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PVF San Diego Mojo

Mojo Win Five-Set Thriller in Columbus

April 12, 2024 - Pro Volleyball Federation (PVF)
San Diego Mojo News Release


COLUMBUS, Ohio - In a match of runs and momentum, the San Diego Mojo defeated the Columbus Fury in five sets, 21-25, 25-23, 25-19, 23-25, 15-10, at Nationwide Arena on Friday night. The Mojo have won three of their last four matches to improve to 6-8 on the season, while the Fury dropped to 5-10 on the year.

Temi Thomas-Ailara had a team high 19 points, collecting 17 kills on 46 swings (37 percent), as well as 10 digs, while Morgan Lewis, Ronika Stone and Lindsey Vander Weide tallied 13 points each. Nootsara Tomkom had a match-high 49 assists, while she and Shara Venegas registered 18 digs.

San Diego opened the match on a roll, taking an early 5-2 lead and pushing the advantage to seven points at 12-5. Columbus slowly chipped away at the Mojo lead and moved ahead for the first time in the match at 18-17. The Fury continued to push ahead, using a 9-0 run to make it 22-17. Back-to-back Fury hitting errors brought the Mojo back to within three, 22-19, but San Diego would get no closer and fall in set one, 25-22.

In an exciting second set, the Fury scored first, but the Mojo quicky answered with five-straight points to build a 5-1 lead. San Diego extended the lead to six points with kills by Hannah Tapp and Valeria Papa to make it 14-8, but a pair of hitting errors by the Mojo and a reception error cut the advantage to 14-11. Columbus continued to cut into the lead and tied the score, 20-20. A block by Lewis and a pair of kills by Tapp gave the Mojo a 23-21 lead before the away side closed out the set, 25-23.

The Mojo built another early lead in set three, scoring the first two points before once against jumping to a 5-1 lead. A dig by Stone and a huge swing by Vander Weide gave the Mojo an 8-3 lead. The Fury rallied to get back to within one at 16-15, but Columbus would not be able to get any closer. Kills by Thomas-Ailara and Lewis ended the threat, and a Vander Weide kill would put the Mojo up, 20-16. After a review of a Columbus touch made it 22-17 for the Mojo, a red card was issued to the Fury that took the score to 23-17. Columbus collected the next two points but kills by Lewis and Vander Weide gave San Diego the set, 25-19.

Set four saw the squads trade points throughout the early portion the frame with the scored tied 8-8 through the first 16 points. Thomas-Ailara capitalized on a bad pass by the Fury to give the Mojo a 14-11 lead, which grew to 17-12 after an Ali Bastianelli block. The Fury then found their rhythm a cut the lead to 21-20. A transition kill by Thomas-Ailara gave the Mojo a 23-21 lead, but San Diego would fail to score again. Columbus collected the final four points to win the frame, 25-23, and force a fifth set.

Building off the momentum achieved in the previous set, Columbus took control early in set five to take a 4-2 lead. The Mojo stormed back to take the lead 7-6, but the Fury scored two quick points to regain the lead, 8-7. It was all Mojo from there, as San Diego regained control of the set, scoring eight of the final 10 points to claim the set, 15-10, and the match.

San Diego is back in action on Sunday, April 14 in Orlando, where the Mojo will square off with the Valkyries for the second time this season and first time on the road. First serve at Addition Financial Arena is set for noon PT.



Pro Volleyball Federation Stories from April 12, 2024


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