By Annie Walker

OMAHA, Neb.—The Columbus Fury (5-8) looked much more like themselves on Thursday night but fell in four sets (25-20, 25-22, 21-25, 25-22) to the Omaha Supernovas (11-5). Megan Courtney Lush paced the Fury with 18 kills on the night while both Asjia O’Neal and Reagan Cooper hit over .350 in the match. Columbus kept pace with the Supernovas throughout the match but came up just short in key moments.

Set 1

Both teams set the tone for the night early, with neither allowing an extended run in the first set. Neither team held more than a three-point lead until late in the set for Omaha. Bethania De La Cruz made her presence felt with eight kills in the set while the Supernovas had 19 kills as a team.

Set 2

The Fury jumped out to an early 6-3 lead in set two and held the lead until midway through the set. Up 13-11, Columbus allowed a 4-0 run that gave Omaha the lead at the media break. The Supernovas would open their lead to as many as four points and the Fury were unable to put together a run to retake the lead. After no blocks from either team in set one, Columbus held a 4-2 advantage on blocks in the second set.

Set 3

The Fury offense was blistering in the third set on their way to 20 kills on a .520 hitting percentage. Courtney Lush tallied eight kills on nine swings while O’Neal went 5-5 in the set. The offense powered Columbus to an early lead and the team never trailed outside of giving up the first point of the set.

Set 4

Despite the momentum shift in set three, Omaha bounced back to make things difficult for the Fury in set four. Columbus hit just .110 with five hitting errors in the fourth set but they kept the set close. Down 23-19, the Fury churned out three-consecutive points to cut the Supernovas lead to one behind kills from O’Neal and Courtney Lush. A net violation on the next point gave Omaha match point and they capitalized on their chance to close out the match.

Standout Stats

• Courtney Lush notched her fourth double-double of the season behind a season-high 18 kills and a team-high 13 digs on the night.
• Ray Santos entered the match late in set one and stayed in the match until an injury forced her out midway through the fourth set. She had a team-high 35 assists with 17 coming in the third set alone.
• Cooper added 17 kills in the match, her ninth double-digit kill performance on the year. She also hit .366 in the match, her fourth time hitting .300 or better in a match.
• O’Neal had 11 kills to go along with two blocks, two digs, and an ace.

Up Next

The Fury will continue their extended road trip as they head to San Diego to face to Mojo for the first time this season. The match is on Sunday, April 7, with first serve set for 7 p.m. ET.

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