Reagan Cooper thought her volleyball career was over.
She collected 363 kills in her final season of collegiate volleyball with Kansas and was ready to move onto other things. She knew there was some interest from professional teams overseas, but she wasn’t interested due to her distaste for flying. She also had some interest within PVF, but she went as far as to tell a couple teams that she wasn’t planning on playing professionally.
That changed when she woke up to a call from her dad.
“My dad’s like, ‘I just got off the phone with Jimmy Burrow, you just got drafted in the second round with the 14th pick,” Cooper said. “I was shocked that someone drafted me because I hadn’t responded to anybody, so I didn’t expect anyone to put their faith in me.”
After the initial shock, Cooper talked with Burrow and Fury head coach Ángel Pérez to learn more about the league and she decided to play.
Now, coming off Cooper’s first PVF Player of the Week award and numerous 20-kill matches, it’s clear that the Fury were right to put their faith into their second-round pick.
The rookie outside hitter from Rowlett, Texas has already tallied a team-high 115 kills in her first six matches in PVF, including a season-high 29 kills on a 39% hitting percentage in the Fury’s last win against Orlando.
Her performance so far has impressed her head coach.
“She has been our diamond in the rough,” Pérez said. “She’s been our main weapon and she’s embraced that role."
Cooper may have made the jump from college to professional volleyball seam easy, but it has been a huge change for her.
“It’s been an adjustment, honestly, especially in the beginning with serve-receive and the back row rotations because I didn’t play that in college,” she said. “I was comfortable with hitting and blocking, but everything else was still pretty new to me, so I can really credit the coaches, training staff, and my teammates for helping me and having faith in me and trusting me even though I’m still kind of figuring it out.”
Another adjustment for Cooper has been playing with and against some of the players she grew up watching, who have come to PVF to grow volleyball in America. She has also gained the opportunity to play on the same side of the net as first-overall pick Asjia O’Neal, who she played against frequently during her four seasons in the Big 12.
“She’s a monster blocker and she always has been,” Cooper said. “Every time we would play them, as a hitter my entire game plan would be to avoid hitting into her because she’s so good.”
Cooper has also learned to let her emotions come out on the court with O’Neal by her side.
“You can see how her passion comes out and it kind of trickles down to me on the court,” Cooper said. “I feel like I’m getting more into it, I’m getting louder, I’m getting more excited, more confident.”
Along with the staff and her teammates with the Fury, Cooper also credits her dad, Reginald, who played college football for Nebraska and had a brief stint in the NFL with the Cowboys, for some of her attributes that have led to her success.
Cooper’s dad was also her coach for many years growing up which helped her develop tough skin when taking criticism.
“He’s taught me a lot about not just the competitive side of sports, but also the mental part of it and how you have to be tough and be locked in,” Cooper said. “He’s been a great role model.”
As far as adjusting to professional volleyball, the 23 year-old not only has had to relearn certain technical aspects and adjust to the speed of the game, but also get used to a new place in Columbus.
Before arriving to play for the Fury, Cooper had only been to Ohio once, to play Cincinnati in a college game, just five months ago.
“It’s very new and very cold,” Cooper said. “I’m from Texas, so it doesn’t get this cold, this snowy, or this rainy but I love rainy weather so that’s the biggest pro for me. I love it so far.”
Cooper has also grown to love the home crowd in Columbus, as the Fury brought in over 9,000 people to watch the inaugural home match against Omaha in February at Nationwide Arena.
“Being able to play in an arena that big and have a really good showing is great,” Cooper said. “I don’t think fans understand how much they really do contribute to our energy. It helps so much, the cheering on loud points and hustle plays, it just gives us so much energy.”
Cooper and the Fury will be back in Nationwide Arena feeding off that crowd energy on Monday, March 11 at 7 p.m. to take on the Vegas Thrill for the third time already this season.