Match Preview: San Diego Mojo at Orlando Valkyries: January 9, 2025
January 8, 2025 - Pro Volleyball Federation (PVF)
San Diego Mojo News Release
The San Diego Mojo travel east to square off with the Orlando Valkyries in the season opener for the Pro Volleyball Federation. Last season, the Mojo topped the Valkyries in three of four matches, including both contests in Orlando. All four of the matches in 2024 went five sets, the only teams in the PVF to have each of their contests take the full five sets. First serve inside the Addition Financial Arena is set for 4:00 p.m. PT.
Tune-In
Fans can watch the match on FS2
Paul Sunderland (play-by-play) and Holly McPeak (analyst) will be on the call.
San Diego Mojo Outlook
The Mojo look to build off of the momentum established at the end of the 2024 season, in which the team bounced back from a 1-5 start to win 13 of the final 18 regular-season games to earn a spot in the PVF Championship Semifinals. The squad came one set short of the championship match, falling to eventual champion Omaha in five sets after taking an early 2-0 lead.
San Diego head coach Tayyiba Haneef-Park's roster features a pair of players who started every game for the Mojo last season in middle blocker Ronika Stone and libero Shara Venegas, as well as San Diego local Kendra Dahlke. Stone, a 2025 PVF Preseason All-League Team honor, led the league in hitting percentage last season with a mark of .336. Venegas was fourth in the league with 345 total digs (3.63), while Dahlke was among the top scorers for the Mojo in 2024 highlighted by a 23-point match at Orlando on April 14 that is the fifth-best scoring output in team history.
Orlando Valkyries Outlook
Orlando is led by second-year head coach Amy Pauly, who guided the Valkyries to an 8-16 record during the inaugural PVF season.
The roster is highlighted by a pair of Preseason All-League Team selections in middle blocker Kaz Brown and opposite hitter Brittany Abercrombie. Brown ranked second behind Stone in hitting percentage last season with a mark of .333, while posting the second-most blocks in the league with 68 (0.67/set) and ranking third in kill percentage (.433). Abercrombie is a 7-year professional who joins the league after winning the 2024 Athletes Unlimited title as the top-ranked player in the league.
Also on the Orlando roster is former Mojo standout Lindsey Vander Weide, an outside hitter who 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.
Pro Volleyball Federation Stories from January 8, 2025
- Match Preview: San Diego Mojo at Orlando Valkyries: January 9, 2025 - San Diego Mojo
- San Diego Mojo Sets Roster for Start of 2025 Season - San Diego Mojo
- Rise Open 2025 Season Friday at Vegas, Host Omaha Sunday in Home Opener - Grand Rapids Rise
- Mojo Announce Watch Parties for Season-Opening Road Matches - San Diego Mojo
- PVF Media Rights Momentum Continues with Roku - PVF
- Supernovas Finalize 2025 Roster, Prepare for Home Opener on January 10 - Omaha Supernovas
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Other Recent San Diego Mojo Stories
- Regan Pittman's Stand Tall Volleyball Academy: Uplifting Athletes on and off the Court
- San Diego Mojo's Haneef-Park Inducted into USA Volleyball Hall of Fame
- Mojo's Venegas Chosen for PVF Most Inspirational Player Award
- San Diego Mojo Middle Blocker Ronika Stone Selected to PVF All-League Team
- San Diego Mojo Libero Shara Venegas Tabbed Pro Volleyball Federation Player of the Week

