GRAND RAPIDS RISE 1 at Omaha Supernovas 3
March 30, 2025
OMAHA, Neb. — Coming off a season-high 25 points in a five-set win over the Columbus Fury on Friday, Grand Rapids Rise outside hitter Carli Snyder added one more point on Sunday. However, her 26-point performance — featuring 20 kills (.296), four blocks, and two aces — wasn't enough to dethrone the league-leading Omaha Supernovas.
The Supernovas improved to 6-3 at home this season with a 3-1 victory over the Rise, winning by set scores of 25-20, 17-25, 25-19, 25-22. The CHI Health Center hosted 9,457 spectators for the Sunday afternoon match, marking the largest crowd the Rise have played in front of this season.
Rise outside hitter Paige Briggs-Romine made her first appearance in Omaha since helping the Supernovas win the inaugural 2024 Pro Volleyball Federation championship against Grand Rapids. Briggs-Romine recorded her third consecutive double-double and sixth of the season, with 14 kills (.152) and 15 digs.
On the other side of the net, former Rise players Kayla Caffey, Camila Gomez, and Mac Podraza all played key roles in securing their second win against their former team this season. Caffey notched nine kills (.412) and two aces, Gomez recorded a match-high 24 digs, and Podraza contributed five assists.
Back-to-back blocks from Snyder and Ali Bastianelli tied the opening set at 6-6. Grand Rapids outblocked Omaha 7-2 through the first two sets and finished with a 12-6 advantage in total blocks. However, the Supernovas maintained a 3-4 point cushion for most of the first set, ultimately closing it out with a Rise service error to win 25-20.
Opposite hitter Devyn Robinson made her Rise debut late in the first set after being acquired on waivers from the Mojo on Thursday. The former first-round draft pick (fifth overall) also saw limited action in the third set.
A 5-0 Rise run, with Snyder contributing three of the points, gave Grand Rapids a 7-5 lead early in the second set. Rookie setter Camryn Turner, fresh off a team-record 55-assist performance in Friday’s win, surprised Omaha with a left-handed swinging kill to put the Rise up 16-11 at the media timeout. Consecutive aces from Snyder and Bastianelli’s seventh kill of the match on just her 13th swing helped the Rise secure their first set win against Omaha this season, 25-17.
Bastianelli finished with nine kills on 19 attack attempts (.421), with her final kill coming in the third set to pull the Rise within a point at 19-18. However, the Supernovas responded by scoring six of the last seven points, taking a 2-1 lead with a 25-19 set win.
Rise miscues, combined with points from Brooke Nuneviller and Caffey, allowed Omaha to jump out to an 8-3 lead in the fourth and final set. However, an Omaha error and Turner’s sixth kill of the match allowed the Rise to draw even at 19-19. Briggs-Romine and Caffey then traded kills to make it 20-20, followed by kills from Snyder and Nuneviller to keep it tied at 21-21.
In the end, it was a 4-1 Omaha run, fueled by kills from Reagan Cooper and Kelsie Payne, that made the difference. The Supernovas, hitting .240, sealed the match with a 25-22 win in the fourth set.
Notes
- Grand Rapids hit .235 and recorded more kills (57-54), blocks (12-6), assists (54-51), and aces (4-3). However, Omaha gained an edge in digs, picking up 19 more (83-64).
- The Rise are now 0-4 against the Supernovas in Omaha and 1-6 all-time, with their only win coming on May 12 in a five-set battle to close out the 2024 regular season.
- Turner was four kills shy of the first triple-double in Rise history. She had 46 assists, 13 digs, and six kills (.455).
- Snyder’s 20 kills tied her season-high, and she has recorded double-digit kills in four of her last five matches, bringing her total to 10 for the season.
- Four Omaha players scored double figures in points: Cooper (15), Payne (14), Nuneviller (12), and Caffey (12).
GR 20 25 19 22 — 1
OMA 25 17 25 25 — 3
Team Leaders
GR: Kills — Carli Snyder 20, Paige Briggs-Romine 14, Ali Bastianelli 9; Assists — Camryn Turner 46, Elena Oglivie 5; Aces — Snyder 2, Bastianelli 1, Alyssa Jensen 1; Blocks — Snyder 4, Kaleigh Nelson 3, Briggs-Romine 3; Digs — Briggs-Romine 15, Oglivie 13, Turner 13, Snyder 10.
OMA: Kills — Reagan Cooper 15, Kelsie Payne 12, Brooke Nuneviller 11; Assists — Natalia Valentin-Anderson 41, Mac Podraza 5, Camila Gomez 1; Aces — Kayla Caffey 2, Payne 1; Blocks — Kaitlyn Hord 3; Digs — Gomez 24, Valentin-Anderson 20, Payne 14, Nuneviller 13.
A — 9,457
Record / Next Match
Grand Rapids: 8-12 / Sat., Apr. 5 vs. Vegas Thrill, 7 p.m.
Omaha: 14-5 / Sat., Apr. 5 vs. Orlando Valkyries, 6 p.m. CDT
Photo by Bonnie Ryan/Omaha Supernovas