By Annie Walker

March 24, 2024

COLUMBUS, Ohio—The Columbus Fury (5-5) snapped a four-game skid as they took down the Atlanta Vibe (9-4) in four sets (25-22, 27-29, 25-21, 25-23). Columbus got out to a slow start, falling behind 7-2 early in set one, but they battled back to take the 1-0 lead. In a marathon set two, the teams went to extra points with the Vibe earning a 29-27 win to even the match headed into the break. The Fury held on to win set three after the Vibe cut their lead to 22-21, scoring the final three points of the set taking a 2-1 lead. Atlanta would not go down without a fight, leading by as many as four points midway through the fourth set. The Fury came back to tie the set at 18-all but it was Atlanta who held a 23-22 lead late. Asjia O’Neal tied the set with a kill and Megan Courtney Lush shut down the Vibe with back-to-back stuff blocks to give the Fury a 25-23 set win to secure the match.

Set 1

Atlanta jumped out to a 7-2 lead forcing an early Fury timeout, the team answered with a kill from Samantha Drechsel to end the Vibe run. Back-to-back kills from Courtney Lush and Reagan Cooper followed by a hitting error from the Vibe tied the set at 13-all. An extended rally ended with a kill from Courtney Lush followed by a stuff block from Tori String that gave the Fury their largest lead of the set 17-14. O’Neal gave the Fury set point with a kill and after the Vibe held off one set point, O’Neal put down the set-winning kill.

Set 2

The teams traded points early with neither holding more than a one-point lead through 10 points scored. The Fury shifted the momentum in their favor after a long rally that ended with a block from Jenna Rosenthal. Still, neither team held more than a two-point lead midway through the set with Columbus holding a 15-13 lead at the media timeout. The Fury capitalized on Vibe errors to take a 17-14 lead, the largest for either team in the set. Atlanta came back to hold a late lead, 22-21, but the Fury answered with a 3-0 run getting kills from Cooper and O’Neal. The Vibe staved off the first set point and the teams went back-and-forth until the Vibe were able to secure the 29-27 win.

Set 3

Another tightly contested set, the Fury relied on their two powerhouse hitters, O’Neal and Cooper, who both hit better than 50 percent in the set. O’Neal went 4-5 in the set while Cooper went 5-8 with just one error. Kaitlyn Hord had two of her four blocks in the set, none bigger than a stuff block of Leah Edmond to give the Fury their largest lead of the set 20-16. The Vibe would cut the lead back to one, 22-21, but the Fury closed out the set scoring the final three points with an O’Neal exclamation point on an overpass kill to take the set.

Set 4

The middles made the difference in the fourth set. Hord made her presence known offensively with four kills on seven swings while O’Neal put down five kills on seven attempts. The Vibe held an early four-point lead but the first of three blocks from Courtney Lush in the set capped a 3-0 run that tied that set at 17. Once again, the Vibe held a 22-21 lead but Columbus scored three of the final three points, including back-to-back stuff blocks to end the match from Courtney Lush.

Standout Stats

• Asjia O’Neal was a force to be reckoned with putting down 17 kills on 27 swings. She also added a block and an ace on the day.
• Reagan Cooper led all hitters with 22 kills and came away with another double-double adding 15 digs on the night.
• Tori Stringer continues to impress in limited time with the team as she tallied a second-consecutive double-double with 50 assists and 10 digs.
• Valeria León tied a match-high with 15 digs of her own while also dishing out five assists.
• The Fury snapped a four-match losing streak while also snapping a five-match winning streak for the Vibe.

Up Next

The Fury will have a quick turnaround as they head to Atlanta for a rematch on Wednesday night at 7 p.m. at Gas South Arena. The match will be streamed on YouTube.

ABOUT THE COLUMBUS FURY