By Annie Walker

SAN DIEGO – The Columbus Fury (8-14) fell 3-1 (25-22, 25-21, 19-25, 25-21) to San Diego (11-11) on Tuesday night. The loss dropped the Fury out of playoff contention as the Mojo clinched the final spot in the postseason.

Set One

The Fury fell behind early as the Mojo opened with a 7-0 run forcing an early timeout from coach Pérez. Kendall Kipp put down a kill to give Columbus their first point of the set and the team began their slow climb to get back in the set. A 12-4 from the Fury cut the lead to one, 18-17, but the Mojo responded with a four-point run of their own. San Diego held on to win the set 25-22. Valeria Leon tallied eight digs in the set.

Set Two

Columbus carried their late momentum into a highly competitive set two. Neither team led by more than three points through the first half of the set. San Diego pulled away late in the set and came away with the 25-21 lead to take a 2-0 set lead. Through the first two sets, Michelle Bartsch-Hackley was 5-12 at the net while Jenaisya Moore tallied six kills and seven digs.

Set Three

Another tight set early, the Fury benefitted from a solid serving run from Jenna Rosenthal netting a 3-0 run. Rosenthal forced two overpasses that were finished by Kaitlyn Hord on back-to-back points. The Fury put together another run behind the serve of Kendall Kipp to take a 15-11 lead into the media timeout. Reagan Cooper re-entered the match after an early exit in set one and provided a lift on offense to bring the set home, 25-19.

Set Four

The teams battled it out once again in set four keeping it a tight score early. A service error from the Fury put the Mojo up 15-14 at the media timeout. San Diego came out of the timeout with a 4-1 run giving them their largest lead of the set. Cooper went 7-12 in the set and the team as a whole hit 39% in the set but it wasn’t enough as the Mojo secured the set and match, 25-21.

Standout Stats

• Kendall Kipp led the Fury with 16 kills and added nine digs and a team-high three blocks.
• Tori Stringer registered her 10^th double-double of the season with 47 assists and 13 digs.
• Michelle Bartsch-Hackley put together a solid performance in her first extended action of the year with nine kills, eight digs, a block and an ace.

Up Next

The Fury close out their road trip at Omaha on Thursday, May 9, at 8 p.m. ET. The team will close out their season on Saturday at home against San Diego at 7 p.m. in Nationwide Arena.

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