GRAND RAPIDS RISE 1 vs. Atlanta Vibe 3
March 13, 2025
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — In a gritty four-set match that featured 179 combined digs, the Grand Rapids Rise fell short against the Atlanta Vibe on Thursday night by set scores of 25-23, 25-27, 25-16, 25-22. The Vibe racked up 94 digs, matching the record for the most digs ever recorded by a Rise opponent in a single match. Atlanta libero Morgan Hentz finished with a match-high 28 digs, as five Vibe players finished in double figures.
The Rise defense did its best to match, finishing with 85 digs — just one short of the team record and the most they've collected in a four-set match. Carli Snyder and August Raskie led the Rise with 19 digs each. Libero Elena Oglivie (11) and opposite hitter Naya Shime (10) also reached double-digits.
Grand Rapids led for much of the opening set with a three-point cushion at 6-3 following Shime’s first ace of the season, and a four-point advantage at 12-8 after Alyssa Jensen’s first block of the match. Atlanta, however, didn’t go away. The Vibe used a 3-0 run to take a 19-18 lead, and the teams traded points up to 23-23. A kill from Pia Timmer and block from Khori Louis notched the final two points to help the Vibe secure the first frame, 25-23.
Atlanta looked poised to take the second set as well, up 24-20, before the Rise mounted one of their most memorable come-from-behind set wins. Grand Rapids scored five straight points to dramatic shift the outlook of the match. Shime started the rally with a kill and then was involved in a play at the net was initially called the Vibe’s set-winning point before a video review overturned the call. Using the reversal as fuel, the Rise got a block and kill from Snyder, as well as a Vibe attack error to take a 25-24 lead.
The Vibe 2024 No. 1 overall pick Merritt Beason blocked a shot to momentarily keep the set alive. The Rise regrouped and scored the final two points to win 27-25 on a kill by Shime and another from Paige Briggs-Romine after an intense, long rally on set point that crossed over the net 11 times.
Unfazed by dropping the second set, Atlanta responded with a dominant third, hitting .382 with just one attack error — a result of a Jensen block — on their way to a 25-16 win. Timmer led the charge with five of her 13 kills coming in the set.
Looking to spark the Rise offense, outside hitter Erika Pritchard and middle blocker Marin Grote both made their first appearances of the match. They played a bigger role in the fourth frame, with Pritchard tallying six kills (.250), five of them in the final set. Grote reached a milestone, recording her 200th career kill for the Rise. But the Vibe closed the door on a comeback, taking the set 25-22 to seal the match.
Notes
- Snyder finished with a match-high 16 kills (.277). Eleven different Rise players had a kill in the match. The Vibe had three players end with 13 kills: Beason, Timmer, and reigning PVF Player of the Year Leah Edmond.
- Raskie (28 assists, 19 digs) picked up her 11th double-double of the season. Snyder also had her fourth double-double and seventh match with double-digit kills.
- With 20 assists in the match, Camryn Turner surpassed 100 total assists in her first professional season.
- For only the fourth time in 17 matches this season, the Rise were outblocked, 14-11. However, they led the Vibe in both kills (58-52) and assists (52-50).
- Jensen led the Rise with three blocks, marking her fifth consecutive match with three or more blocks.
GR 23 27 16 22 — 1
ATL 25 25 25 25 — 3
Team Leaders
GR: Kills — Carli Snyder 16, Alyssa Jensen 9, Naya Shime 7; Assists — August Raskie 28, Camryn Turner 20, Elena Oglivie 3; Aces — Erika Pritchard 1, Shime 1; Blocks — Jensen 3, Nelson 2; Digs — Raskie 19, Snyder 19, Oglivie 11, Shime 10.
ATL: Kills — Merritt Beason 13, Pia Timmer 13, Leah Edmond 13; Assists — Marlie Monserez 44, Morgan Hentz 4; Aces — Beason 2, Edmond 2, Timmer 1, Aiko Jones 1; Blocks — Khori Louis 6, Beason 4, Edmond 2; Digs — Morgan Hentz 28, Timmer 15, Monserez 14, Beason 13, Edmond 12.
A — 1,942
Record / Next Match
Grand Rapids: 7-9 / Sat., March 15 vs. Indy Ignite, Noon
Atlanta: 9-8 / Sat., March 15 vs. San Diego Mojo, 7 p.m.
Photo by Nicolas Carrillo/Rise