Columbus Fury volleyball triumphant in home opener
Wednesday, February 21, 2024
By Jarrod Ulrey
julrey@cbussports.com
Columbus Fury setter Ray Santos digs the volleyball during the Fury’s inaugural home match in front of an impressive crowd at Nationwide Arena Feb. 21. Photo: Kevin Lam
From the time it hit the court Wednesday at Nationwide Arena, the Columbus Fury women’s volleyball team tried to embrace the moment.
With it being the first home match in club history, there was a full introduction of players during the pregame and an atmosphere filled with excitement before a crowd of what was estimated to be more than 9,000 during the inaugural season of the Pro Volleyball Federation.
Still, the Fury’s players never wilted under the pressure of the moment as they earned the franchise’s first victory.
“Even from the beginning, watching the introduction was very emotional,” setter Ray Santos said. “We’ve been working for a long time, and to be able to play in front of our gym, there’s a lot of passion behind it, a lot of purpose. Just thinking of the future and seeing all of the little girls here watching, there’s a lot of emotion.
“The team needed that ‘W’ for us to believe more in ourselves. It was important for us to be confident inside the gym, and I think we made a great impression for Columbus. We’re hoping to see more of that coming up. It was amazing. Props to all of our fans.”
The Fury, who improved to 1-2 with a 25-12, 25-21, 23-25, 25-23 victory over the Omaha Supernovas, have gradually improved as the season has worn on.
They opened with a 3-0 loss Jan. 25 at the Grand Rapids Rise but didn’t have middle blocker Asjia O’Neal, the No. 1 pick in the PVF draft, because she was recovering from offseason left ankle surgery.
She returned for Columbus’ match Feb. 16 at the Orlando Valkyries to help her team win its first set before falling 3-1.
The Columbus Fury’s Megan Courtney Lush serves during the Fury’s 3-1 win against Omaha at Nationwide Arena Feb. 21. Photo: Kevin Lam
O’Neal seemed to settle in even more against Supernovas, finishing with 15 kills and completing 60 percent of her kill attempts.
“It was very exciting,” O’Neal said. “We knew people were coming, but we didn’t know how many people were going to show up. It was exciting to have people engaged throughout the whole match. (Having such a big crowd) definitely adds fuel to the fire. You want them to be excited and to come back. We wanted to defend our court.
“I’m feeling good. Volleyball is a game of connection and relationships. It takes a while to form those, especially with setter-hitter connections, and we knew at the beginning that it wasn’t going to be super smooth. You have to trust the process.”
While O’Neal came in with more hype after helping Texas win the last two national championships, outside hitter Reagan Cooper has led the way all season after being the Fury’s second-round pick following a college career in which she played for Washington State, Texas Tech and Kansas.
In the win over Omaha, Cooper finished with 22 kills, 3 blocks and 11 digs.
“It’s a really well-balanced league, and I think we have a couple raw diamonds in the rough that we’re developing, so it’s exciting,” Fury coach Angel Perez said.
“Noboday expected (Cooper) to do what she’s been doing consistently. She’s was our (second-round) pick and she’s been been carrying us basically. What Asjia brings to the table is a lot of swatter. She’s a winner and is determined in what she wants to establish.
The Columbus Fury’s Reagan Cooper, who finished with 22 kills, celebrates a point during the Fury’s win over Omaha Feb. 21 at Nationwide Arena. Photo: Kevin Lam
“We showed a lot of resilience against one of the top teams in the league. We really did our job and we deserved to win. In our (loss to Orlange) we fought through the first two sets and either got tired or our resilience ran out in the fourth set. We live and we learn and we don’t expect that to happen again. We wanted (Omaha) to earn every single point, and it took every single ounce for us to win.”
Columbus built a 23-10 lead in the first set when Ivania Ortiz came off the bench to serve for six consecutive points.
Cooper closed out the second set with a kill, but the third set went back-and-forth, with neither team holding more than a four-point lead before Omaha extended the match.
O’Neal ended the match with a kill.
“We came in knowing this was going to be their home opener, and it was awesome,” Omaha coach Laura “Bird” Kuhn said. “We’ve been part of a couple openers. Every team is going to be good this year. We needed to serve better to keep their middles out of it. (The slow start was) a gut punch, and we needed to battle and play cleaner.”
Even for opposing players like Allison Mayfield, who finished with 11 kills, the atmosphere felt “incredible.”
The Fury travel to Feb. 24 to play the Vegas Thrill and then play host to the Thrill at 7 p.m. Feb. 26 as part of a schedule that includes 12 home and 12 away matches.
“We might not be the fastest team or the strongest team, but we’re going to be a team that shows grit and passion,” Perez said. “This was more than all of us imagined. Of course props to our staff that doesn’t work on the volleyball court that prepared this spectacle for us. It’s good that we took care of our part, and we’re happy to be a part of it. Columbus supported us in a way we didn’t expect, and hopefully they can support us every time we play like this.”
The Columbus Fury players celebrate their first win, beating Omaha 3-1 in their inaugural home match at Nationwide Arena Feb. 21. Photo: Kevin Lam