Indy’s First Pro Volleyball Team makes Fishers Event Center their new home in 2025
Indiana’s first professional volleyball team just announced their official home court. The Indy Ignite are joining the Pro Volleyball Confederation for the 2025 season and revealed that the Fishers Event Center will be the team’s home. The center hosted a tour for everyone Wednesday. At the event, Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness, PVF CEO Jen Spicher and Indy Ignite GM Mary Huse spoke about the team and the fierce competition they will bring to the Indy region. “Indy Ignite is proud to represent not just Indianapolis—but the entire, region-wide volleyball community that makes Indiana one of the best states in the sport,” Huse said. “From the Fishers Event Center, our team will be able to serve the thousands of young athletes in Central Indiana, giving them everything they need to have an incredible night with their families—great food, easy access, and of course, the world’s greatest volleyball players in action.”
The Ignite’s home is set to open in November 2024 and will seat crowds of up to 7,500 people. The center is part of the $550 million expansion to the Fishers District. “We are beyond excited to welcome Indy Ignite and the Pro Volleyball Federation to the Fishers community,” Fadness said. “The Fishers Event Center is set to become an epicenter of entertainment for the entire region, and Indy Ignite is going to spark a new chapter for sports in our city. We look forward to cheering them on as they revolutionize the world of volleyball from right here in our own backyard.”
Multiple local volleyball clubs joined in the announcement including the nationally ranked Hamilton Southeastern High School girls’ volleyball team that won back-to-back state titles in 2022 and 2023. “Central Indiana is an undeniable hotbed for both men’s and women’s volleyball, where thousands of talented athletes first learn to love the game,” Spicher said. “These incredible young ladies deserve an opportunity to continue their careers on the professional stage, and that is our core mission and vision at Pro Volleyball Federation.”
The PVF began play in Jan. 2024 with seven teams competing. Indy Ignite will be one of the three expansion teams to debut in Jan. 2025. Season tickets are already available for the 2025 season. To get yours, click here. For more information on Indy Ignite and the PVF, click here.
Indiana University Field Hockey announces 2024 Spring Schedule
The Indiana Field Hockey program has revealed their 2024 spring schedule. The second semester slate will feature four weekends of competition, spanning from a handful of dates between March 2 to April 27. The Hoosiers will be on the road for the first three competition days, while hosting their final spring competition on Saturday, April 27.
The full schedule is listed below. Saturday, March 2: Opponents: Louisville and Miami (OH) -Host: Louisville Saturday, April 6: Opponents: Kent State and Penn State- Host: Kent State Saturday, April 13 to Sunday April, 14: Opponents: To Be Determined- Host: Northwestern Saturday, April 27: Saint Louis and Miami (OH)- Host: Indiana
Indiana University’s Men Tennis match against UC San Diego Rescheduled
Indiana Men’s Tennis Match against UC San Diego has been rescheduled. The match will take place on Thursday, March 14, at 2 p.m. (ET)/11 a.m. (PT).
Indiana’s match against UC San Diego was originally scheduled for Friday, March 15, at 1 p.m. (PT). The Hoosier’s will be back in action on Friday, March 8, as they take on Illinois State at 5 p.m. at the IU Tennis Center.
Taylor University Indoor Track and Field to compete at NAIA Nationals
The Taylor Men’s and Women’s Indoor Track & Field teams will close their seasons at the NAIA Indoor National Championships on February 29 through March 2, when they compete inside the Sanford Jackrabbit Athletic Complex on the campus of Dakota State University in Brookings, South Dakota. Taylor will have 20 student-athletes competing in 12 different events over the course of the three-day meet. The TU women will showcase 10 individuals competing in seven events, with the men’s squad having 10 individuals competing in five events.
The Taylor Women’s team will enter Nationals carrying a No. 8 rating in the most recent USTFCCCA NAIA ratings index. The Trojans carry top-five seeds to Nationals in four events and boast a total of six top-seven seeds. The Trojans’ strongest event comes with Mollie Gamble and Audrey Brinkruff ranked third and fourth in the 5,000-meters. TU will also carry lofty expectations with its two relays, seeded third in the distance-medley relay and fifth in the 4×800-meter relay. The group of Emily Johnson, Ashley Hall, Abby Mays and Noel VanderWall are set to run in the distance-medley relay, with Johnson, Mays, Kaitlin Burden and Olivia Jeanette racing in the 4×800.
Along with running the distance-medley relay, VanderWall is seeded fourth in the mile, while Taylor’s other top-seed comes via Ahna Neideck being ranked seventh nationally in the 3,000-meters. Patience Sakeuh and Hall will also represent Taylor on the heels of their Crossroads League Championship individual performances, with Sakeuh seeded 23rd in the 60-meter hurdles and Hall seeded 26th in the 400-meters.
On the men’s side, TU’s strongest event figures to be the pole vault, where Josh Forbes and Isaac Brown are seeded fourth and 14th respectively. The Trojans will also have Nathan Burns and Luke Harber competing in the 5,000-meters and Ryan Hanak racing in the 3,000-Meters, while Jake Thompson competes in the long jump. TU’s lone qualifying relay team of Nate Conkel, Ben Eiffert, Bradley Braxton and Joel Mumaw will race in the distance-medley relay. Any individual or relay finishing among the top-eight at NAIA Nationals will automatically earn NAIA All-American honors, in addition to scoring points for the team standings.
TU is set to open its showing at Nationals on Thursday, February 29 at 3:00 pm (ET) with Gamble and Brinkruff taking the track in the 5,000-meters prelims. The men’s team will open shortly after, with Burns and Harber racing in the men’s 5,000 prelims. Fans can access the NAIA’s pay-per-view webcast, live results, full events schedule and more by visiting the Taylor Indoor Track and Field National Championships Centrals at the links provided on TaylorTrojans.com.
Taylor Women’s Qualifiers and Seed
DMR: Emily Johnson, Ashley Hall, Abby Mays, Noel VanderWall (3)
5,000: Mollie Gamble (3), Audrey Brinkruff (4) Mile: Noel VanderWall (4) 4×800: Emily Johnson, Kaitlin Burden, Abby Mays, Olivie Jeanette (5) 3,000: Ahna Neideck (7) 60-H: Patience Sakeuh (23) 400: Ashley Hall (26)
Taylor Men’s Qualifiers and Seed PV: Josh Forbes (4), Isaac Brown (14)
5,000: Nathan Burns (12), Luke Harber (32) 3,000: Ryan Hanak (16)
DMR: Nate Conkel, Ben Eiffert, Bradley Braxton, Joel Mumaw (20)
LJ: Jake Thompson (25)
Taylor University Softball Adds Doubleheader to its Schedule
The Taylor Trojans (4-4) have added a doubleheader against IU South Bend (2-4) to its schedule after having a previous home date cancelled. The games will be played on Saturday, March 2, with first pitch set for 1:00 pm, with the second game taking place about 30 minutes after the conclusion of the opener.
Indiana University Baseball falls at home to Purdue Fort Wayne
The Indiana Baseball team (6-2) saw a six-game winning streak come to an end on Tuesday night at Bart Kaufman Field, falling to Purdue Fort Wayne 9-6. Led by a three-run home run from junior outfielder Carter Mathison, IU closed a five-run gap to just two in the bottom of the eighth. Sophomore shortstop Tyler Cerny struck out with the bases loaded later in the frame, leaving the tying run on second base and the go-ahead run on first base. The Hoosiers rattled off six unanswered runs after trailing 8-0 in the sixth inning but a solo home run from outfielder Ben Higgins in the top of the ninth helped the Mastodons see out their first-ever win in the series. Purdue Fort Wayne hit five home runs on the afternoon while its pitching staff limited a potent IU offense to just six runs and nine hits. Mastodon pitcher Sean Kasper was awarded the win for his 3.2 innings of scoreless baseball. Cooper Katskee (L, 0-1) was tagged with the loss for IU. Game action resumes for the Hoosiers this weekend in Frisco, Texas with contests against No. 16 Alabama (Friday), No. 25 Dallas Baptist (Saturday) and Arizona (Sunday).
Indiana University Women’s Golf finishes 15th at the Chevron Collegiate
The Indiana Hoosiers women’s golf team competed against a talented field and finished 15th at the Chevron Collegiate with a three-round final tally of 869 (292-281-286; +5). The 54-hole event was played at the Golf Club of Houston on Feb. 26-27. All 16 teams in the field were ranked inside the top-75 of the most recent Scoreboard Rankings powered by clippd. Redshirt sophomore Maddie May posted the lowest Hoosier score with a 214 (72-71-71; -2). The Ole Miss transfer tied for 34th place in the individual standings and secured 13 birdies across three rounds. She added a team-best six birdies in the final round.
Redshirt junior Caroline Smith played a scorecard of 219 (69-77-73; +3). She holed out 11 birdies conversions and an eagle try on No. 12 in the opening round.
Senior Dominika Burdová also posed a 219 (75-73-71; +3) with seven total birdies. Sophomore Chloe Johnson turned in a card reading 221 (76-74-71; +5). Five of her nine birdie conversions of the week came in the final 18 frames. Freshman Nicole Kolbas played seven birdies across a three-round total of 229 (77-73-79; +13). Indiana will next compete in the Florida State Match-Up from March 15-17 at the Seminole Legacy Golf Course in Tallahassee.
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