By Annie Walker

COLUMBUS, Ohio—The Columbus Fury (4-5) made a furious comeback attempt on Wednesday night but fell short to the Grand Rapids Rise (5-5) in four sets. The Rise held the momentum early and went to the intermission with a 2-0 set lead. Despite the deficit, the Fury rebounded to win set three, 25-19, and carried that momentum with them to the fourth set. The Rise pulled away late in the fourth set, leading 20-16, but Columbus battled back to force the set to extra points. Grand Rapids got the advantage late and took the match with a 32-30 fourth set win.

Set 1

After an early 3-0 lead from the Rise, the teams kept the first set close and Grand Rapids holding the 15-14 lead at the media timeout. The Fury tied the set at 15 and the Rise answered with a point off a long rally that pulled the momentum back in their favor. Columbus took a timeout after falling behind 18-15 but the team was unable to put together a run to get back ahead, falling 25-20 in the set.

Set 2

Grand Rapids carried their momentum into the second set and were able to build an early 13-8 lead, forcing a Columbus timeout. Out of the timeout, Megan Courtney Lush put down a kill and followed it with a block to keep the Fury within arm’s reach. Columbus would get back within three points two more times, but a 6-0 run to put the Rise up 22-13. The Fury were able to withstand two set points but fell 25-18.

Set 3

Columbus jumped out to an early 4-1 lead capitalizing off errors from the Rise. Back-to-back kills from Courtney Lush and Tori Stringer kept the momentum with the Fury up 9-6. Samantha Drechsel posted a huge block to put the Fury up 13-8 and notched a kill just a few points later to extend the Fury lead to 18-11. Grand Rapids answered with an 8-4 run to get with three points but an Asjia O’Neal kill put Columbus up 23-19. Courtney Lush put down her fifth kill of the set to give the Fury set point and O’Neal put down another kill to give the Fury the 25-19 set win.

Set 4

The Fury kept their momentum early in the fourth set and got a massive block from Kaitlyn Hord to end a long rally taking the 6-4 lead. Drechsel scored another momentum point for Columbus cutting the Rise lead to one point, 11-10, with a kill after another extended rally. Grand Rapids answered with a 5-2 run that gave them some separation, leading 16-12. Down 20-16, the Fury went on a 4-0 run highlighted by a kill and a block from Kaityln Hord, to tie the set late. Columbus earned the first set point, 24-23, but were unable to put the set away. The Fury fought off three match points late, but the Rise attack earned them the 32-30 win to end the match.

Standout Stats

• Tori Stringer made her debut for the Fury and totaled 49 assists and 12 digs. She also added three kills and a block on the night.
• Courtney Lush led the attack for Columbus with 14 kills and added 12 digs for her third double-double of the season.
• O’Neal was back in action for the first time since mid-February, coming back from an ankle injury. The middle blocker totaled 13 kills in the match as well as a block and an ace.
• Drechsel notched her first double-double of the season with 11 kills and 16 digs, both season-highs.
• In just one set of action, Hord tallied three kills on eight swings and added three blocks.

Up Next

The Fury close out their three-match home stand on Sunday afternoon when they host the Atlanta Vibe at 2 p.m. The match will be the first meeting between the teams this season.

ABOUT THE COLUMBUS FURY