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PVF San Diego Mojo

San Diego Mojo Fall in Five Sets at Home to Vegas Thrill

April 27, 2024 - Pro Volleyball Federation (PVF)
San Diego Mojo News Release


SAN DIEGO - The San Diego Mojo (8-10) fell to the Vegas Thrill (7-13) in five sets, 25-21, 22-25, 25-17, 22-25, 15-13, on Friday night at Viejas Arena. It marked the fifth consecutive five-set match for San Diego with the Mojo winning three and dropping two. With the result, the Thrill claimed the season series over the Mojo, 3-1, including both matches in San Diego.

In her third match with the Mojo, Willow Johnson tallied a match-high 22 kills and added 15 digs, while Temi Thomas-Ailara registered 11 kills with 17 digs. Ronika Stone had a season-high six blocks in the loss, scoring 15 points in the match, while setter Nootsara Tomkom had a match-high 49 assists and led the Mojo with 15 digs.

San Diego and Vegas were evenly matched early in set one with neither side able to build momentum. A quick tempo kill by Ronika Stone gave San Diego a 7-6 lead, which was followed by a Thrill attacking error to provide the Mojo with the first multipoint lead of the match. San Diego extended the lead to 10-6 and still led by four, 13-9, when the Thrill rallied back, scoring five of the next six points to tie the set, 14-14. Vegas pushed ahead, 16-15, then extended the advantage to 20-16, forcing a Mojo time out. The Thrill won three of the next four points to increase the lead to six, 23-17, and reached set point after a Mojo dig error made it 24-18. San Diego fought back, winning the next three points, but ended up dropping the set, 25-21.

San Diego came out swinging in set two, taking the first two points with a Thomas-Ailara kill and a service ace and extending the lead to 7-4 after Lindsey Vander Weide split the defense with an ace of her own. A Hannah Tapp block put the Mojo up 9-5, and she pushed the lead to five after a scoring swing made it 12-7. Vegas fought their way back into the set, trimming the Mojo lead to two, 13-11. The sides were matched evenly over the next 16 points, pushing the score to 21-19, when a Thrill service ace brought them to within one, 21-20. After trading the next five points, the Mojo found themselves at match point with a Vander Weide kill before winning the set, 25-22, courtesy of a Thrill attacking error.

It was all Vegas to start set three, as the Thrill jumped to an 8-3 lead. After a Mojo time out, San Diego scored four of the next five points, culminating with a Johnson roof block to cut the Thrill lead to 9-7. Vegas responded, taking the next three points to go back up by five, then took the lead to six at 17-11. The Thrill maintained the pace through the remainder of the frame, winning the set 25-17.

San Diego jumped out to a 5-1 lead in set four, highlighted by a pair of kills from Johnson. The Thrill trimmed the lead to two, 5-3, but San Diego collected three of the next four points, including a Tomkom block, to put the Mojo back up by four, 8-4. Vegas continued to grind away at the San Diego lead, pulling to within one point, 13-12. San Diego responded with a 6-3 run to regain the four-point lead, 19-15. A stellar defensive effort by Johnson, in which she ran into the scorer's table to save a loose ball, led to a Dahlke smash to give San Diego a 22-17 lead. The Thrill again cut away at the lead, pulling back to within two, 24-22, when Thomas-Ailara ended the set with a huge swing to win it, 25-22, and force a fifth-straight five-set match for the Mojo.

Vegas recorded the first two points of set five, then San Diego answered with two of their own, but the Thrill answered with a 6-2 run to take an 8-4 lead. The Mojo fought back to pull within one, 9-8, when Vegas responded again with two swings to make it 11-8. San Diego tallied five of the next seven points, highlighted by a pair of Johnson smashes and a Stone block tied the set, 13-13, but the Thrill scored the next two points to claim the set, 15-13, and win the match.

San Diego will close out the home stand on Monday, April 29 against the Orlando Valkyries at 7 p.m. PT in the penultimate home match of the season.



Pro Volleyball Federation Stories from April 27, 2024


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