By Annie Walker

COLUMBUS—The Columbus Fury (4-4) took on the Vegas Thrill (4-7) on Monday night falling in four sets for their first home loss of the season. Columbus took the first set, closing it out on a 5-0 run, but Vegas answered with a 28-26 win in set two to seing the momentum in their favor. The Thrill used that momentum to close out the match 25-17, 25-16 in the third and fourth sets, respectively. Reagan Cooper led the Fury in kills once again with 14, while Jenna Rosenthal went 9-13 in her first extended action of the season.

Set 1

The Thrill were hot early, jumping out to an 11-5 lead. A kill from Megan Courtney Lush helped kickstart the Fury offense as they went on a 5-0 run to cut the Vegas lead to one. Back-to-back blocks from Ashley Wenz and a hitting error from the Thrill forced a Vegas timeout up by a point, 15-14. The teams traded the lead late into the set with Vegas up 21-20. The Fury tied the set off a kill from María Schlegel and the team closed the set on a 5-0 run behind the serve of Ivania Ortiz to earn the 25-21 set win.

Set 2

The second set saw a tight contest throughout with the Thrill holding the largest lead of four points. After trading points early, a block and a kill from Cooper gave the Fury their largest lead of the set, 11-8. Vegas responded with a run of their own and built a 17-13 lead. Columbus was able to tie the set at 21-all on a successful challenge by coach Pérez on a net touch. The Fury were the first to grab a set point at 24-23, but Vegas tied the set to send it to extra points. Columbus fought off two set points before dropping the set 28-26.

Set 3

The Thrill carried their momentum into set three. As the teams traded points early, Vegas was able to get separation going on a 5-0 run to take a 12-8 lead and forcing the Fury timeout. Columbus was unable to recover from the defecit as they toatled just eight kills in the set, falling 25-17.

Set 4

The Fury adjusted their lineup in the fourth set to try and shift the momentum in their favor but Vegas was able to get out to an early lead, 10-5. The Thrill built their lead to 22-11 and despite the deficit, Columbus refused to quit. The team fought off three match points before falling 25-16 in the set.

Standout Stats

• Cooper led the Fury with 15 points on 14 kills and a block, she also added eight digs and an assist for the match.
• Three Fury players notched double-digit digs, led by Valeria León with 14 while Courtney Lush and Wenz each totaled 11.
• Wenz had a solid night at the net totaling a season-high five blocks. It matches the highest block total for any Fury player in a match this season.
• Jenna Rosenthal played her first extended time of the season and put together seven kills on 12 attempts for a .583 hitting percentage.

Up Next

Columbus has nine days to prepare for their next match on Wednesday, March 20, when they host Grand Rapids at 7 p.m. The team will host Nurse’s Night for the match with a ticket deal for nurses here.

COURTESY COLUMBUS FURY COMMUNICATIONS