Fury Look to Rebound against Orlando
Published on January 30, 2026 under Major League Volleyball (MLV)
Columbus Fury News Release
COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Columbus Fury are looking to bounce back from their first sweep of the season, as they host the Orlando Valkyries at Nationwide Arena on Saturday at 7 p.m.
The Fury have several ticket options available for fans - including single match, partial plans and full season tickets. Click here or email columbusfury@columbusfury.com for more details. Fans can also call the ticket office at 614-380-FURY (3879).
THE SERIES
This is the ninth meeting between the Columbus Fury and the Orlando Valkyries, with the Valkyries holding a 6-2 advantage in the all-time series. The Valkyries swept the season series last year with four wins over the Fury.
THE OPPONENT
The defending MLV Champions, Orlando Valkyries have started the season well and hold a a 4-2 record after Thursday's sweep at Grand Rapids. The Valkyries' roster features nine returners, including the entire starting lineup from last season's championship squad. In addition to the group of nine returners, Orlando added 2025 MLV All-Stars Charitie Luper and Hannah Maddux as well as the 2022 World Championships Best Libero Teodora Pusic (Serbia). Head Coach Amy Pauly returns for her third season at the helm.
UNLEASH THE FURY
- The Fury features a roster filled with international experience, looking to improve on the foundation created over the first two seasons.
- Columbus' roster also 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 lead Major League Volleyball with 77 total blocks and 3.08 blocks per set through the three weeks of the season. Columbus has had double-digit blocks in four matches, including a franchise record 17 blocks in the Jan. 10 loss to Omaha.
- There have been promising signs for the Columbus Fury this season, with three losses being extremely close matches. The first loss came to Omaha in a four-set match where every set was decided by three points or less. The other two losses were in five sets, with the loss to Indy having the highest-scoring fifth set in MLV history (22-20).
- Raina Terry has had a big start to the year, following up on her solid rookie season. The Marengo, Ohio native leads MLV with 122 points and 4.88 points per set. Terry has had double-digit kills in every match and has two double-doubles as well.
- Flormarie Heredia Colon made her highly anticipated professional debut against Indy on Jan. 17 and was stellar. The Dominican Republic native finished with 25 kills, eight digs, three blocks and two service aces to open her career.
- Setter Ashley Evans has been a big addition for Columbus, quarterbacking the Fury this season and ranking third in the league with 251 assists. She has recorded a double-double in five matches and her 57 assists in the five-set loss to Indy were the second-most in a match in franchise history.
- The Fury join the Columbus Blue Jackets (NHL) and the Columbus Crew (MLS) as the major league teams representing the city.
BLOCK PARTY
Through the three weeks of the season, the Columbus Fury lead Major League Volleyball with 77 total blocks and 3.08 blocks per set. The Fury have nine more blocks than any other team in the league. Columbus has recorded double-digit blocks in four of their five matches this season and in the narrow loss to Omaha the Fury set a franchise record with 17 total blocks.
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.
Another standout signing is libero Aleksandra Jegdic, who was a member of the 2022 World Championship winning Serbian national team. She is a highly experienced professional, with 15 years of experience across Europe.
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.
The Columbus Fury have several ticket options available for fans - including single match, partial plans and full season tickets. Email columbusfury@columbusfury.com for more details. Fans can also call the ticket office at 614-380-FURY (3879).
Major League Volleyball Stories from January 30, 2026
- Fury Look to Rebound against Orlando - Columbus Fury
- Ignite Collect First Home Win of Season, Remain Tied Atop MLV - Indy Ignite
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
