SAN DIEGO - The San Diego Mojo (9-15) pro volleyball team overcame slow starts in each of the first two sets to win an exciting five-set match over the Vegas Thrill (9-15) on Saturday at SDSU's Viejas Arena, 25-23, 25-18, 21-25, 19-25, 15-10. Opposite and relative newcomer Yasmeen Bedart-Ghani led the team with 23 points that included 17 kills, three aces, and three blocks. An enthusiastic crowd of almost 2,000 brought their energy to the team’s victory.

After ceding the first five points and six of the first seven to the Thrill, the Mojo fought from behind, slowly closing the gap until tying the score late at 18-18 off of a block by Ronika Stone. The team did not take the lead until 21-20 off a kill by Bedart-Ghani. She led the team with seven points - one ace, four kills, and two blocks. Regan Pittman and Stone each contributed five points.

The Mojo won the first point and proceeded to lose the next seven. The team again battled back, this time tying the game at 10-10. The Mojo took the lead at 12-11 and never relinquished it. The scoring was spread throughout the team as six players scored: Bedart-Ghani contributed five, Maya Tabron had four, setter DaYeong Lee and Pittman scored two, and Stone and Kendra Dahlke had one each. Ten errors doomed the Thrill with five service errors, three kill errors, one reception error, and a red card issued to the coach that cost the team a point and brought the Mojo to set point at 24-18.

Similar to the start of the first two sets, the Thrill won five of the first six points to take a 5-1 lead, then 7-3. The Mojo followed by winning the next six of seven, to go up 7-6. They led or tied until 10-10, when Thrill took the led and did not look back, with a run of 4 straight and another six of seven. The Mojo lost the set 25-21. Dahlke led the scoring in the third set with five points.

The Mojo again started slowly in the fourth and went down 7-3. Five players scored, led by Tabron with six points.

In the huddle between sets 4 and 5, team leader Stone motivated the team. “I think Ronica was actually kind of motivating the team,” said Haneef-Park. “She actually kind of handled the huddle. … She got them fired up, that’s for sure.”

“Staying together, believing that we can do it, feeling each other's confidence, looking each other in the eye, just being able to rely on each other in the tough moments,” said Kendra Dahlke, adding to what the discussion among teammates was like between sets four and five. “(Ronika is) really good, just bringing everyone together, slowing the moment down, even when we're kind of elevated from losing that last set. She just does a really good job bringing us together, bringing our focus back to the goal.”

In the fifith set, the Mojo were tied or down by one until they took the lead at 6-5. From there, the team never looked back, gaining momentum and winning the set 15-10 off of a service error by the Thrill.

“We know that Vegas is a good team,” said head coach Tayyiba Haneef-Park. “We know that they're also battling for that fourth spot (to make the playoffs). All these teams are battling for that fourth spot and so we knew that they were going to come out very, very strong. And no matter who they threw out there on the court, I think our girls meshed up very well. I’m very proud of them.”

The Mojo play their final two home games on May 1 and May 3. Get your tickets today!