Dallas Pulse sweep Columbus Fury at Nationwide Arena, tightening early-season standings in Major League Volleyball race

Dallas controls key stretches to win in straight sets

The Columbus Fury were swept at home by the first-place Dallas Pulse on Thursday, January 29, 2026, falling 25-23, 25-21, 25-19 at Nationwide Arena. The result dropped Columbus to 2-4, while Dallas improved to 4-1 in its inaugural Major League Volleyball season.

The match was the first meeting between the franchises after Dallas entered the league as a 2026 expansion team. While the set scores indicate a competitive opening frame, Dallas created separation through extended runs in the latter two sets, turning small margins into a decisive road victory.

Second-set swing proves decisive

Columbus opened the second set with a 4-0 run and held Dallas below 10 points early, positioning the Fury to level the match. Dallas reversed the momentum with an 11-2 run, fueled by pressure from the service line that included three aces in that stretch from outside hitter Sofia Maldonado Diaz. The swing converted a Columbus lead into a late Dallas advantage and put the Fury in a two-sets-to-none deficit.

In the third set, Dallas posted its most efficient offensive segment of the night, hitting .417 in the frame, and closed without allowing Columbus to mount a sustained counter-run.

Individual production: Terry leads Columbus, Dallas spreads the scoring

Columbus outside hitter Raina Terry led all Fury players with 14 kills on 33 swings. Outside hitter Megan Lush added six kills as Columbus worked to stabilize its sideout game during Dallas runs.

Dallas received balanced output across multiple positions. Outside hitter Mimi Colyer had 12 kills on 35 attempts, while Maldonado Diaz finished with 10 kills on 23 swings and four aces. Middle blocker Lanye Van Buskirk and setter Natalia Valentin-Anderson each added 10 kills and three blocks, underscoring Dallas’s ability to score beyond traditional primary attackers.

What the result signals in the early standings

The sweep reinforced Dallas’s early standing at the top of the table and highlighted a recurring separator in professional volleyball: sustained pressure from the service line paired with terminal options across the front row. For Columbus, the match again showed how brief lapses—particularly during opponent serving runs—can outweigh strong starts.

• Final score: Dallas def. Columbus 3-0 (25-23, 25-21, 25-19)
• Records after the match: Dallas 4-1; Columbus 2-4
• Venue/date: Nationwide Arena, Columbus — January 29, 2026

Next on the schedule

Dallas continued its road trip with a Saturday, January 31 match at the Indy Ignite. Columbus’s schedule moved forward with another home date as the Fury continued the opening stretch of the 28-match regular season, in which teams play a double home-and-away round-robin format.

Key turning point: Dallas’s extended second-set run flipped the match from a one-set contest into a straight-sets path.