This Week’s Match
RISE (3-7) at Dallas Pulse (7-3) // Sun., Feb. 22 // 3 p.m. // Comerica Center
Watch: Victory+ at 3 p.m.
Season Series: 0-1 Overall, 0-1 Away. Second of four meetings overall, second of two at Comerica Center
All-Time Regular Season Series: 0-1 Overall, 0-1 Away
Noteworthy: Two weeks ago on Feb. 8, the Dallas Pulse defeated the Grand Rapids Rise in four sets in the first meeting between the two franchises. Grand Rapids claimed the opening set before Dallas responded by taking the next three. The Pulse were fueled by 2025 MLV first overall draft pick Mimi Colyer, who posted a match-high 27 points. The Rise snapped a five-match losing streak Saturday against the Atlanta Vibe. Dallas enters the weekend on a three-match winning streak but will face the league-leading Indy Ignite (8-2) on Thursday night before hosting Grand Rapids on Sunday.
Blockbuster Trade: The Rise completed the first trade in franchise history on Feb. 13, acquiring two-time MLV Libero of the Year Morgan Hentz from the Omaha Supernovas in exchange for Elena Oglivie and the Rise’s 2026 first-round draft pick. Hentz, the 2024 and 2025 MLV Libero of the Year, has played 46 sets this season with a league-leading 157 digs and 26 assists and previously set the league single-season record in 2025 with 508 digs. Hentz had a season-high 23 digs against the Rise on Feb. 1.
Oglivie departs as the Rise’s all-time digs leader with 527, including 135 digs in 35 sets this season. In her 2025 rookie season, Oglivie appeared in all 28 matches (104 sets) for the Rise, recording a team-record 392 digs and 82 assists, with 15 or more digs in 13 matches.
Both liberos previously attended Stanford University, with Oglivie playing from 2020 to 2024 and Hentz from 2016 to 2019.
While at Stanford, Hentz won three NCAA national titles in 2016, 2018, and 2019, and three Pac-12 Championships in 2017, 2018, and 2019. She was a three-time AVCA and VolleyballMag.com First Team All-American from 2017-2019, earned 2019 ESPNW All-America First Team honors, and was a three-time All-Pac-12 and Pac-12 Libero of the Year.
Hentz made her Rise debut on Saturday, Feb. 14, against the Atlanta Vibe, recording eight digs and three assists.
Largest Set Win in Team History: With the home crowd buzzing inside Van Andel Arena for Hentz’s debut, Grand Rapids delivered the largest set win in franchise history with a 25-12 opening-set victory over the Vibe on Saturday. The 13-point margin surpassed the previous 12-point record, a 25-13 fourth-set win over the Orlando Valkyries on April 18, 2024.
The Rise hit .481 in the frame, their highest single-set hitting percentage of the season, while holding Atlanta to a .077 mark.
Righting the Ship: The Rise have had to make do with a rotating cast on the right side after losing opposite hitters Lauren Jardine-Clark and Elizabet Inneh earlier this month. While the team hopes to have Inneh back soon, Jardine-Clark was placed on season-ending injured reserve. In their absence, first-round draft pick Alexis Shelton has stepped into the role. Over the past four matches, she has averaged 7.75 kills and 10.25 digs.
Top of the Leaderboard: With 435 career kills, Rise team captain Carli Snyder surpassed Claire Chaussee’s franchise record for the most career kills. She moved past Chaussee’s previous mark of 429 in the first set against the Vibe on Saturday, Feb. 14. Snyder also owns the franchise career records in points (526), aces (41), and attack attempts (1,424). She is seven sets shy of the team’s all-time mark for sets played, currently held by former player Marin Grote at 154.
On Thursday, Feb. 12, against the San Diego Mojo, Snyder totaled a match-high 28 points, the most by a Rise player this season and tied for the third-highest single-match total in franchise history. Her 22 kills came on a team-record 72 attack attempts, and she added a career-high four blocks along with two aces. The performance marked her third career 20-plus kill outing and her first of the season.
Peak Efficiency: Grand Rapids hit a franchise-record .324 as a team Saturday against the Vibe, surpassing the previous mark of .304 and marking just the second time in team history the Rise have eclipsed the .300 mark. The earlier .304 performance came in a 3-0 loss this season to the Orlando Valkyries on Jan. 29.
Five of the six players who recorded an attack attempt on Feb. 14 finished above a .350 hitting percentage. Setter Saige Ka'aha'aina-Torres was a perfect 2-for-2, including the match-winning kill. Rhamat Alhassan hit .500 with nine kills on 14 swings. Leah Meyer finished at .375, Snyder at .364, and Shelton delivered an error-free performance with seven kills on 20 swings for a .350 clip. The Rise committed just 10 attack errors, their lowest total of the season.
Jardine-Clark Placed on IR: On Wednesday, Feb. 11, Rise opposite hitter Jardine-Clark was placed on season-ending injured reserve. She suffered the injury in the Feb. 6 match at Indy after contributing five of the Rise’s 13 blocks and adding nine kills (.240) in the contest. This season, she appeared in six matches (10 sets), totaling 10 kills, seven blocks, four digs and two assists.
Double-Double Counter: The Rise have two active players closing in on the franchise record for most double-doubles: Chaussee (16), Snyder (16), Dimitrova (15), and Paige Briggs-Romine (15). Ka'aha'aina-Torres and Briggs-Romine led the Rise with five double-doubles this season.
Rise-Pulse Connections: Notable shared history between the two teams:
· Rise outside hitter Briggs-Romine and Dallas outside hitter Kaylee Cox played one season together at Western Kentucky (2023) under head coach Travis Hudson;
· Pulse setter Celia Cullen is from Brighton, Michigan, and played two seasons under Rise head coach Cathy George at Michigan State (2020-21);
· Rise middle blocker Berkeley Oblad and Pulse libero Kylie Murr played for the Vegas Thrill during the 2024 season;
· Dallas setter Natalia Valentin-Anderson and libero Kendall White won the 2024 league championship with Briggs-Romine and Allison Mayfield with the Omaha Supernovas.
Photo by Nicolas Carrillo/Rise