This Week’s Matches
RISE (10-11) vs. San Diego Mojo (9-10) // Sat., May 4 // 5 p.m. // Van Andel Arena
RISE vs. San Diego Mojo // Sun., May 5 // 4 p.m. // Van Andel Arena
Listen: 96.1 The Game at 5 p.m. on Saturday and WTKG 1230 AM at 3:45 p.m. on Sunday
Watch: WXSP-TV and YouTube at 5 p.m. on Saturday, and YouTube at 4 p.m. on Sunday
Season Series: 0-2 Overall, 0-0 Home. Last two of four meetings overall, first two matches at Van Andel Arena
Noteworthy: Grand Rapids and San Diego will each play two matches in two days for the first time this season. The Rise clinch a playoff spot if they win both home contests and Columbus loses at Atlanta on May 2 or at home against Omaha on May 4. San Diego is 4-2 in its last six matches with wins over Orlando (twice), Omaha, and Columbus. The first meeting between the Rise and Mojo on Feb. 23 featured four two-point sets, including a Pro Volleyball Federation record 70-point set, as San Diego prevailed 36-34, 25-27, 25-23, 25-23. It was also the first win in franchise history for the Mojo. San Diego outlasted Grand Rapids, 3-2, in the rematch on March 4 by set scores of 25-16, 19-25, 17-25, 25-22, 15-9. Despite starting the season 2-6, the Mojo currently hold the fourth and final playoff spot.
Playoff Push: With two weeks left in the regular season, the Rise are closing in on securing a postseason berth. The top four Pro Volleyball Federation teams will make the playoffs, with the Atlanta Vibe already claiming the No. 1 seed. The Rise have a magic number of one (win) over seventh-place Vegas and sixth-place Orlando, and four over fifth-place Columbus. The magic number decreases by one every time Grand Rapids wins or that opponent loses. When the magic number reaches zero, that team can no longer overtake the Rise in the standings. (All magic numbers include one extra win, to avoid a tiebreaker.) Therefore, Grand Rapids needs three out the seven teams to reach zero to make the playoffs. The magic number table can be viewed below:
| Team | MP | W-L | PCT | GR Magic # Over | Magic # Over GR | |
| 1 | Atlanta | 23 | 18-5 | .783 | Clinched #1 Seed | |
| 2 | Omaha^ | 20 | 13-7 | .650 | 8 | 1 |
| 3 | Grand Rapids | 21 | 10-11 | .476 | -- | -- |
| 4 | San Diego | 19 | 9-10 | .474 | 5 | 5 |
| 5 | Columbus* | 19 | 8-11 | .421 | 4 | 6 |
| 6 | Orlando | 21 | 7-14 | .333 | 1 | 7 |
| 7 | Vegas* | 21 | 7-14 | .333 | 1 | 7 |
* Grand Rapids has clinched individual tiebreaker
^ Opponent has clinched individual tiebreaker
In the simplest terms, the Rise control their own destiny with three home matches left but another slip up could open the door for other teams to swoop in. Three straight wins would clinch a playoff spot, and two wins would be enough if Columbus doesn’t win out and San Diego doesn’t finish 4-1 down the stretch. The Rise will have to rely on other teams losing if they only pick up one more win or no wins.
Coming Down the Homestretch: The Rise close out the regular season with a trio of matches inside Van Andel Arena after playing three consecutive road contests. Grand Rapids went 1-2 during the away stretch with a late-night win over Vegas (3-1), and a pair of losses this past weekend at Omaha (2-3) and Columbus (0-3) — the first time the Rise have been swept this season.
The Rise are 5-4 at home, averaging a .227 attack percentage (.219 on the road), 69.9 digs (67.7), 10.8 blocks (9.1), and 3.2 aces (3) per match. Grand Rapids has won its last two home matches, with the last loss coming on April 6 against Orlando. The Rise have only won two more sets on the road (23-21) despite playing three more away matches.
Backup Power Generators: Rise opposite hitter Emiliya Dimitrova has missed the last two matches with an ankle injury suffered April 20 at Vegas. While eagerly awaiting her return, Grand Rapids has had to generate offense in other ways. Rookie opposite hitter Morgahn Fingall chipped in with 15 kills over the two matches, while Claire Chaussee had a season-high 24 kills at Omaha. Defensive specialist Sarah Sponcil has also seen more action by subbing in to play the back row a few times to give Fingall a breather.
Mini Milestones Tracker: The following achievements were accomplished in the April 28 match against the Columbus Fury:
- Mac Podraza: First professional start;
- Ashley Evans: 200 digs and 100 attack attempts this season;
- Chaussee: 1,000th attack attempt this season.
Searching for Sweeps: Since sweeping the Fury in the season opener on Jan. 25, the Rise had only played in four and five set-matches. That changed April 11 in Orlando, as the Rise secured their second 3-0 victory of the season.
Sweeps have been uncommon for the entire League with 20 happening in the 70 matches played so far (28.6%). There have been 32 four-set matches (45.7%) and 18 five-set matches (25.7%).
Securing 3-0 wins could play an important role at the end of season as it's the second League standings tiebreaker after head-to-head results. Atlanta leads the way with nine, followed by Omaha (three), Grand Rapids (two), Vegas (two), and Columbus (two). Orlando and San Diego each have one sweep so far this season.
Set-By-Set Breakdown: A look at how the Rise have fared across the different sets:
- First Set: 14-7 with a +48 point differential (513-465);
- Second Set: 12-9 with a -12 differential (474-486);
- Third Set: 7-14 with a -17 point differential (485-502);
- Fourth Set: 9-9 with a +5 point differential (427-422);
- Fifth Set: 2-4 with a -13 point differential (67-80).
With three regular-season matches remaining, Grand Rapids has a +11 point differential (1,966-1,955) and is 44-43 across all sets played. The Rise are 10-15 in sets decided by the minimum of two points and 20-17 in sets decided by five points or more.
The Last Time a Rise Player…:
- 25 or More Kills in Single Match: Dimitrova (26) at ORL (March 1);
- 50 or More Attacks in Single Match: Chaussee (59) at OMA (April 26);
- 50 or More Assists in Single Match: Evans (51) at VG (April 20);
- 20 or More Digs in Single Match: Camila Gómez (20) at VG (April 20);
- 5 or More Blocks in Single Match: Kayla Caffey (6) vs. VG (April 13);
- 3 or More Aces in Single Match: Evans (3) vs. VG (April 13);
- Hit .400+ (min. 10 attempts): Fingall (.733) at VG (April 20);
- Double-Digit Kills 5+ Straight Matches: Dimitrova (19), Active Streak;
- Double-Digit Digs 5+ Straight Matches: Gómez (7), Active Streak;
- Ace in 3+ Straight Matches: Claire Chaussee (4), From March 26 to April 6;
- 3+ Blocks in 3+ Straight Matches: Alyssa Jensen (3), From March 20 to March 28.
Rise - Mojo Connections: There are a handful of players who are linked together or have ties to Michigan or California:
- Middle blockers Molly Lohman (Rise) and Hannah Tapp (Mojo) played three seasons together at the University of Minnesota (2014-16).
- Rise middle blocker Kayla Caffey and Mojo libero Shara Marie Venegas Medina played in Puerto Rico together during the 2022-23 season with Criollas de Caguas.
- During the 2021-22 season, Mojo outside hitter Kendra Dahlke played in the French professional league with Pays d'Aix Venelles while Rise setter Ashley Evans played for Terville-Florange OC. A year prior, Dahlke played in Greece for AO Thiras, the same team Rise outside hitter Symone Abbott joined the following season.
- Rise libero Sarah Sponcil (UCLA) and outside hitter Shannon Scully (USC) both went to college in California. Scully is from Huntington Beach, California.
- Mojo middle blocker Alison Bastianelli is a Marysville, Michigan, native who played college volleyball for Illinois and was a volunteer assistant coach for Michigan in 2021.
Photo by Nicolas Carrillo/Rise