This Week’s Matches
RISE (10-13) at Omaha Supernovas (16-6) // Thu., April 17 // 8 p.m. EDT // CHI Health Center
Watch: VBTV at 8 p.m.
Season Series: 0-2 Overall, 0-1 Away. Third of four meetings overall, second of two at CHI Health Center
All-Time Regular Season Series: 1-6 Overall, 0-3 Away
Noteworthy: The Supernovas won the first two matchups this season, starting with a 3-0 sweep in the Rise’s home opener on Jan. 12, followed by a 3-1 victory at home on March 30. The Rise have yet to win in Omaha and hold a 9-19 all-time record in sets played against the Supernovas, having been outscored 658-627.
RISE vs. Indy Ignite (12-10) // Sat., April 19 // Noon // Van Andel Arena
Listen: 96.1 The Game at 11:45 a.m.
Watch: CBS Sports Network at Noon
Season Series: 1-2 Overall, 0-1 Home. Fourth of four meetings overall, second of two at Van Andel Arena
All-Time Regular Season Series: 1-2 Overall, 0-1 Home
Noteworthy: The Rise secured their first-ever win over the Ignite last Saturday, April 12, in Indy. Grand Rapids rallied from a 2-1 deficit to take the match in five sets, winning 25-17, 22-25, 21-25, 25-18, 15-11. Before this victory, the Rise were just 3-18 all time when trailing 2-1 after three sets. The Ignite, now on a two-match losing streak, will look to bounce back when they host the Vegas Thrill on Thursday, April 17, before heading up to Grand Rapids.
Playoff Mode Activated: The Rise enter Thursday's contest against the league-leading Omaha Supernovas 2.5 matches back of a playoff spot, with just five matches remaining. Although the Rise don’t control their own destiny, they still will have a significant influence on the playoff race, as all their remaining matches will be against teams currently in the four postseason spots: Omaha Supernovas (twice, 16-6), Atlanta Vibe (once, 16-8), Orlando Valkyries (once, 13-10), and Indy Ignite (once, 12-10). The Rise have a combined record of 3-8 against those teams this season, with a five-set win at home against Orlando (Jan. 30), a road sweep at Atlanta (Jan. 19), and, most recently, a 3-2 road win over Indy (April 12).
Remaining schedules for the teams vying for a playoff spot:
| Orlando (13-10) | Indy (12-10) | G.R. Rise (10-13) |
| April 18 at CLB | April 17 vs VG | April 17 at OMA |
| April 25 at IND | April 19 at GR | April 19 vs IND |
| April 27 vs CLB | April 25 vs ORL | April 26 at ATL |
| April 30 at GR | April 27 vs SD | April 30 vs ORL |
| May 2 at VG | May 1 vs ATL | May 2 vs OMA |
| May 3 at SD |
Monster Blockers: Through 23 matches, the Rise lead the League in both total blocks (285) and blocks per set (3.13), thanks in large part to standout middle blocker Ali Bastianelli. She’s currently tied for first in the league with 71 blocks this season. Alyssa Jensen has also made a huge leap at the net, tallying 49 blocks after recording just 19 last season. For comparison, the Rise finished with 243 total blocks over 26 matches in 2024.
Grand Rapids tied the PVF record for most blocks in a match with 24 during Saturday’s 3-2 road win over the Ignite. Earlier this season, on March 2, the Rise also set a League record for most blocks in a three-set match with 18 in a win over Vegas.
Bastianelli has been a force all season, recording at least one block in 21 straight matches and notching three or more blocks in 12 matches. She set a franchise record with nine blocks in Saturday’s win over Indy, while also surpassing Marin Grote’s single-season team record of 69 rejections. Bastianelli has the most blocks recorded in PVF history with 134 in 42 matches played, averaging 3.19 per match.
Match #50: The Rise will play the 50th match in franchise history on Thursday when they take on the Supernovas. Grand Rapids holds an all-time record of 23-26 but has outscored its opponents by 31 points overall (4,420–4,389). The Rise have a 12-11 record at home, are 10-14 on the road, and 1-1 at neutral sites, with both neutral-site matches taking place during the 2024 playoffs.
EP Returns: Rise outside hitter Erika Pritchard returned to the starting lineup on Saturday against the Ignite after missing the previous four matches due to injury. Making her fifth start this season as the team's opposite hitter, Pritchard contributed seven kills (.167) and nine digs in the win.
Closer Than It Seems: While Omaha has won six of the seven sets played against Grand Rapids this season, the matches have been much tighter than the record suggests. The Rise have dropped those six sets by a combined total of just 23 points — an average margin of only 3.8 points per set. Notably, Grand Rapids owns the most decisive set of the series with a 25-17 win.
Triple-Double Quest: Bastianelli (10 kills, nine blocks, seven digs) came close to achieving the first triple-double in Rise history on Saturday against Indy. Here are some other close calls:
- Camryn Turner CLB (3/28/25): 55 assists, 20 digs, seven kills.
- August Raskie at CLB (1/26/25): 45 assists, 10 digs, seven kills.
- Carli Snyder CLB (3/28/25): 18 kills, 15 digs, six aces.
Oglivie Breaks Rise Dig Records: Rise rookie libero Elena Oglivie had 39 digs across two matches last week. With 301 digs this season, Oglivie surpassed former opposite hitter Emiliya Dimitrova (275) for the most digs in a single Rise season and the most digs in team history. Grand Rapids also set a franchise record with 93 digs at Indy on Saturday.
Largest Win in Franchise History: The Rise recently picked up a 3-0 sweep of the Vegas Thrill on April 5 at Van Andel Arena. Grand Rapids won by set scores of 25-17, 25-16, 25-17, holding Vegas to 50 combined points — the fewest points ever scored by an opponent in a match against the Rise.
Rise-Supernovas Connections: Paths cross again when Grand Rapids faces Omaha:
- Former Rise players Kayla Caffey, Mac Podraza, and Camila Gómez square off against their old team, while Rise outside hitter Paige Briggs-Romine also competes against her former squad.
- PVF’s 2024 Rising Star Award (Rookie of the Year) winner Reagan Cooper faces her former college setter Turner from Kansas, and former Columbus Fury teammate Valeria León. Omaha rookie Toyosi Onabanjo (1st round, 8th overall), also played at Kansas with Turner for two seasons (2023-24).
- Rise outside hitter Pritchard and Omaha middle blocker Kaitlyn Hord played a season together in college at Penn State (2021). Hord also played last season with León and the Fury.
Rise-Ignite Connections: New franchise Indy Ignite meets familiar faces on the Rise:
- Former Omaha teammates Briggs-Romine (Rise) and setter Sydney Hilley (Ignite) face off against each other for a third time.
- Both squads have a group of former Purdue standouts. The Rise have Raven Colvin (2021-24), and Jena Otec (2017-21), while the Ignite have Blake Mohler (2015-19) and Grace (Cleveland) Wade (2018-21).
- Ignite outside hitter Carly Skjodt played for the University of Michigan from 2015-18.
Photo by Kenzie Knuckles/Indy Ignite