The San Diego Mojo (3-6) took down the Vegas Thrill (5-8) in three sets, 25-21, 25-23, 25-16, for the first road victory and match sweep in franchise history on Sunday inside Dollar Loan Center.
Temi Thomas-Ailara had a match-high 19 points, her third match with 19 or more points this season. All told, four Mojo players scored in double-digits with Ronika Stone tallying 14 points and Valeria Papa and Lindsey Vander Weide collecting 11 points each.
Vegas started the match hot, opening play with a 6-0 run to force San Diego to take an early time. San Diego scored the next two points out of the break and then continued to battle, taking their first lead of the match at 10-9 courtesy of a Stone crossover block.
The squads traded scores over the next seven points to make it 13-13 when Vegas retook the lead, but San Diego regained control, taking its first two-point lead at 17-15. A Vander Weide kill made it 20-17, forcing Vegas to take a timeout. Vegas scored coming out of the break, but San Diego continued to build momentum. A kill by Papa made it 24-21 before the show closed out the set with a block, 25-21.
San Diego continued to roll in set two, taking an early 3-1 lead, but the Thrill took it in stride and took their first lead of the set at 8-7. A back-and-forth affair occurred ensued with the Mojo building two-point leads only to see the Thrill pull even. San Diego won the set, 25-23, on a Thomas-Ailara strike to send the teams into the break.
Set three saw the Thrill score the opening point, but it was all Mojo from there in a dominating final set. San Diego built at 10-point at 14-4 and held an 11-point advantage at 22-11 when a Thrill four-point run drew the Vegas squad to with seven. San Diego scored three of the next four points to end the set, 25-16, and give the Mojo their elusive first road victory.
San Diego will head back on the road on Saturday, March 30 for a matchup with the Atlanta Vibe. The first serve at Gas South Arena is set for 4 p.m. with the match streaming live on YouTube. It will mark the third matchup between the teams with San Diego looking for their first victory over Atlanta, who sit atop the Pro Volleyball Federation standings with a 9-4 record.
MATCH NOTES:
· San Diego out-blocked Vegas 9-2 and collected three service aces to none for the Thrill.
· The Mojo sweep occurred after playing in two consecutive five-set matches.
· Nootsara Tomkom paced the Mojo with 42 assists, while Vander Weide had a match-high 13 digs.
