COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Columbus Fury have signed nine exciting players during the 2025 Free Agency period, as the club builds its roster for the 2026 season. The roster at this point features a pair of returning players from last season and the additions of several highly experienced international players.
“What we learned from last year is that we lacked a little bit of experience,” said head coach Angel Perez. “We lost a lot of close matches, in five sets, which I think the lack of experience in our players showed up. What we wanted to do this year is build a team with a little more experience, without taking away some of the youth pieces that we enjoyed. We also wanted to get more size. What we have seen the past few years is the teams that are bigger on the right side and in the middle are the teams that have the most success. At the moment, 90% of our team has professional experience and six of the players have multiple years of experience in leagues across Europe. The focus this season was to build a more experienced team and be a more physical team and I think we’re doing that.”
In addition to the previously announced returners Raina Terry and Abby Walker the Fury have also added four other players with ties to the Midwest – Ashley Evans, Taylor Fricano, Rachel Gomez and Regan Pittman. Anastasiia Bavykina and Aleksandra Jegdic come to Major League Volleyball after more than a decade of professional volleyball in Europe. Audrey Pak will make her professional volleyball debut after a four-year career at UCLA.
Anastasiia Bavykina | OH | 6-2 | Moscow, Russia
An accomplished outside hitter from Russia, Anastasiia Bavykina joins the Columbus Fury for the 2026 season. Bavykina brings a wealth of professional experience to Major League Volleyball, having played more than a decade in Russia. Last season with Yenisey Krasnoyarsk, she helped the team to a second-place finish in the Cup of Siberia and Far East. In her only previous season playing outside of Russia, Bavykina helped VC Kuanysh to win the Kazakhstan Cup during the 2023-24 season. While playing for Dinamo Kazan in the 2018-19 season she was named the Russian Cup Best Scorer. She was also a member of back-to-back Russian Super League championships while playing for Dinamo Moscow. Bavykina also played for the Russian national team, competing in the 2015 European Games and taking part in Olympic Qualifying in 2016.
Ashley Evans | S | 6-1 | Liberty Township, Ohio | Purdue
The 2024 PVF leader in assists for the Grand Rapids Rise, Ashley Evans joins the Columbus Fury for the 2026 season. Following the inaugural PVF season, Evans went back overseas to play for Bergamo in the Italian league. The Liberty Township, Ohio native and Purdue product has played professionally since 2018 with stops in Spain, Hungary, France, Germany and Romania. In her first season as a pro, while playing for Minis Arluy VB Logroño, Evans was named the MVP and Best Setter of the 2018-19 Spanish Cup. Evans has also competed for Team USA, winning a bronze medal at the 2022 Pan-American Cup and gold at the 2019 NORCECA Champions Cup. In her four-year career at Purdue from 2013-17, Evans became one of just seven setters in school history with 4,000 career assists. She was also the first Boilermaker in history to record 4,000 assists and 1,000 digs in a career. In 2017, Evans was named an AVCA Honorable Mention All-American and picked up her third career Academic All-America recognition.
Taylor Fricano | OPP | 6-4 | Palatine, Ill. | Wisconsin/North Carolina
An experienced professional with seven years of experience in Europe and Asia, Taylor Fricano has signed with the Columbus Fury for the 2026 season. Most recently Fricano spent the 2024-25 season in the South Korean V League for the Gwangju AI Peppers, where she was one of the league’s top-10 scorers with 562 points during the season. Prior to her one season in South Korea, Fricano played across Europe in the Czech Republic, Switzerland, Italy, France and Romania. She also previously played one season in the United States with Athletes Unlimited in 2022. Fricano graduated from North Carolina and played three seasons for the Tar Heels, receiving All-ACC Second Team honors in 2016 and being named to the ACC Academic Honor Roll. The 2016 season was her most successful at UNC, starting all 33 matches and tying a program record with 142 block assists and 158 total blocks. For her Tar Heel career, she Totaled 413 kills (1.42/s), 305 blocks (1.05/s), 22 aces and 88 digs. Fricano started her collegiate career at Wisconsin and redshirted in 2013 before playing in six matches in 2014.
Rachel Gomez | MB | 6-1 | Sturgis, Mich. | Western Kentucky
Rachel Gomez joins the Columbus Fury after four seasons abroad in Germany and a four-year collegiate career at Western Kentucky. Early in Gomez’s professional career, she helped VC Neuwied 77 finish first in 2. Bundesliga to gain promotion to the first division. She spent the last two seasons with German club VC Wiesbaden. While at Western Kentucky, Gomez was a two-time AVCA Honorable Mention All-American, and three-time First Team All-Conference USA honoree. Going into her senior season in 2018, Gomez was named C-USA Preseason Player of the Year and went on to be named First Team All-CUSA and AVCA All-Region. She started all 30 matches and led the Hilltoppers with 397 kills, a .346 hitting percentage and 113 total blocks. Gomez’s junior season in 2017 was also exceptional, as she racked up 420 kills, hitting .413, with 130 total blocks, while leading WKU to the a 30-4 record and the second round of the NCAA Tournament. For her full career, Gomez had 1,457 kills (3.05 per set), a .377 hitting percentage and 442 total blocks.
Aleksandra Jegdic | L | 5-6 | Belgrade, Serbia
A World Championship gold medal winning libero, Aleksandra Jegdic has signed for the Columbus Fury for the 2026 season. Jegdic brings an impressive resume to Major League Volleyball, with more than a decade of club experience as well as high-level international experience with the Serbian National Team. In addition to being part of the 2022 World Championship gold medal team for Serbia, Jegdic also won silver at the 2023 European Championship. She joins Columbus after one season at Rapid Bucaresti in Romania, where she helped the team finish third in the Romanian Cup. Jegdic started her professional career in Serbia, playing for five different clubs, before moving to Germany where she helped Potsdam win the 2022-23 German Supercup. While in Germany, she also helped Potsdam to a pair of runner-up finishes in the Bundesliga as well as two runner-up finishes in the German Cup.
Audrey Pak | S | 5-11 | Moraga, Calif. | UCLA
Following a four-year career at UCLA, Audrey Pak joins the Columbus Fury as a rookie in 2026. Pak became the starting setter in her final two seasons for the Bruins and dished out 2,210 career assists, while also adding 451 digs, 132 total blocks, 47 service aces and 93 kills. She started 27 matches during her senior season in 2024 and finished third in the Big Ten with 768 assists during conference action. Pak’s 10.67 assists per set overall ranked third in the conference and she racked up 30 or more assists in 23 of her 27 appearances. She posted seven double-doubles, including back-to-back matches with 50-plus assists and 10-plus digs. Pak completed her career by being named a recipient of the 2024 Big Ten Sportsmanship Award.
Regan Pittman | MB | 6-4 | Spring Hill, Kansas | Minnesota
A veteran of Major League Volleyball, Regan Pittman joins the Columbus Fury for her third season in the league. After playing for the regular season champions Atlanta Vibe in the inaugural season in 2024, Pittman starred for the San Diego Mojo last season. Pittman led the PVF in blocks per set with 0.93 over her 76 sets played in 2025. She played in 21 matches, with 19 starts and scored 217 points with 136 kills, 71 blocks, 10 service aces, while adding 84 digs. Pittman had a standout career at Minnesota, earning three All-America honors, including being named an AVCA First Team All-American in 2019. She also helped lead the Golden Gophers to the Final Four in 2019. She finished her career with 502 total blocks, a .356 hitting percentage and 902 kills, ranking eighth all-time in Minnesota history in blocks and tied for third in hitting percentage. Pittman also has national team experience, helping win gold in 2017 with Team USA at the U20 Women’s Pan American Cup and silver at the 2015 FIVB U19 World Championship. Pittman is also the founder of the Stand Tall Volleyball Academy, based in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Raina Terry | OH | 6-3 | Marengo, Ohio | Illinois
Raina Terry returns to the Columbus Fury for her second season after she was selected with the 11th overall pick of the 2024 PVF Draft. Terry made an immediate impact in her first season, finishing second on the team with 2.55 kills per set (194 kills) and 3.11 points per set (236). Terry was also strong defensively for the Fury, finishing with 32 blocks (0.42 per set) and 126 digs (1.66 per set). The Marengo, Ohio native, was also a threat from the service line with 10 aces. In her stellar five-year career at Illinois, Terry set program records with 2,138 career kills, 220 aces, and 2,522 points, while being named a Unanimous All-Big Ten First Team selection and AVCA All-American as a senior in 2024. Throughout her career, Terry was named a two-time VolleyballMag All-American, a three-time AVCA All-Region selection, and a three-time All-Big Ten First Team honoree. In 2024-25, Terry was awarded the prestigious Big Ten Medal of Honor, which is given annually to one male and one female athlete at each Big Ten institution who demonstrate excellence in both scholarship and athletics. Already giving back to the next generation of volleyball players, Terry is currently an assistant coach for the Milwaukee volleyball program and has previously served as co-head coach of the Prime Time Volleyball Club.
Abby Walker | MB | 6-1 | Cambridge, Ohio | Cincinnati
The team leader in blocks after being selected with the 32nd overall pick in the 2024 PVF Draft, Abby Walker returns to the Columbus Fury for her second season. Walker played in a team-high 99 sets and was the only Fury player to compete in all 28 matches. She led the team with 38 blocks, while adding 138 kills and contributing 60 digs and six service aces. Walker had a season-high 10 kills on 18 attacks in a five-set match against Grand Rapids. She had a pair of matches with four total blocks, contributing to wins over Indy and Grand Rapids. Over the course of her four-year collegiate career at Cincinnati, Walker compiled 1,026 kills, 355 blocks, 275 digs and 105 aces. As a senior, she was named Second Team All-Big 12 while leading the team with 112 total blocks, finishing with 1.06 blocks per set. In addition to her all-Big 12 honors in 2024, she was named to the All-ACC team and was recognized as the AAC Freshman of the Year in 2021.
ABOUT MAJOR LEAGUE VOLLEYBALL
Major League Volleyball, entering its third season, is the first formal professional volleyball league for women in the United States. Designed to elevate the sport through world class competition, commercial innovation, and cultural relevance, MLV brings together elite athletes, visionary leadership and global ambition. With alignment to USA Volleyball and a commitment to Olympic development, MLV serves as the premier pathway from professional play to the world stage. For more information, visit ProVolleyball.com.