| Sport | Volleyball |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2023 |
| First season | 2025 |
| League | Major League Volleyball |
| Location | Fishers, Indiana |
| Arena | Fishers Event Center |
| Colors | Navy, light blue, orange, yellow, white |
| Owner | Jim Schumacher and Don Hutchinson |
| President | Mary Kay “MK” Huse |
| Championships | 0 |
| Playoff berths | 2 (2025, 2026) |
| Website | provolleyball.com/teams/indy-ignite |
The Indy Ignite are a women's professional indoor volleyball team based in the Indianapolis metropolitan area that competes in Major League Volleyball (MLV). The team plays its home games at Fishers Event Center. The Ignite began play as an expansion team in the 2025 season.[1]
History
Founding
On December 7, 2023, the Pro Volleyball Federation announced that an expansion team was coming to Indianapolis, Indiana.[2] On January 28, 2024, the ownership group of Indy Pro Volleyball publicly released the name and logo for Indiana's first professional volleyball team.[3] The team was to play in the Fishers Event Center, a 7,000-seat entertainment and sporting venue in Fishers, Indiana, where the Ignite would split time with the Indy Fuel and Fishers Freight. The Ignite debuted a navy blue, light blue, orange, yellow and white colorway with their mascot Pepper.
2025 season
The Ignite earned the 1st overall pick in the 2025 PVF draft held on November 25, 2024, before the 2025 PVF season.[4] On draft night, the Ignite traded the 1st overall pick (Merritt Beason) to the Atlanta Vibe in exchange for the 2nd and 9th overall picks where the franchise selected Anna DeBeer and Elena Scott respectively. On January 14, 2025, Leketor Member-Meneh earned PVF Player of the Week Award. On May 7, Sydney Hilley was named PVF Setter of the Year while both Hilley and Azhani Tealer were named PVF All-League First Team. The franchise qualified for the 2025 PVF Playoffs as the 4th seed with a 13–15 record, hosted at Lee's Family Forum in Las Vegas. In the franchise's first playoff debut, the Ignite upset the 1st seed Omaha Supernovas 3–2 in the semifinals, before advancing to the 2025 PVF finals against the Orlando Valkyries. George Padjen served as the head coach for the inaugural season before his resignation at the end of the season.[5]
2026 season
On July 2, 2025, the team announced that Lauren Bertolacci would be the head coach for the upcoming season.[6] In August 2025, the PVF and MLV struck a deal to both merge and expand, starting in the 2026 MVL season.[7][8]
Seasons
| Season | League | Finish | Wins | Losses | Pct. | Playoffs | Head coach | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indy Ignite | ||||||||
| 2025 | PVF | 4th | 13 | 15 | Won semifinals (Omaha Supernovas) (3–2) Lost finals (Orlando Valkyries) (1–3) | George Padjen | ||
| 2026 | MLV | 1st | 23 | 5 | TBD semifinals (Omaha Supernovas) (0–0) | Lauren Bertolacci | ||
| Regular season | 36 | 20 | 2025–present | |||||
| Playoffs | 1 | 1 | 2025–present | |||||
2025 roster
- Current as of February 2, 2026.[9]
| Number | Player | Position | College/club | Height |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Emma Halter | Libero | Texas | 5'5" |
| 4 | Emoni Bush | Outside hitter | Washington/Oklahoma | 6'3" |
| 7 | Leketor Member-Meneh | Outside hitter | Missouri/Pittsburgh | 5'8" |
| 8 | Camryn Hannah | Opposite hitter | Clemson/Penn State | 6'2" |
| 9 | Elena Scott | Libero | Louisville | 5'9" |
| 11 | Ainise Havili | Setter | Kansas | 5'10" |
| 12 | Taylor Landfair | Outside hitter | Minnesota/Nebraska | 6'5" |
| 13 | Cara Cresse | Middle blocker | Louisville | 6'6" |
| 14 | Anna DeBeer | Outside hitter | Louisville | 5'11" |
| 17 | Blake Mohler | Middle blocker | Purdue | 6'1" |
| 19 | Azhani Tealer | Opposite Hitter | Kentucky | 5'9" |
| 22 | Lydia Martyn | Middle blocker | Liberty/Oklahoma | 6'3" |
| 23 | Kayla Lund | Outside hitter | Pittsburgh | 6'0" |
| 28 | Alexandra Botezat | Middle blocker | 6'6" | |
| 91 | Mia Tuaniga | Setter | USC | 5'9" |
References
- ^ "2025 Markets". Pro Volleyball Federation. Retrieved 2024-02-17.
- ^ "Professional Women's Volleyball Comes to Indianapolis". Indy Ignite Volleyball. Retrieved 2024-02-18.
- ^ "Indy Pro Volleyball Team Reveals Name And Logo". OurSports Central. 2024-01-28. Retrieved 2024-02-17.
- ^ "Pro Volleyball Federation Draft To Be Held November 25". provolleyball.com. October 17, 2024. Retrieved November 1, 2024.
- ^ "Indy Ignite pro volleyball team set to debut in January". Johnson County Daily Journal. Retrieved 2024-09-11.
- ^ Frank, Evan (July 2, 2025). "Indy Ignite hire Swiss Women's National Volleyball Team coach to lead franchise". Indy Star. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
- ^ Badenhausen, Kurt; Novy-Williams, Eben; Soshnick, Scott (August 4, 2025). "Pro volleyball merger values leagues at $325M". Sportico. Archived August 4, 2025 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved August 4, 2025.
- ^ Axon, Rachel (August 4, 2025). "Pro Volleyball Federation, Major League Volleyball to merge, expand". Street & Smith's Sports Business Journal. Archived August 4, 2025 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved August 4, 2025.
- ^ "Indy Ignite Roster". Major League Volleyball. Retrieved 2 February 2026.