Merritt Beason celebrates with Atlanta Vibe teammates as the team clinches victory in first home game

Former Nebraska Cornhuskers volleyball player Merritt Beason produced an impressive performance for Atlanta Vibe during their outing against Columbus Fury on Thursday, January 16. She scored 23 kills and inflicted 10 digs in the match.

Beason's performance helped her side clinch a 3-2 win in their first home game of the season. Going into the fifth set, the match was in a 2-2 situation with Columbus Fury taking the fourth set 25-22. Atlanta Vibe came back strongly in the final set and took the win by a margin of 16-14.

Following the victory, Atlanta Vibe took to her Instagram handle to share glimpses of the match in her stories. In the post, Beason can be seen celebrating with several of her teammates such as Marlie Monserez and Morgan Hentz, as Vibe racks back-to-back wins.

"A🗣️T🗣️L," the caption read.

Here are some of the pictures:

In the three matches so far in her pro career, Merritt Beason has racked up 54 kills and 13 digs and has helped her side to victory in two matches. Atlanta Vibe's next clash is against the Grand Rapids Rise on Sunday, January 19.

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Atlanta Vibe coach heaped praise on Merritt Beason after their season opener

Merritt Beason in the service line during the NCAA Championship final match against Texas in 2023 (Image via: Getty Images)

Former Nebraska Cornhuskers player and current Atlanta Vibe coach Kayla Banwarth was in full praise for the team's new member Merritt Beason after the 2025 PVF season opener. Even though the Vibe lost the match 2-3 against Omaha Supernovas, Beason impressed with her performance including 17 kills and 10 digs.

In an interview following the match, Banwarth addressed Beason's performance and lauded her performance in the fifth set. She also mentioned that she is quite impressed with how Beason turned up in her first pro game.

Banwarth said (via Omaha World-Herald at 4:10):

"I mean she's so good, there's a reason I fought so hard to to draft her and great players come alive when the game's on the line. I don't know how many kills she had in game five but she came alive in game five when the match was on the line. So, that is something that an all-star does, that is something an elite player does. So, very impressed for her first ever pro career to have that type of performance."

Besides coaching the PVF side, Kayla Banwarth has also been a member of Nebraska Volleyball's coaching staff between 2017-19.