Valkyries make it to the top of the PVF standings 

Undefeated in their last eight matches, the Orlando Valkyries made it to the top of the standings of the Pro Volleyball Federation during the eighth week of the regular season in the American League.

The Valkyries moved to first place after a victory over then-leaders and defending champions Omaha Supernovas on Thursday and consolidated their spot two days later, when they downed the Atlanta Vibe.

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The team from Orlando was incredibly dominant in the match against the Supernovas, which was going to have the winners in the first place, securing an indisputable 3-0 (26-24, 25-18, 26-24) victory despite playing on the road, in Nebraska. Puerto Rican opposite Brittany Abercrombie was on fire, producing 25 points (24 kills, one block), while Thai star setter Pornpun Guedpard dished out 43 assists.

On Saturday, the Valkyries returned home already as the league leaders and couldn’t capitalize on their strong start, but they still showed determination at the end to top the Vibe 3-2 (25-17, 25-18, 15-25, 19-25, 15-13), avoiding a reverse sweep. Abercrombie was again Orlando’s top scorer with 26 points (25 kills, one block), getting considerable help from middle blocker Natalie Foster, who tallied 17, with 12 kills, three aces and two blocks. Pornpun was again stellar, delivering 55 assists, her highest mark in the season.

“The people that you guys aren’t seeing on the floor every night are the people that are making the team better,” head coach Amy Pauly said, praising the contributions of her bench players. “If it wasn’t for them challenging us in practice every single day, we wouldn’t be improving.”

With the results, the Valkyries sit in first place with ten wins and four losses, ahead of the Supernovas, who recovered on Sunday by sweeping the Indy Ignite at home 3-0 (25-19, 25-23, 27-25) and have nine wins and four losses.

Mojo win two in a row

The San Diego Mojo were the only other team to win twice in the eighth week of the season. The team from California entered the week in a six-match winless streak, but made great use of their homecourt advantage to beat the Grand Rapids Rise 3-1 (25-11, 18-25, 25-23, 25-21) on Thursday and the Columbus Fury also in four sets (20-25, 25-16, 25-15, 25-22) on Saturday.

With the results, the Mojo left the bottom of the standings and moved one spot up, passing the Fury and getting to seventh place, with five wins and eight losses.

The Vegas Thrill, on the other hand, dropped both of their matches this week - they lost to the Ignite 3-1 (25-23, 14-25, 25-18, 25-16) on Thursday and to the Rise 3-0 (25-18, 25-17, 25-23) on Sunday.

After the weekend’s matches, the Mojo appear in first place (10-4), followed by the Supernovas (9-4), the Ignite (7-6), the Thrill (7-6), the Vibe (6-8), the Rise (5-8), the Mojo (5-8) and the Fury (4-9).

The ninth week will have an early start on Wednesday, with matches following on Friday and Sunday to a total of seven encounters.

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