Indy Ignite finish as runner-up to Orlando in inaugural Pro Volleyball Federation season
In its inaugural season, the Indy Ignite came up one win short of the Professional Volleyball Federation championship.
On May 11, Indy fell in four sets (25-21, 25-19, 19-25, 25-15) to the Orlando Valkyries. The Ignite, seeded fourth, advanced to the title match with a five-set upset over top-seeded Omaha on May 9.
Orlando's Brittany Abercrombie, the 2025 PVF MVP, led the way with 32 total points. For Indy, Azhani Tealer had a team-high 16 points. Lydia Martyn had 12 points while Caroline Crawford and Nina Cajic contributed 11 points each.
With the championship win, Orlando, the No. 3 seed, won the grand prize of $1 million.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
9 hours ago
- Yahoo
Rivals Camp Series: The five best DL of the 2025 regionals
Jeff McCulloch/ The regional stops of the Rivals Camp Series are in the books with the Rivals Five-Star at the Indianapolis Colts' practice facility coming up later this month. Today, we continue our look at the best players at each position through the regional events with the defensive linemen. Advertisement BEST OF RCS: The five best QBs of the 2025 Rivals Camp Series regionals | Five best RBs | Five best WRs/TEs | Five best OL CLASS OF 2026 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | Position | State CLASS OF 2027 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | Position | State TRANSFER PORTAL: Full coverage | Player ranking | Team ranking | Transfer search | Transfer Tracker RIVALS CAMP SERIES: Rivals Five-Star heading back to Indy | Rivals Five-Star roster | Schedule/info JALEN BREWSTER - Dallas Brewster was explosive playing multiple positions on the interior defensive line in Dallas. He was just as effective on the interior as out wide. The four-star prospect plays downhill with strong hands and a high motor. Brewster is bendy and versatile plus provides major pass rush juice from the interior defensive line. Advertisement He's one of the top prospects in the country in the 2027 class with more than 30 scholarship offers. ASHARRI CHARLES - Miami The Venice (Fla.) High School standout has built up his resume as a combo rusher over the years because he's savvy against the pass and stout against the run with a good motor. The ceiling has never looked better for the four-star, especially as he carries more bulk on his 6-foot-3 frame without any signs of slowing down. He won in Miami against fellow Power Four prospects with quickness, including a pretty inside spin move and a smooth dip on the outside, so as the power becomes permanent a full package could soon be at his disposal. JAKE KREUL - Miami Kreul can beat blockers in such a variety of ways. He gets easy early leverage off of the snap because of his elite first-step. That edge bending ability and elite first step has most offensive tackles bailing upon the snap of the ball. Advertisement But Kreul has really progressed with his counter game, overall strength and hand technique. He's the complete package as a pass rusher. JAREYLAN MCCOY - Atlanta McCoy gave opposing tackles in Atlanta fits all day rushing from a two-point stance and also with a hand in the dirt. The Mississippi blue-chipper has length and can win with either speed or power, and continues to build up an array of pass-rush moves to keep tackles off-balance. McCoy had some of the best reps of anyone in the Rivals Camp Series at the DL position. KHARY WILDER - Los Angeles Wilder not only was super impressive in Los Angeles during one-on-one reps using speed and power to his advantage but his measurables were incredible with an 81-inch wingspan. You'll certainly hear about his measurables again once it's his time for the NFL Draft. Advertisement The Gardena (Calif.) Serra product got a major rankings bump after his performance where he displayed speed, power and toughness along with great measurables. And at 6-foot-4 and 256 pounds, Wilder also has a frame where he could easily add 20 more pounds and keep his dominant speed. Ohio State nabbed one of the country's best with him. SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS WITH OHIO STATE FANS AT


San Francisco Chronicle
9 hours ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Penske driver Scott McLaughlin's tough month ends with hope for a fresh start at Gateway
Scott McLaughlin's miserable month of May — he crashed twice at the Indianapolis 500, caused a crash at Detroit and engaged in a post-race social media feud with Tony Kanaan — has finally ended. Now it's on to Gateway outside of St. Louis and a fresh start for the Team Penske driver as IndyCar prepares for only its second race on an oval this season and first event televised in prime-time by Fox. 'That whole month was pretty tough. It started really well. It ended in a couple bad ways,' McLaughlin acknowledged. 'It was one of, if not the lowest, points of my career. But it's something that I'll learn from. Champions are made learning from their mistakes.' McLaughlin crashed in practice at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and it prevented him from taking a car that many believed was a threat to win the pole out to qualify. Hours later, teammates Josef Newgarden and Will Power were found to have illegal modifications on their cars and were disqualified from qualifying. The ensuing days were chaotic as team owner Roger Penske, who also owns IndyCar, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Indy 500, handled the situation internally by firing his top three IndyCar executives. The housecleaning included Tim Cindric, who had spent 25 years with Penske and was the architect of much of the organizations' success. Newgarden and Power were penalized and dropped to the back of the field for the start of the 500, while McLaughlin got to keep his 10th-place starting position. But come race day, armed with new crew members, McLaughlin was determined to earn his first Indy 500 victory. Instead, he crashed on the warm-up lap and immediately burst into tears. The New Zealander hoped to rebound one week later on the streets of Detroit, but contact with Arrow McLaren driver Nolan Siegel caused Siegel to crash. McLaughlin finished 12th, lowest of the Penske trio at Detroit. He later engaged in a tense social media back-and-forth with McLaren team principal Kanaan, and it ramped up when Kanaan took aim at both McLaughlin's crash at Indy on the warm-up lap and the Penske firings in comments that seemed over-the-line. 'Misjudged last week, misjudged this week, at least you get a weekend off to square that away,' Kanaan wrote. 'I came looking for your team principal to have a chat but I couldn't find him. Oh wait……' IndyCar was off last week and McLaughlin said he and Kanaan have spoken, but he declined to discuss the details. He later insisted all is well between the two rivals even though it wasn't the first time the two have argued on social media. It's been a recurring theme dating to last season when McLaughlin criticized McLaren's revolving door of drivers. 'Me and T.K. are completely fine. We cleared the air. There was nothing to really clear,' McLaughlin said. "It's like he clapped back, and I clapped back. It's just how it is. I thought it was funny that he posted during the race. I, like, responded. I didn't think he was going to respond the next time, but he did. 'Me and T.K. have always sort of talked on the social media. It's not like a year-long feud. It's just one of those deals where someone's going to call me out, I'll clap back as well. It's just who I am. I'm not going to change.' Did he take Kanaan's words personally, considering Team Penske had a major overhaul of team personnel at Indianapolis? 'It is what it is. That was his decision,' McLaughlin said. The upheaval at Penske is ongoing as IndyCar readies for Sunday night's race at Gateway. Penske has had to shift personnel across three teams to cover the vacancies and the three-car lineup will have new engineers and strategists again this weekend. It makes it difficult to win — all three Penske drivers have yet to make it to victory lane this season — against Alex Palou of Chip Ganassi Racing. Palou has won five of seven races this season, including the Indianapolis 500. Kyle Kirkwood of Andretti Global has won the other two. McLaughlin hasn't given up and believes Palou's run will eventually come to an end. He has two wins on ovals — Iowa and Milwaukee — and a pair of podium finishes at Gateway. McLaughlin finished second there last year. 'I definitely don't think anyone's unstoppable. I think when they're going through a purple patch, they're executing like they are, it's tough,' he said of Palou. "You have to figure out where you can be better and stronger and adapt to that. I enjoy that challenge. He's on a great run. There's no stopping us from learning where we can improve and where we can be better. 'We have some great tracks coming up for us. Just got to keep our heads down, keep focused and learn as much as we can.' ___


Fox Sports
10 hours ago
- Fox Sports
Penske driver Scott McLaughlin's tough month ends with hope for a fresh start at Gateway
Associated Press Scott McLaughlin's miserable month of May — he crashed twice at the Indianapolis 500, caused a crash at Detroit and engaged in a post-race social media feud with Tony Kanaan — has finally ended. Now it's on to Gateway outside of St. Louis and a fresh start for the Team Penske driver as IndyCar prepares for only its second race on an oval this season and first event televised in prime-time by Fox. 'That whole month was pretty tough. It started really well. It ended in a couple bad ways,' McLaughlin acknowledged. 'It was one of, if not the lowest, points of my career. But it's something that I'll learn from. Champions are made learning from their mistakes.' McLaughlin crashed in practice at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and it prevented him from taking a car that many believed was a threat to win the pole out to qualify. Hours later, teammates Josef Newgarden and Will Power were found to have illegal modifications on their cars and were disqualified from qualifying. The ensuing days were chaotic as team owner Roger Penske, who also owns IndyCar, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Indy 500, handled the situation internally by firing his top three IndyCar executives. The housecleaning included Tim Cindric, who had spent 25 years with Penske and was the architect of much of the organizations' success. Newgarden and Power were penalized and dropped to the back of the field for the start of the 500, while McLaughlin got to keep his 10th-place starting position. But come race day, armed with new crew members, McLaughlin was determined to earn his first Indy 500 victory. Instead, he crashed on the warm-up lap and immediately burst into tears. The New Zealander hoped to rebound one week later on the streets of Detroit, but contact with Arrow McLaren driver Nolan Siegel caused Siegel to crash. McLaughlin finished 12th, lowest of the Penske trio at Detroit. He later engaged in a tense social media back-and-forth with McLaren team principal Kanaan, and it ramped up when Kanaan took aim at both McLaughlin's crash at Indy on the warm-up lap and the Penske firings in comments that seemed over-the-line. 'Misjudged last week, misjudged this week, at least you get a weekend off to square that away,' Kanaan wrote. 'I came looking for your team principal to have a chat but I couldn't find him. Oh wait……' IndyCar was off last week and McLaughlin said he and Kanaan have spoken, but he declined to discuss the details. He later insisted all is well between the two rivals even though it wasn't the first time the two have argued on social media. It's been a recurring theme dating to last season when McLaughlin criticized McLaren's revolving door of drivers. 'Me and T.K. are completely fine. We cleared the air. There was nothing to really clear,' McLaughlin said. "It's like he clapped back, and I clapped back. It's just how it is. I thought it was funny that he posted during the race. I, like, responded. I didn't think he was going to respond the next time, but he did. 'Me and T.K. have always sort of talked on the social media. It's not like a year-long feud. It's just one of those deals where someone's going to call me out, I'll clap back as well. It's just who I am. I'm not going to change.' Did he take Kanaan's words personally, considering Team Penske had a major overhaul of team personnel at Indianapolis? 'It is what it is. That was his decision,' McLaughlin said. The upheaval at Penske is ongoing as IndyCar readies for Sunday night's race at Gateway. Penske has had to shift personnel across three teams to cover the vacancies and the three-car lineup will have new engineers and strategists again this weekend. It makes it difficult to win — all three Penske drivers have yet to make it to victory lane this season — against Alex Palou of Chip Ganassi Racing. Palou has won five of seven races this season, including the Indianapolis 500. Kyle Kirkwood of Andretti Global has won the other two. McLaughlin hasn't given up and believes Palou's run will eventually come to an end. He has two wins on ovals — Iowa and Milwaukee — and a pair of podium finishes at Gateway. McLaughlin finished second there last year. 'I definitely don't think anyone's unstoppable. I think when they're going through a purple patch, they're executing like they are, it's tough,' he said of Palou. "You have to figure out where you can be better and stronger and adapt to that. I enjoy that challenge. He's on a great run. There's no stopping us from learning where we can improve and where we can be better. 'We have some great tracks coming up for us. Just got to keep our heads down, keep focused and learn as much as we can.' ___ AP auto racing: recommended