This Week’s Matches
RISE (2-6) vs. San Diego Mojo (3-6) // Thu., Feb. 12 // 7 p.m. // Van Andel Arena
Watch: The Roku Channel at 7 p.m.
Listen: 96.1 The Game at 6:45 p.m.
Season Series: 1-0 Overall, 0-0 Home. Second of four meetings overall, first of two at Van Andel Arena
All-Time Regular Season Series: 5-4 Overall, 3-1 Home
Noteworthy: Grand Rapids and San Diego meet for the second time this season. The Rise earned a 3-1 win in the first meeting in San Diego on Jan. 23 by set scores of 31-29, 25-22, 16-25, 25-19. Grand Rapids has dropped four straight since that victory, while the Mojo have won back-to-back home matches after a 1-6 start, including a win Monday over the league-leading Indy Ignite. San Diego is winless on the road at 0-4.
RISE vs. Atlanta Vibe (4-4) // Sat., Feb. 14 // 7 p.m. // Van Andel Arena
Watch: MLV YouTube Channel at 7 p.m.
Listen: 96.1 The Game at 6:45 p.m.
Season Series: 0-1 Overall, 0-0 Home. Second of four meetings overall, first of two at Van Andel Arena
All-Time Regular Season Series: 4-6 Overall, 1-3 Home
Noteworthy: The most recent MLV Player of the Week and 2024 league MVP, Leah Edmond, leads the Atlanta Vibe into Grand Rapids for the first time this season. The Vibe won the first meeting via a sweep in Atlanta (29-27, 25-23, 25-14). Former Rise first-round pick Raven Colvin, now with Atlanta, ranks second in the league with 25 blocks this season, while Rise middle blocker Rhamat Alhassan is tied for third with 22.
Rinse and Repeat?: Grand Rapids looks to halt a four-match losing streak by recreating its success against San Diego after a 3-1 win in the first meeting between the teams on Jan. 23. In that match, the Rise hit .277 offensively and opened with a dramatic 31-29 first-set win. The victory marked the Rise’s third straight win over the Mojo, and three of Grand Rapids’ five wins against San Diego have come via sweeps — the most against any MLV opponent.
Starts for Shelton: Rise rookie and fourth overall pick in the 2025 MLV Draft, Alexis Shelton made her first professional start Friday, Feb. 6, against the Indy Ignite. She stepped into the lineup for outside hitter Paige Briggs-Romine, who had started the previous 24 matches for the Rise before being sidelined by illness.
Making her second appearance of the season, Shelton recorded her first pro block in the opening set. The former Oklahoma Sooner finished with a team-high 14 points on 11 kills, two blocks, and her first ace. Shelton followed that performance with another team-high effort Sunday, Feb. 8, against the Pulse, totaling 15 points on 13 kills and two aces.
Welcome Back to Van Andel: Middle blocker Marin Grote returns to Van Andel Arena for the first time as a visiting player after playing her first two seasons with the Rise. Grote is tied for second in the league with 10 aces and has totaled 87 points this season with 62 kills and 15 blocks.
Outside hitter/libero Shannon Scully and middle blocker Kayla Caffey will also face their former team. Caffey has recorded 39 points this season (29 kills, six blocks, four aces) and did not play in the first meeting between the two teams. Scully has posted 18 points (14 kills, four blocks) in 12 sets played.
Defending Home Court: The Rise look to get back to .500 at home this season (1-2) and all-time (14-15). Grand Rapids all-time record by match length inside Van Andel Arena:
· Three-set matches: 5-2 (.714);
· Four-set matches: 3-9 (.250);
· Five-set matches: 6-4 (.600).
San Diego is the last MLV team to be winless on the road this season at 0-4, with losses at Omaha twice (0-3, 2-3), Dallas (1-3), and Atlanta (1-3).
Chasing History: Rise outside hitter and team captain Carli Snyder tallied 13 kills on Sunday, moving into second place in team history with 404 career kills. She passed former opposite hitter Emiliya Dimitrova and is closing in on inaugural season standout Claire Chaussee (429). Snyder also holds the Rise franchise records for most points (487), aces (37), and attack attempts (1,330).
Snyder leads the Rise this season with 99 points and 89 kills, despite missing the Feb. 1 match against Omaha due to injury. It was the first match of her Grand Rapids career she had missed after starting the previous 33 contests. Snyder is currently second in team history in sets played (139), chasing Grote at 154.
Digging Up 500: Rise libero Elena Oglivie recorded a season-high 20 digs on Sunday against the Dallas Pulse, surpassing 500 for her Rise career with a total of 513. The Stanford product from Honolulu, Hawaii, became the first player in franchise history to reach the 500-dig milestone entirely in a Rise uniform. Oglivie has 121 digs this season, ranking fifth in the league.
The Rise recorded a season-high 25 digs in the third set Sunday against Dallas, paced by eight from Oglivie. She also added four assists in the match on out-of-system balls, bringing her career total with the Rise to 99 assists.
Pro Debut: Rise second-round draft pick Candela Alonso-Corcelles from Madrid, Spain, made her professional debut Sunday, Feb. 8, against the Dallas Pulse, entering late in the fourth set as a serving substitute. With her appearance, every player on the Rise roster has now played a set this season.
Struggle Sets: This season, Grand Rapids is 2-6 in opening sets and 1-7 in sets decided by the minimum two points. The Rise are also 1-7 in third sets, with a -46 point differential. Grand Rapids has fared best in the second set, posting a 5-3 mark with a +16 point differential. The Rise are 5-22 all time when losing the opening set and 21-14 when winning it.
Double-Double Counter: The Rise have two players closing in on the franchise record for most double-doubles in team history: Chaussee (16), Dimitrova (15), Snyder (15), Ashley Evans (13), and Briggs-Romine (13). Setter Saige Ka'aha'aina-Torres leads the Rise with four double-doubles in the first eight matches this season.
Rise-Mojo Connections: Notable shared history between the two teams:
· A trio of Mojo players previously played for the Rise: Grote (2024-25), Scully (2024), and Caffey (2024). Grote holds the Rise franchise record for most sets played (154) and blocks (95). Scully won the league's championship last season with the Orlando Valkyries;
· Rise setter Ka'aha'aina-Torres and Caffey won the 2022 NCAA National Championship with Texas;
· Rise opposite hitter Lauren Jardine-Clark and Mojo outside hitter Grace Loberg won the 2021 NCAA National Championship with Wisconsin. They also played together last year with the Vegas Thrill, alongside Rise players Allison Mayfield and Berkeley Oblad and Vegas first-year head coach Alisha Childress and setter Carly Graham.
Rise-Vibe Connections: Notable shared history between the two teams:
· Former Rise first-round draft pick Raven Colvin faces her former team. Colvin was selected seventh overall in the 2024 draft and played in 11 matches (22 sets) with the Rise during her rookie season. She finished with 31 kills (.294), nine blocks, and five aces;
· Leah-squared reunion as Rise middle blocker Leah Meyer faces former Kentucky teammate Leah Edmond. The pair played one season together with the Wildcats in 2019;
· Middle blocker Phoebe Awoleye played with Rise libero Camila Gómez with the Omaha Supernovas last season;
· Vibe assistant coach Laura “Bird” Kuhn coached Briggs-Romine, Gómez, and Mayfield during her two-year tenure (2024-25) as the head coach of the Supernovas.
Photo by Nicolas Carrillo/Rise