Vibe spoil Nootsara’s debut with the Fury

Sitting at the bottom of the standings of the 2025 Pro Volleyball Federation standings, the Columbus Fury announced a massive addition on Saturday, signing legendary setter Nootsara Tomkom as a new face for the reminder of the season.

The Thai superstar made her debut on Sunday, but wasn’t able to help the team take the first step in the right direction as the Fury fell to the Atlanta Vibe 3-0 (25-19, 25-19, 25-20) at the Nationwide Arena, in Columbus, in the last match of the 11th week of the American League’s regular season.

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Nootsara, 39, is one of the most accomplished setters in international volleyball, and was part of the Thai national team for 20 years. She also played professionally in Thailand, Spain, Switzerland, Azerbaijan and Türkiye and appeared in the Pro Volleyball Federation in 2024, when, playing for the San Diego Mojo, she was awarded as the Setter of the Year.

“She got here two days ago so it's going to be a matter of time,” said Fury’s head coach Ángel Pérez. “It's a completely different game the way she plays the game. I thought we saw glimpses of what she can bring to the team. I think we have to rethink our team at the moment, we need to give her better reception if we want to really take advantage of Nootsara. So, I think it's a matter of time for us to get better. We got three, four days here before our next game. So hopefully we will put in some good trainings to get going.”

Nootsara began her debut match in the bench, coming in during the first two sets and starting the third. She ended the match with 16 assists and four digs.

Undefeated in their last six matches, the Vibe counted on 13 points (12 kills, one block) from middle blocker Khori Louis and 12 from each of outside hitters Leah Edmond and Pia Timmer to secure another road win.

Both teams had already played earlier in the week, with the Vibe downing the Orlando Valkyries 3-1 (21-25, 25-17, 25-23, 25-16) at home on Friday and the Fury falling 3-2 (25-21, 25-16, 26-28, 24-26, 15-13) to the Indy Ignite on the road on Thursday.

Supernovas continue in first place

Defending champions Omaha Supernovas continue at the top of the standings in the Pro Volleyball Federation despite having dropped their only match in the week, losing 3-0 (25-23, 25-23, 25-21) to the Ignite at home on Saturday.

The other matches held over the week had the Valkyries defeating the San Diego Mojo 3-1 (25-23, 25-23, 23-25, 25-12) on the road on Wednesday and the Vegas Thrill downing the Grand Rapids Rise 3-1 (29-31, 27-25, 25-22, 27-25) also playing as visitors on Thursday.

After the conclusion of the matches scheduled for the 11^th week of the regular season, the Supernovas (12-5) appear at the top of the standings, followed by the Valkyries (12-7), the Vibe (12-8), the Ignite (11-8), the Thrill (8-9), the Rise (7-11), the Mojo (6-12) and the Fury (5-13).

Next week, seven matches will be held between Friday and Sunday as part of the Pro Volleyball Federation's 12^th week of action.

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