GRAND RAPIDS RISE 3 at Columbus Fury 1
March 20, 2024
COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Grand Rapids Rise continued their winning ways over their regional rival Columbus Fury with a 3-1 victory Wednesday night at Nationwide Arena in Columbus. The Rise had lost their previous three away matches but snapped that winless streak by improving to 3-0 against the Fury this season. The Rise won by set scores of 25-20, 25-18, 19-25, 32-30.
Grand Rapids faced a revamped Columbus team with three new faces in the starting lineup: Asjia O’Neal, Tori Stringer, and Samantha Drechsel. Middle blocker O’Neal and opposite hitter Drechsel returned from injuries, whereas setter Stringer joined the Fury from the Atlanta Vibe on March 14 after being traded for a pair of future first-round draft picks in 2025 and 2026.
The Rise scored the first three points of the match, but the Fury pulled back even at 5-5 following a block by O’Neal — the first overall pick in inaugural Pro Volleyball Federation college draft held back in December. Trailing 15-14 in the opening set, the Rise went on a 4-0 run that featured a setter kill from Ashley Evans, a back row kill from Claire Chaussee, an ace from middle blocker Marin Grote, and a setting error by Stringer.
That was enough breathing room for Grand Rapids to put away Columbus in set one, 25-20. Rise opposite hitter Emiliya Dimitrova closed out the frame with her eighth kill on set point. Dimitrova hit .667 in the first set with no attack errors on 12 swings.
The Rise kept that momentum rolling into the second set and had a 13-8 advantage before the Fury called a timeout to regroup. Grand Rapids didn’t let up and increased its lead to nine points, 22-13, after another Evans kill, a block and kill from Grote, and a Columbus attack error. The Fury’s seventh service error ended the set, 25-18, to give the Rise a commanding 2-0 lead.
Evans managed to get everyone involved on offense, as five different Rise players had two or more kills in the second set. Grand Rapids hit .419 as a team with 16 kills and three attack errors on 31 attempts. Evans finished with 47 assists and tied a season high with three kills.
Six Rise service errors in the third set proved to be costly with the Fury holding on for a 25-19 win to extend the match. Grand Rapids rallied from down 18-11 to get within four points at 23-19, but Columbus serving specialist Ivania Ortiz DeJesus subbed in and neutralized the Rise offense to help the Fury get the final two points needed.
Columbus battled back to even the fourth set at 20-20. Another 22 points were needed before the two teams could be separated by the minimum of two points. The Rise fended off three Fury set points with kills from Dimitrova and Chaussee, plus a Columbus serving error. Another kill from Chaussee put Grand Rapids in control up 27-26. The Fury, however, didn’t go down easily. They fought off four match points to even the score at 30-30. Yet, Dimitrova and Chaussee both stepped up one more time with kills to push the Rise across the finish line, 32-30.
Not interested in playing another fifth set after the reverse sweep completed by Vegas against Grand Rapids on Sunday, 11 of the final 13 Rise points scored in the match came from either Dimitrova or Chaussee kills. Chaussee finished with eight kills in the final set, while Dimitrova had seven.
Notes
- For the first time this season, Grand Rapids won a set that reached the 30s. The Rise had previously lost the following marathon sets: 36-34 at San Diego (Feb. 23), 33-31 against Omaha (Feb. 12), 32-30 at Orlando (March 1), and 30-28 against Omaha (Feb. 12).
- Dimitrova (23 kills, 12 digs) and Evans (47 assists, 13 digs) both registered double-double performances for the Rise. Drechsel (11 kills, 16 digs) and Megan Courtney Lush (14 kills, 12 digs) did the same for the Fury.
- Rise middle blocker Alyssa Jensen and Dimitrova both collected four blocks. Grand Rapids finished with two more blocks than Columbus, 11-9, and improved to 5-1 on the season when having more blocks than its opposition.
- Fury setter Stringer tossed up 49 assists to go with 12 digs and three kills in her debut match with her new team. O’Neal (13) and Drechsel (11) both had double-digit kills in their return to the court.
- Grand Rapids jumped over Columbus to move into third place in the Pro Volleyball Federation standings with the road victory.
GR 25 25 19 32 — 3
CLB 20 18 25 30 — 1
Team Leaders
GR: Kills — Emiliya Dimitrova 23, Claire Chaussee 16, Symone Abbott 7; Assists — Ashley Evans 47; Aces — Marin Grote 1, Dimitrova 1; Blocks — Alyssa Jensen 4, Dimitrova 4, Grote 2; Digs — Sarah Sponcil 13, Evans 13, Dimitrova 12, Abbott 12.
CLB: Kills — Megan Courtney Lush 14, Asjia O’Neal 13, Samantha Drechsel 11; Assists — Tori Stringer 49, Valeria Leon 3; Aces — O’Neal 1, Reagan Cooper 1, Drechsel 1; Blocks — Kaitlyn Hord 3; Digs — Drechsel 16, Cooper 13, Stringer 12, Courtney Lush 12.
Record / Next Match
Grand Rapids: 5-5 / Tue., March 26 at Vegas Thrill, 10 p.m. EST
Columbus: 4-5 / Sun., March 24 vs. Atlanta Vibe, 2 p.m.
Photo by Columbus Fury