Fury Head to League-Leading Indy Thursday
Published on March 18, 2026 under Major League Volleyball (MLV)
Columbus Fury News Release
COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Columbus Fury head on the road to face the league-leading Indy Ignite on Thursday at 8 p.m. ET at Fishers Event Center. The match will be the final of three Fury matches this season to be broadcast on CBS Sports Network.
The Fury will return home next week to face the Orlando Valkyries on Tuesday, March 24 at 7 p.m. ET. To purchase tickets, click here, email columbusfury@columbusfury.com or call 614-380-FURY (3879).
THE SERIES
This is the seventh meeting between the Columbus Fury and the Indy Ignite, with the Ignite holding a 5-1 advantage in the all-time series. The Ignite joined MLV last season and won the first three matches in the series before the Fury won the finale.
THE OPPONENT
The Indy Ignite recorded the best start in MLV history by opening the season with 14 wins in the first 16 matches. Five Ignite players were named MLV All-Stars, led by libero Elena Scott who received the most votes in fan balloting. Opposite hitter Azhani Tealer, setter Mia Tuaniga and middle blockers Lydia Martyn and Blake Mohler were also All-Star selections. The Ignite are led by head coach Lauren Bertoacci, who most-recently served as the head coach of Swiss powerhouse Viteos NUC and is currently the head coach of the Swiss Women's National Team.
UNLEASH THE FURY
- Raina Terry and Regan Pittman-Nelson have been selected to compete in the 2026 AdventHealth MLV All-Star Match. The All-Star Match will take place in Orlando on Saturday, March 28 at Noon ET and will be broadcast live on CBS network television and Paramount+ for the second straight season.
- Raina Terry has been outstanding this season, following up on her solid rookie year in 2025. The Marengo, Ohio native is third in MLV with 4.52 points per set and fourth with 280 points. Terry has had double-digit points in all but two matches and has six double-doubles as well.
- Regan Pittman-Nelson has been a force at the net for the Fury this season, leading the league with 0.77 blocks per set and 41 total blocks. Pittman-Nelson has also been an offensive threat, scoring double-digit points in eight matches this season.
- The Fury are third in Major League Volleyball with 2.60 blocks per set and 161 total blocks. Columbus has had double-digit blocks in nine matches, including a franchise record 17 blocks in the Jan. 10 loss to Omaha.
- Kamaile Hiapo stepped into the starting libero role in mid-February and has done a stellar job. She has posted three matches with 20+ digs and set a franchise record with 27 digs in the four-set win over the Orlando Valkyries on Feb. 22. In her six starts, Hiapo is averaging 4.25 digs per set.
- Columbus' roster features four Ohio natives, Megan Lush, Ashley Evans, Raina Terry and Abby Walker, who will once again be playing volleyball in the Buckeye State.
- Head Coach Ángel Pérez returns for his third season at the helm after signing a multi-year contract extension in August.
- The Fury join the Columbus Blue Jackets (NHL) and the Columbus Crew (MLS) as the major league teams representing the city.
MLV ALL-STARS
Columbus Fury stars Raina Terry and Regan Pittman-Nelson have been selected to compete in the 2026 MLV All-Star Match. The All-Star Match will take place in Orlando on Saturday, March 28 at noon ET and will be broadcast live on CBS network television and Paramount+ for the second straight season. The All-Star selections were determined through a combination of fan voting, player input, and league selection, recognizing athletes who have delivered exceptional performances and made a significant impact this year.
BLOCK PARTY
The Columbus Fury's biggest strength this season has been the team's presence at the net, stuffing 2.60 blocks per set and 161 total blocks. The team has posted double-digit blocks in nine of the 16 matches this season and in the narrow loss to Omaha the Fury set a franchise record with 17 total blocks. This has been a team effort by the Fury, as Regan Pittman-Nelson leads the team and league with 41 blocks while Raina Terry is right behind her with 33 blocks and three other players also have double-digit blocks.
RECORD BREAKING PERFORMANCE
Kamaile Hiapo was forced into the starting libero role in mid-March and has done an impressive job serving as the Fury's defensive leader. In her first start, against Dallas on Feb. 14, Hiapo led the team with 10 digs while adding three assists. Hiapo doubled that output in her second start, with 20 digs and six assists in the four-set loss to the Atlanta Vibe on Feb. 19. In her third start of the season, the Gilbert, Arizona native set a franchise record with 27 digs to help the Fury beat the defending champion Orlando Valkyries. Hiapo started strong with eight digs in the first set, before posting five in the second set and four in the third. She saved her best for last though, registering 10 digs in the decisive fourth set to secure the win.
THE RETURNERS
Megan Lush, Raina Terry and Abby Walker - all Ohio natives - return for another season with the Columbus Fury in 2026. The duo of Terry and Walker were drafted in 2024 and played big roles for the Fury as rookies last season. Terry made an immediate impact, finishing second on the team with 2.55 kills per set (194 kills) and 3.11 points per set (236) after being selected with the 11th overall pick. Walker led the team in blocks and hitting percentage after being taken with the 32nd overall pick. Lush, the two-time team captain and 2025 MLV All-Star, had another great all-around season for the Fury in 2025, finishing with 163 kills, 220 digs, 22 blocks and nine service aces.
THE NEWCOMERS
The Columbus Fury signed several high-impact free agents in August, adding more experience and size to the roster. Among those free agents is setter Ashley Evans - an Ohio native - who played last season for Bergamo in the Italian league after being the MLV assists leader during the league's inaugural season in 2024. Additionally, the Fury added middle blocker Rachel Gomez, setter Audrey Pak and middle blocker Regan Pittman in August. Columbus later signed middle blocker Rainelle Jones, an MLV veteran and Fury fan favorite from the 2024 season, outside hitter Jaelyn Hodge, libero Kamaile Hiapo and opposite Kashauna Williams.
THE ROOKIES
With a plan of adding "point scorers" to the roster during the 2025 MLV Draft, the Columbus Fury did just that by adding Flormarie Heredia Colon (Miami), Maya Winterhoff (App State) and free agent Akasha Anderson (Purdue). Heredia Colon, an outside hitter from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, led the NCAA in kills as a senior in 2025 and set the Miami record for career kills. Winterhoff, a middle blocker, led the Sun Belt in hitting percentage for a third-consecutive season in 2025, while Anderson, an outside hitter, was named All-Big Ten Second Team in her final collegiate season.
BIG TEN COUNTRY
Columbus lies in the heart of Big Ten country and is home to the Ohio State Buckeyes. The team roster features eight players who spent at least one season at a Big Ten school.
- Penn State alumna Megan Lush won two national titles with the Nittany Lions. Kashauna Williams finished her collegiate career with one season at Penn State in 2022.
- Raina Terry finished third in the NCAA in attacks per set, fourth in total attacks, eighth in kills per set and ninth in total kills during her senior season with Illinois.
- Rainelle Jones set career records for total blocks (718) and block assists (654), as well as leading the NCAA in blocks per set in 2021 and 2022 at Maryland.
- Ashley Evans became the first Purdue Boilermaker in history to record 4,000 assists and 1,000 digs in a career.
- Regan Pittman-Nelson earned three All-America honors while at Minnesota, including being named an AVCA First Team All-American in 2019.
- Audrey Pak played one season in the Big Ten for UCLA and received the 2024 Big Ten Sportsmanship Award.
- Akasha Anderson completed her collegiate career at Purdue in 2025 and received All-Big Ten Second Team honors.
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