This Week’s Matches
RISE (5-5) at Vegas Thrill (5-8) // Tue., March 26 // 10 p.m. EDT // Dollar Loan Arena
Watch: YouTube at 10 p.m.
Season Series: 0-1 Overall, 0-0 Away. Second of four meetings overall, first of two at Dollar Loan Arena
Noteworthy: Grand Rapids is aiming to avenge a 3-2 home loss against Vegas on March 20. The Rise won the first two sets 25-21 before dropping the last three: 21-25, 16-25, and 12-15. The Thrill are also looking to bounce back after getting swept at home by the San Diego Mojo on Sunday, March 24.
RISE at Omaha Supernovas (8-4) // Thu., March 28 // 8 p.m. EDT // CHI Health Center
Watch: YouTube at 8 p.m.
Season Series: 0-1 Overall, 0-0 Away. Second of four meetings overall, first of two at CHI Health Center
Noteworthy: Grand Rapids concludes a stretch of three consecutive road matches. Omaha defeated the Rise at Van Andel Arena on Feb. 12 in four sets by scores of 21-25, 33-31, 30-28, 25-21. The Supernovas have won four of their last five matches with three wins over Orlando and a road sweep in Atlanta.
What Happens in Vegas...: The Rise’s sibling team in the DP Fox Sports organization, the Grand Rapids Griffins, play in the American Hockey League’s Western Conference along with the Henderson Silver Knights, who share a home with the Vegas Thrill at Dollar Loan Center. Despite the Silver Knights having joined the AHL in 2020, the Griffins have never faced Henderson on the ice, making the Rise the first of the two franchises to play at the Dollar Loan Center. The arena is also home to the G League Ignite, rivals of the Grand Rapids Gold, who like the Rise and Griffins call Van Andel Arena their home.
Reversing the Reverse: The Vegas Thrill turned the tables against the Rise on March 17 by becoming the first Pro Volleyball Federation team to complete a reverse sweep — losing the first two sets before winning the next three. Grand Rapids looked in control after taking the first two frames by the same score of 25-21, with the Rise hitting .357 across the two sets. Vegas scored the first four points of the third set and never looked back.
The Thrill locked in defensively and held the Rise to a .174 hitting percentage across the last three sets. Vegas had 12 of its 17 blocks in sets three, four, and five. Vegas middle blocker Layne Van Buskirk registered six blocks alone for the most rejections any opposing player has had against the Rise this season.
Beware of Late-Match Sets: Jumping out to early set leads has been the standard for the Rise this season, while closing matches out has been a challenge at times. Here is how Grand Rapids has fared across the different sets:
- First Set: 8-2 with a +44 point differential (254-210);
- Second Set: 6-4 with a +2 point differential (236-234);
- Third Set: 3-7 with a -9 point differential (236-245);
- Fourth Set: 4-5 with a -9 point differential (215-224);
- Fifth Set: 1-2 with a -5 point differential (36-41).
The Rise have won their last four opening sets and, opposite to the trend, have claimed three out of their last four sets in the fourth frame. For the season, Grand Rapids has a +23 point differential (977-954) and is 22-20 across all sets played.
Rising to the Occasion: Reliable Rise opposite hitter Emiliya Dimitrova took over the fourth set against the Columbus Fury on March 20 with seven kills, six digs, and a block in the final frame. Dimitrova finished with 28 points (23 kills, four blocks, and an ace) for the third-most points by a Rise player in a single match this season. Dimitrova also holds the top two spots with 30 points at Orlando on March 1 and 29 points against Atlanta on Feb. 18.
The 17-year veteran continues to shine when Grand Rapids needs her the most. Dimitrova has converted the most Rise set points this season, closing out seven different frames. Marin Grote and Claire Chaussee are tied for second with three set-point conversions.
On the Road Again: The Rise are in the middle of playing three road matches in nine days. This will be the second of three times this season that Grand Rapids has to play three consecutive away matches. After a 3-1 win in Columbus, the Rise have two more stops in Vegas and Omaha. Grand Rapids is 2-3 on the road this season.
Volume Up: Grand Rapids will get its first taste of playing inside Omaha’s CHI Health Center on Thursday. The Supernovas reset the attendance record for an indoor women’s professional volleyball match in the United State for a third time this season when 12,090 fans filled the CHI Health Center on Saturday, March 16 to see Omaha face the Orlando Valkyries. The Supernovas currently hold four of the top five U.S. women’s indoor volleyball attendance records, including the top three marks. Omaha has hosted at least 11,000 fans in four of its six home matches.
Air Claire Strikes: In the month of March, Rise outside hitter Claire Chaussee has been a go-to weapon for the Rise offense. She has crossed over the 20-kill plateau three times, racked up four double-double performances, and is averaging 4.59 kills per set:
- At Orlando (March 1): 21 kills (.380), 11 digs, two assists, one block and one ace;
- At San Diego (March 4): 23 kills (.327), 10 digs and two aces;
- Columbus (March 9): Match-high 17 kills (.261), 14 digs, one block and one assist;
- Vegas (March 17): Season-high 24 kills (.315), 11 digs and two blocks;
- At Columbus (March 20): 16 kills (.188), seven digs, and a block.
Chaussee leads Grand Rapids in total attacks (465) and aces (8). She is second of the team in kills (179) behind Dimitrova (185). Chaussee, Dimitrova and Sarah Sponcil are the only three Rise players to play in every set so far this season.
Double-Double Counter: Through 10 Pro Volleyball Federation matches, the Rise have had 20 double-double performances. Chaussee leads the way with eight, followed by Dimitrova with six, setter Ashley Evans with four, and outside hitter Symone Abbott with two. Grand Rapids has yet to have a player reach a triple-double, with Dimitrova coming the closest on March 20 with 23 kills, 12 digs, and four blocks at Columbus.
Broom Getting Dusty: Since sweeping the Fury in the season opener on Jan. 25, the Rise have only played in four and five set matches. Sweeps have been uncommon for the entire League with only 10 happening in the 40 matches played so far (25%). There have been 19 four-set matches (47.5%) and 11 five-set matches (27.5%).
Grand Rapids and Omaha are the only two teams that have completed a sweep this season and haven't been swept themselves. Columbus, Vegas, Atlanta, and San Diego comprise the four teams that have completed a sweep and have also been swept this year. The only team that hasn’t won 3-0 is Orlando.
Rise-Thrill Connections: Former teammates reunite and a strong showing from a standout Michigan native:
- The Rise face their former teammate Kenna Sauer, who started the season on the Grand Rapids' practice squad before getting claimed by Vegas on Feb. 12. Sauer played in four out of the five sets when the Thrill visited Grand Rapids on March 17. She finished with seven kills (.160 hitting percentage), seven digs, two blocks, and an ace.
- Rise setter Mac Podraza and Thrill outside hitter Gabby Gonzales played four seasons together at Ohio State (2019-22).
- Vegas setter Alisha Glass Childress is from Leland, Michigan. She won the Week 8 Pro Volleyball Federation Player of the Week award by helping the Thrill reverse-sweep the Rise on March 17. Glass Childress tossed up 56 assists and added 10 digs in the match. It was the third time this season that she crossed over the 50-assist plateau.
Rise-Supernovas Connections: Paths that will cross again when Grand Rapids faces Omaha:
- Omaha interim head coach Laura "Bird" Kuhn was the head coach at Texas A&M from 2018-22 and brought in Rise player Camila Gómez from Miami Dade College (NJCAA) to be her starting libero for the Aggies' 2019 season.
- Rise setter Ashley Evans, along with Supernovas' players Brooke Nuneviller and Danielle Hart, have played/trained with the United States women's indoor volleyball national team that has qualified for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France.
- Omaha outside hitter Maggie King was a five-year starter, four-time First Team All-MAC member for the Western Michigan women’s volleyball team from 2019-23.
- Rise assistant coach Denis Dimitrov has coached Supernovas middle blocker Hristina Vuchkova on the Bulgarian National Team since 2019.
Photo by Nicolas Carrillo/Rise