GRAND RAPIDS RISE 3 vs. Vegas Thill 0
April 5, 2025
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — The Grand Rapids Rise played a near-perfect match on Eras Night, channeling their own version of a chart-topping performance to secure their fifth sweep of the season. On Saturday night, they toppled the Vegas Thrill, holding them to just 50 combined points in a 25-17, 25-16, 25-17 victory inside Van Andel Arena. This marked the fewest points ever scored by an opponent in a match against the Rise.
Grand Rapids held Vegas to a .057 hitting percentage, the second-lowest by any team against the Rise in team history, with a dominant blocking presence that recorded 11 rejections. The Rise also kept the Thrill out of system offensively with relentless service pressure throughout the match. Grand Rapids finished with five aces from five different players, while committing just six service errors.
The Rise took the lead for good in the opening set with a kill from Eleanor Holthaus, who was signed to the team earlier in the week. Her first PVF kill put the Rise up 12-11, and the play also resulted in an injury to Vegas outside hitter Charitie Luper, who did not return. The Thrill were also without new addition Adora Anae, who was scheduled to start but was ruled ineligible to play because she didn’t have the correct jersey number.
In her Rise debut, Holthaus played the entire match, registering nine kills (.250) on 28 swings, along with seven digs, two blocks, and one assist.
Grand Rapids powered away with a 9-3 run to close out the first set 25-17. Middle blocker Alyssa Jensen played a pivotal role, recording three of the team’s four blocks in the frame. Outside hitter Paige Briggs-Romine also contributed five of the Rise’s 12 kills.
Holthaus opened the second set with back-to-back kills. Carli Snyder then dropped in her team-leading 28th ace this season to give the Rise a 16-10 lead at the second media timeout. The Thrill got within three points at 16-13, but Grand Rapids once again pulled away with a 9-3 run to take the second set 25-16.
The third and final set followed a similar pattern. The Rise led 8-4 at the first media timeout and then 16-9 at the second, after Jena Otec came off the bench and delivered an ace. It was the only substitution made by Rise head coach Cathy George during the entire match. The Thrill rattled off a 5-1 run to pull within three points, 17-14, but the Rise effectively closed the curtain on the Vegas comeback attempt with a decisive 8-3 run to end the match, 25-17.
Rookie setter Camryn Turner set up Snyder for the match-winning kill. Turner finished with 33 assists, nine digs, four kills (.667), an ace, and a solo block. Snyder was one kill shy of a double-double, finishing with nine kills (.360) and 10 digs. Briggs-Romine led the Rise with 13 kills (.290) and 12 digs. Rookie libero Elena Oglivie also had a team-high 12 digs.
Notes
- Before tonight’s victory, the fewest points a PVF team had scored against the Rise was 56, which occurred when Grand Rapids swept San Diego on May 5, 2024, by set scores of 25-22, 25-18, 25-16.
- The Rise finished with a .250 hitting percentage and only made three attack errors but were blocked by the Thrill eight times.
- Grand Rapids excelled with a 65% positive reception passing rate, while Vegas struggled at just 31%.
- Hannah Maddux led Vegas with nine kills (.056), marking the third time this season that an opposing team's leading attacker finished with single-digit kills against the Rise.
- Van Andel Arena drew 5,247 spectators on Saturday night, marking the second-largest crowd of the season and the fifth-largest in franchise history.
- This is the second time this season the Rise have swept the Thrill, previously doing so on March 2 in Vegas. The two teams split their four-match season series 2-2, but the Rise still lead the all-time head-to-head 5-3.
GR 25 25 25 — 3
VG 17 16 17 — 0
Team Leaders
GR: Kills — Paige Briggs-Romine 13, Carli Snyder 9, Eleanor Holthaus 9; Assists — Camryn Turner 33, Elena Oglivie 1; Aces — Snyder 1, Ali Bastianelli 1, Briggs-Romine 1, Jena Otec 1, Turner 1; Blocks — Alyssa Jensen 4, Bastianelli 3, Holthaus 2; Digs — Oglivie 12, Briggs-Romine 12, Snyder 10.
VG: Kills — Hannah Maddux 9, Allison Mayfield 7, Willow Johnson 6; Assists — Alisha Childress 18, Carly Graham 11; Aces — Morgan Stout 1; Blocks — Maddux 2; Digs — Mayfield 10, Childress 9, Johnson 8.
A — 5,247
Record / Next Match
Grand Rapids: 9-12 / Thu., April 10 at Orlando Valkyries, 7 p.m.
Vegas: 8-12 / Thu., April 10 vs. Omaha Supernovas, 7 p.m. PDT
Photo by Nicolas Carrillo/Rise