SAN DIEGO - The San Diego Mojo (7-8) and Atlanta Vibe (7-7) played a match Saturday night that felt like a chess match from first serve to final whistle, a back-and-forth, adjustment-heavy battle that ultimately tilted Atlanta’s way in four sets, 25-21, 17-25, 25-19, 25-23.
For a team now halfway through the season, the Mojo left the floor knowing just how narrow the margin was.
“I thought tonight was a battle, kind of from the beginning to the end,” head coach Alicia Glass Childress said. “Two good teams going up against each other, playing the game of cat and mouse, making adjustments … They came out on top, and it really felt like it could have gone either way. We could have pushed that fifth set. It’s just those little things, small plays that we clean up that turns that into a five-set.”
And it truly was that close.
Grace Loberg on the attack. Ryan Young/San Diego Mojo
A Match of Momentum Swings
San Diego dropped the opening set after falling behind by as many as five points. The Mojo pulled within two late, but couldn’t quite close the gap despite five kills each from Jovana Brakočević, Marin Grote and Maya Tabron.
Set two flipped the script.
After trailing 7-2 and 8-3, the Mojo clawed its way back into the set with a 4-0 run, tied the score three times and finally took their first lead at 15-14. From there, they never trailed again. San Diego closed on a commanding 5-0 run to win the set 25-17, riding six kills from Brakočević and five from Tabron.
The momentum appeared firmly in Mojo hands heading into the break.
But set three unraveled on self-inflicted errors. The Mojo had more kills than the Vibe, 15-11, but the Vibe capitalized instead on San Diego’s combined nine service and attack errors to the Vibe’s two.
That left set four for a fittingly tight finish.
The score stayed within three points throughout, with ties at 21, 22 and 23. But after knotting things at 23-all, the Mojo dropped the final two points to seal the four-set loss.
“We didn’t necessarily do our job in the first set with our scout report,” middle blocker Marin Grote said. “We cleaned up those little areas, those little mistakes. And with leadership like Marlie (Monserez) in the huddle, she’s always like, ‘Hey, we got this. Reset. Just move on.’ She’s a big cheerleader, and I think having leadership like that really helps.”
Standout Performances in a Narrow Loss
Even in defeat, San Diego showcased growth and depth.
Tabron delivered a career night with 23 points on 22 kills while adding 14 digs for her second straight double-double and fourth of the season. Setter Marlie Monserez recorded her 12th double-double of the year with 51 assists and 19 digs, moving within one of the Mojo single-season and career records.
Grote was highly efficient in the middle, finishing with 14 points on 12 kills with a .550 hitting percentage, plus two blocks.
And when the fourth set tightened, Morgan Lewis provided a spark off the bench. She finished with a team-high seven kills in the final frame.
“I’m just trying to remain positive and bring a good energy to all my teammates,” Lewis said. “Celebrate everybody hard, talk a lot, and just kind of bring a positive, fresh vibe on the court.”
Childress praised that impact, noting the value of solutions emerging mid-match.
“I thought our middles did well. I thought Morgan did a really nice job coming off the bench,” Childress said. “We’re trying to find solutions offensively, and it’s nice to see some of the things that we’re working on take place and be successful out on the court.”
Defensively, Grace Loberg posted a career-high 23 digs, while libero Shara Venegas added 20, her fifth 20-dig performance of the season, a new Mojo single-season record.
The Leah Edmond Factor
San Diego now falls to 1-10 all-time against Atlanta over three seasons, with Vibe star Leah Edmond continuing to pose problems.
“I think Leah is really talented, and I think she’s going to always hit for efficiency,” Childress said. “For us, it isn’t necessarily stop Leah… I think there may be some other people out there that we could have slowed down a little bit more. How do we slow down the supporting player so that when she hits for efficiency, she’s the only one that hits for efficiency?”
That Vibe supporting cast delivered just enough Saturday night.
Growth Over Results
While the result stung, Childress emphasized the bigger picture.
“We’re not stagnant. We’re always growing, we’re always getting better,” she said. “We’re not happy, but we are always pursuing growth. Even though we lost tonight, there’s a lot of things we practiced this week in the game. It might not have gone our way, but it will next time.”
If this match proved anything, it’s that the gap between these two teams is razor thin. A few fewer service errors. One more defensive stop at 23-all. One more small play.
On a night that celebrated National Women in Sports Day, the Mojo showed the fight and depth of a team still very much building, and knocking on the door of turning matches like this into five-set wins.
Next Up
The Mojo play away at the Orlando Valyries on Saturday, March 14, 4 p.m. PDT. Watch on KUSI.
Top Photo: Maya Tabron with the kill. Ryan Young/San Diego Mojo
