GRAND RAPIDS RISE 0 vs. Orlando Valkyries 3
Jan. 29, 2026
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — All three sets were decided by the minimum two points Thursday night, as the Grand Rapids Rise dropped a tightly contested 3-0 decision to the Orlando Valkyries, falling by set scores of 25-23, 27-25, 31-29.
The Rise delivered one of the most efficient offensive performances in franchise history, posting a record .304 team hitting percentage and recording a team-best 54 kills in three sets. Setter Saige Ka'aha'aina-Torres anchored the effort with 50 assists, the most ever by a Rise setter in a three-set match.
Orlando, led by reigning league MVP Brittany Abercrombie, had an even more efficient offensive night. Abercrombie finished with 23 points, including 22 kills on a .465 hitting percentage, as the Valkyries hit .358 as a team and set an MLV record with 68 points produced in three sets.
Both offenses came out firing, with eight of the first 10 attack attempts ending in kills. The first attack error of the set gave Orlando a slim 16-15 edge at the media timeout. Grand Rapids later erased a 20-17 deficit to move in front 23-22, but the Valkyries answered down the stretch. Kills from Abercrombie and Natalie Foster, along with a block by Courtney Schwan, sealed a 25-23 Orlando win.
The Rise finished with a slightly higher hitting percentage (.378 to .375) in the first frame, as both teams committed just four attack errors, though the set also featured eight service errors.
The second set was another back-and-forth battle, with neither team leading by more than three points. Trailing 22-20 after Foster’s second and final ace of the night, the Rise responded with three straight kills from MLV Player of the Week Paige Briggs-Romine to take a 23-22 lead. A block by Leah Meyer brought Grand Rapids to set point at 24-23, and again at 25-24 following an Orlando service error. The Valkyries closed the set from there, as Abercrombie delivered two more kills and Schwan added another to seal a 27-25 win.
With both offenses firing on all cylinders, neither team rotated its starters through the first two sets, and stuck with the same substitutes. The third set followed a similar pattern, though the Rise brought in veteran outside hitter Allison Mayfield to serve late in the frame. Camila Gómez also saw action as a defensive specialist, while Hattie Bray came in to contribute as a serving weapon.
Rise outside hitter Carli Snyder notched seven of her 16 kills (.359) in the third set. She was one of four Rise players to hit over .300 in the match, joining Rhamat Alhassan (five kills, .500), Ka'aha'aina-Torres (one kill, .333), and Briggs-Romine (17 kills, .308). With 16 points, Snyder surpassed Claire Chaussee for the most points in franchise history (464).
Orlando’s block came to life in the third set, accounting for five of the team’s eight total blocks. Yet, the set came down to crunch time once again. Tied at 22-22 all the way through 29-29, the Rise fended off five match points as the Valkyries repeatedly fed Abercrombie.
Grand Rapids eventually cracked, as Foster recorded a block followed by a kill off an overpass to seal the match, 31-29. Foster finished with five kills, two blocks, and two aces. Charitie Luper was the only Valkyries player besides Abercrombie to reach double digits in kills, finishing with 14 on 32 swings (.375). Rookie middle blocker Bre Kelley added seven kills on 12 swings, hitting .583 with no attack errors.
Briggs-Romine paced the Rise with 18 points and seven digs, while libero Elena Oglivie set a Rise record with 19 digs in a three-set match. Elizabet Inneh added 10 kills and seven digs.
Notes
· The three-set match lasted one hour and 58 minutes and didn’t feature a coach’s challenge.
· Former Rise opposite hitter Naya Shime contributed one third-set kill and one dig for Orlando.
· This was only the third match in franchise history in which the Rise didn’t record an ace. Grand Rapids is now 1-2 in such contests.
· The Rise are 1-7 this season in sets decided by two points, including 0-4 against the Valkyries.
· Orlando assistant coach Blake Omartian took on interim head coaching duties for Amy Pauly, who was absent due to personal reasons.
GR 23 25 29 — 0
ORL 25 27 31 — 3
Team Leaders
GR: Kills — Paige Briggs-Romine 17, Carli Snyder 16, Elizabet Inneh 10; Assists — Saige Ka’aha’aina-Torres 50, Leah Meyer 1, Elena Oglivie 1; Aces — none; Blocks — Rhamat Alhassan 3, Meyer 1, Briggs-Romine 1; Digs — Oglivie 19, Snyder 9, Inneh 7, Ka’aha’aina-Torres 7, Briggs-Romine 7.
ORL: Kills — Brittany Abercrombie 22, Charitie Luper 14, Bre Kelley 7; Assists — Pornpun Guedpard 44, Teodora Pusic 5, Luper 3; Aces — Natalie Foster 2; Blocks — Foster 2, Guedpard 2; Digs — Luper 16, Pusic 14, Guedpard 9.
A — 2,341
Record / Next Match
Grand Rapids: 2-3 / Sun., Feb. 1 vs. Omaha Supernovas, 4 p.m.
Orlando: 4-2 / Sat., Jan. 31 at Columbus Fury, 7 p.m.
Photo by Nicolas Carrillo/Rise