This Week’s Matches
RISE (4-7) at San Diego Mojo (3-8) // Thu., Feb. 27 // 10 p.m. EST // Viejas Arena
Watch: VBTV at 10 p.m.
Season Series: 1-0 Overall, 0-0 Away. Second of four meetings overall, first of two at Viejas Arena
All-Time Regular Season Series: 2-3 Overall, 0-2 Away
Noteworthy: This is the second meeting this season between the Rise and Mojo. Grand Rapids swept the first contest on Feb. 2 at home by set scores of 25-19, 25-22, 25-22. After San Diego won the first three matchups last year, the Rise have bounced back by winning the next two. Grand Rapids has yet to win in San Diego's Viejas Arena.
RISE at Vegas Thrill (7-4) // Sun., March 2 // 6 p.m. EST // Lee’s Family Forum
Watch: CBS Sports Network at 6 p.m.
Season Series: 0-1 Overall, 0-1 Away. Second of four meetings overall, second of two at Lee’s Family Forum
All-Time Regular Season Series: 3-2 Overall, 2-1 Away
Noteworthy: It’s a rematch of the season opener as the Rise and Thrill face off for the second time this season. In the first meeting, Vegas completed a reverse sweep, defeating the Rise by set scores of 20-25, 20-25, 25-22, 25-21, 16-14. However, Grand Rapids leads the all-time series, having won 13 of the 23 sets played and hold a 515-499 edge in total points scored.
One Drought Ends Here: A losing streak will end Thursday night in San Diego, as the Rise enter the match having dropped four straight and the Mojo have suffered six straight losses. The last win for the Rise came against the Mojo, with a 3-0 home sweep on Feb. 2. San Diego's last win was on Jan. 24, with a 3-1 home victory over the Indy Ignite. Since then, the Mojo are 3-18 in sets played.
Triple Take: Grand Rapids will face San Diego in three of its next four matches — twice on the road (Feb. 27 and March 9) and once at home (March 5). This is the only occasion this season that two PVF teams will meet three times in a four-match span. With the Rise and Mojo having already played once this season, their March 9 matchup will mark the second completed season series between any two teams. Atlanta and Vegas wrap up its four matches on March 7.
All-Star Match Recap: Grand Rapids Rise outside hitter Carli Snyder earned bragging rights over her teammates Marin Grote and August Raskie as Team Shondell defeated Team Collier in the first-ever Pro Volleyball Federation All-Star Match held Feb. 22 inside the Fishers Event Center in Indianapolis.
Snyder and Grote both started for their respective teams. Raskie, despite only playing half the opening set after being subbed in with her team trailing 16-11, made an immediate impact — tallying two kills on two attack attempts, two blocks, two digs, and seven assists. One of those blocks came alongside Grote, as the pair teamed up to deny their teammate Snyder at the net. Snyder finished with five points, Raskie had four, and Grote ended with three.
Snyder Ace Sniper: Snyder broke her own team record by notching four aces on Feb. 20 against Columbus. She was previously tied with former Rise setter Ashley Evans and the three other times she had three aces in a match this season. Snyder ranks third in the League with 14 aces this season. This is tied for the second-most in Rise franchise history. Grote leads the way with 21 aces in 37 matches played.
Raven Takes Flight: Rise middle blocker Raven Colvin made her professional debut on Thursday, Feb. 20, against the Fury. Colvin played all five sets, registering a season-high 11 kills (.261), three blocks, two digs, and an ace. Prior to the match, she had tallied 17 points over six matches as a reserve but broke out with 15 points in her first pro start.
First Starting Ride for PBR: Rise outside hitter Paige Briggs-Romine earned her first start of the season last time out on Feb. 20 against the Fury as well. Briggs-Romine delivered with a season-high 13 kills (.238), nine digs, two blocks, two assists, and an ace. She has 46 points so far this season (39 kills, 5 aces, 2 blocks).
Building Block-by-Block: The Rise lead the League in total blocks (121) and blocks per set (2.75), anchored by two of the League’s top blockers. Ali Bastianelli is ranked second with 33 blocks, while Grote is tied sixth with 22. Grand Rapids set a franchise record with 18 blocks in a five-set win over Orlando on Jan. 30. Bastianelli also matched Grote’s team record for most blocks in a single match, recording seven in a 3-0 sweep of San Diego on Feb. 2.
Differing Defenses: While the Rise lead the league in blocking, San Diego sits at the bottom with just 82 total blocks and an average of 2.05 blocks per set. However, with more balls getting past the net, the Mojo are leading the league with 17.32 digs per set, while the Rise are second-to-last, averaging 14.73 digs per set.
Crunch Time: The Rise have shown resilience in tightly contested sets, going 11-7 in those decided by 3-5 points. However, they have struggled closing out sets by the narrowest margins, posting a 2-9 record in sets decided by the minimum of two points. Their strongest frame has been the opening set, where they hold a 6-5 record with a +4 point differential (250-246). The second and third sets have been the most challenging, both with a 4-7 record.
Rise-Mojo Connections: Past teammates reconnect and players face their former team:
- Raskie and Bastianelli take on their former team from a season ago for the first time. Raskie also played collegiately with Mojo middle blockers Ronika Stone (2016-18) and Lauren Page (2015-18) while at Oregon.
- Former Rise libero Sarah Sponcil faces her former team for a second time.
- Naya Shime and San Diego outside hitter Maya Tabron helped SMU reach the second round of the NCAA Tournament this past fall.
- Former Columbus teammates Valeria León and Jenaisya Moore square off.
- León played with Mojo outside hitter Kendra Dahlke during the 2020-21 season at Leonas de Ponce in Puerto Rico.
Rise – Thrill Connections: Reunions when Grand Rapids takes on Vegas:
- Rise middle blocker Bastianelli and setter Raskie played with Vegas Thrill opposite hitter Willow Johnson and outside hitter Grace Loberg last season with the San Diego Mojo. Johnson also played with Raskie at Oregon for three seasons (2016-18).
- A pair of PVF champions are on opposite sides, with Briggs-Romine coming up against her former Omaha teammate, libero Kendall White.
- Vegas setter Alisha Glass Childress is from Leland, Michigan. Last season, she was recognized with PVF's first Most Inspirational Player award.
Photo by Nicolas Carrillo/Rise