Derek Schultz: Igniting Indy

Coming off a breakthrough season led by rookie phenom Caitlin Clark, the Indiana Fever spent the last year at the epicenter of record-setting interest in women’s sports nationwide.

On a different hardcourt, with a different type of ball, and in a separate county altogether, the Indy Ignite have grabbed the baton and have kept the fire going, mirroring the successes—capacity crowds, an electrifying atmosphere and palpable momentum—of their central Indiana hoops counterparts while allowing Clark herself to take in the action.

The Ignite, the newest member of the fledgling Pro Volleyball Federation, took flight in their inaugural season earlier this month, scoring a 3-1 win over Orlando in front of a sellout crowd at the brand-new Fishers Event Center. That was followed by a straight-set sweep of Grand Rapids in front of 4,000-plus fans in their second game, a contingent that included the Fever superstar sitting courtside.

Entering this week, the undefeated Ignite (3-0) sit atop the PVF standings as the league’s only unbeaten team, but perhaps most important, they have become the latest pro team in Indiana to capitalize on an exciting new era of interest and investment in women’s sports.

“We’re elated, but it’s all so surreal that it’s still sinking in,” said Indy Ignite President and General Manager Mary Kay Huse. “We had set the hypothesis based on the strength of this volleyball and sports community [in Indiana], but to see it come to life like this is really exciting.”

Riding the wave

Going back to December 2023, just days before Indianapolis learned it was going to have the opportunity to cement Clark as the new face of Indiana sports, Fishers landed a professional volleyball team. The PVF officially announced the Indy-area franchise on Dec. 7. Three days later, the Fever earned the No. 1 overall pick and chance to draft the Iowa superstar.

The serendipitous timing could not have been better.

After the calendar flipped to January, Clark turned the ripples of momentum for women’s sports over the previous several years into an absolute tidal wave. Her final collegiate game, the NCAA final against South Carolina in April, drew a peak of 24 million viewers. The television and streaming audience for the WNBA Draft, when she walked across the stage to officially become a member of the Fever a few weeks later, was up an astonishing 511% year-over-year.

The impact was felt even in other sports, as the Women’s Tennis Association scored a global audience of over 1 billion for matches across its television and streaming platforms, and the National Women’s Soccer League’s telecasts reached 18.7 million viewers, five times the amount of the previous season. As for volleyball, the 2024 NCAA Women’s Tournament was the most-consumed ever, as ESPN reported over 1.3 billion minutes watched and the most-watched national semifinals ever (1.1 million viewers).

These unprecedented circumstances allowed the Ignite to enter its first season at a time when the amount of attention on women’s sports has never been higher.

“I don’t know if it would’ve worked 15 years ago,” said Indy Ignite head coach George Padjen, who captured nine NCAA Division II championships at Concordia-St. Paul in Minnesota before making the leap to the pros. “Volleyball is the hottest sport in the country right now. It’s at the top of the food chain in youth sports, the most participated sport in the high school level, and the viewership is growing every single year—it’s perfect timing.”

The fans

The Ignite’s five-figure draw through its first two home games aligns with the upward trend at the turnstiles we’ve seen from other pro women’s sports. During the 2024 season, the NWSL welcomed over 2 million spectators for the first time, nearly doubling its 2022 season output. The WNBA’s gate receipts were up nearly 50% over the previous year, drawing the highest total hoops attendance in 22 years. The Fever, who played in front of sellout crowds for a large majority of their games, drew over 340,000 fans alone, setting a new league record for an individual team.

While the WNBA has higher capacities due to mainly playing in NBA venues like Gainbridge Fieldhouse, the brand-new Fishers Event Center’s 7,500-fan threshold is a great fit for volleyball, a sport where the atmosphere is equal parts intimate and in-your-face. In these momentum-fueled contests, the crowd can play a larger role than in any other sport, even a packed basketball gym.

“The momentum aspect of volleyball is real, and the crowd participation was definitely real,” Padjen said about the home opener. “We were boat-raced in the first set, but there was a spot in the second game where we had a long rally and Sydney [Hilley] dumped in a point. Once our crowd came in, the players picked up on it right away, and we never looked back.”

“We could make [the atmosphere] even louder and more electric at this place, and the size could not be more perfect for us,” Huse said. “We have players that have played in front of full-capacity crowds in every big gym for NCAA volleyball—Penn State, Nebraska, you name it—and after our first match, they said it was the loudest gym they’ve played in.”

A sellable product

Another advantage the Ignite have is that volleyball is incredibly entertaining, even to a novice fan. Unlike the tedium of baseball, constant stoppages in football, and frustrating reviews in basketball, volleyball rarely taps its brakes, much less slams on them outright in the middle of a match.

Every point is vociferously celebrated in these 25-point sets where full contests can completely swing at any moment. Devastating spikes and spectacular digs can be as electric as a slam dunk in basketball or bone-jarring tackle in football, and long rallies often build the crowd to a crescendo with a volume that is matched only by a hockey or soccer goal.

“Our players get to showcase the dynamic of their verticals and velocity, and the gender doesn’t matter—it’s just really fun to watch,” Huse said. “Not just the crowds, but with the fan loyalty we’re already seeing towards our players, I think we’re in a position where [recognition] is just years away and not decades away.”

Indy Ignite outside hitter Leketor Member-Meneh and Nina Cˇaji´c don’t yet carry the same cache as Aliyah Boston and Kelsey Mitchell, but their high-flying performances have captivated fans through the first handful of matches, producing a product that Clark seemed to enjoy while sitting courtside. After soaking up the intensity during the match, she chatted up the players and took photos afterward, a sign of support that was not lost on those within the Ignite franchise.

“It was really awesome for [Clark] to show up at our game,” Padjen said. “She’s a world star, and our players were blown away that she took time out of her schedule to do that.”

“That’s part of what Indy is, right? Everyone supporting each other.”

For now, the Ignite are getting a boost from all corners, thriving out of the gates alongside their pro and college hoops sisters. And with an attendance and viewership arrow still pointing directly up, their future appears to be just as bright.•

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From Peyton Manning’s peak with the Colts to the Pacers’ most recent roster makeover, Schultz has talked about it all as a sports personality in Indianapolis for more than 15 years. Besides his written work with IBJ, he’s active in podcasting and show hosting. You can follow him on X @Schultz975.