Will Asjia O'Neal return to the Columbus Fury?

When Columbus Fury middle blocker Asjia O'Neal recieved a call into camp for the United States Women's National Volleyball Team on April 11th, many celebrated the young star's incredible accomplishment. It's easy to see how she attracted the attention national team. Through O'Neal's nine matches in Columbus she averaged 2.65 kills while recording a .350 hitting percentage. She was named player of the week in the Pro Volleyball Federation on March 26th as a result of a dominent effort in which she logged 30 kills over two matches.

The call from the national team makes sense for both parties involved.

However, it puts the Fury in a bit of a bind. At the time of her call-up Columbus was in the midst of a four game winless drought, that ultimately stretched to a six game slid. Despite that fact, head coach Ángel Pérez, a national team competitor himself in Puerto Rico, understood the opportunity that was presented to O'Neal.

"It’s a tough situation that we lose her, but it’s an Olympic dream, what can you do?" he said. "I couldn’t sleep at night thinking that if I didn’t let her go she might have a chance to lose her Olympic spot."

With her sudden departure fans began asking about her status in Central Ohio. Columbus Wired has learned that her future in the capital city remains uncertain at this time according to multiple sources. However, she remains in contact with the Columbus front office.

“That’s a question for Asjia and her group," said Pérez of O'Neal's status. "Of course, we would love to have her here. We offered her an extension to come with us. Like every athlete you know she’s in the decision making part of the process. We would love to have her again. I think we know the quality of what she brings. Not only as a volleyball player, but everything she brings to the game and we were happy to have her."

O'Neal hopes to feature for the United States when the Olympics begin in Paris on Friday, July 26th.