This Week’s Matches
RISE (6-12) vs. Indy Ignite (15-3) // Wed., March 25 // 7 p.m. // Van Andel Arena
Watch: CBS Sports Network at 7 p.m.
Listen: 96.1 The Game at 6:45 p.m.
Season Series: 0-2 Overall, 0-0 Home. Third of four meetings overall, first of two at Van Andel Arena
All-Time Regular Season Series: 2-4 Overall, 1-1 Home
Noteworthy: Indy won both four-set meetings earlier this season, with Grand Rapids taking a set in each (Feb. 6, second set; March 8, first set). The Ignite have won nine of their last 10 contests, with their only loss being a five-set road defeat in Omaha on March 14. Last season, the Rise dropped the first two matchups against Indy before winning the final two. Five of the six all-time meetings have gone past three sets.
AdventHealth MLV All-Star Match // Sat., March 28 // Noon // Addition Financial Arena (Orlando)
Watch: CBS and Paramount+ at Noon
Noteworthy: The second All-Star Match in the league’s history features two 12-player squads led by a pair of volleyball coaching icons – Dan Meske of Louisville and Beth Launiere, longtime coach at the University of Utah. The All-Star selections were determined through a combination of fan voting, player input, and league selection, recognizing athletes who have delivered exceptional performances and made a significant impact this season.
Last Team to GR: The Ignite will be the last of MLV’s seven other teams to visit Grand Rapids this season. The Rise are 2-4 against teams making their first trip to Michigan, with wins over Columbus in the home opener and Atlanta on Feb. 14. Indy is 8-2 on the road and has yet to be swept this season. The Ignite at 15-3 overall (.833) are chasing the league’s best regular-season mark of 19-5 (.792), set by the Atlanta Vibe during their inaugural 2024 campaign.
Rise All-Stars: Rise libero Morgan Hentz and outside hitter Paige Briggs-Romine have been selected to play in the 2026 AdventHealth Major League Volleyball All-Star Match. The star-studded match will be played at noon on Saturday, March 28, at Addition Financial Arena in Orlando, Florida, and will be broadcast live on CBS and Paramount+.
Hentz and Briggs-Romine will compete on Team Launiere, led by longtime University of Utah head coach Beth Launiere. Team Launiere will face Team Meske, coached by University of Louisville head coach Dan Meske.
The selection marks Hentz’s second MLV All-Star honor and the first for Briggs-Romine.
Hentz joined Grand Rapids on Feb. 13 in a trade with the Omaha Supernovas and has appeared in nine matches (32 sets) with the Rise. She has totaled 138 digs (4.31 per set) and 38 assists during that stretch. Grand Rapids is 4-5 since her arrival, including three wins against her former MLV teams — twice against Atlanta and once against Omaha.
Briggs-Romine leads Grand Rapids in points (245), kills (217) and double-doubles (12) this year. The 5-foot-10 outside hitter is averaging 13.6 kills and 13.3 digs per match while adding 20 blocks, nine assists and eight aces across 16 matches (61 sets). She has recorded double-digit kills in 18 consecutive matches dating back to the 2025 season. Briggs-Romine ranks among the Rise’s all-time leaders in several categories, holding the franchise record with 22 double-doubles while sitting second in both points (505) and kills (443) and third in digs (451).
Locked In Alyssa: Rise middle blocker Alyssa Jensen has recorded 31 blocks over the last seven matches while stepping in for the injured Rhamat Alhassan. She set a career-high with eight blocks against Dallas on March 18 and followed that with a career-best .600 hitting percentage on seven kills in Omaha on March 20, adding four more blocks.
First Set Crucial: The Rise are 4-3 this season and 24-16 all time when winning the opening set, but just 2-9 this year and 6-26 in franchise history when falling behind 1-0, with four of those six wins coming at home. Grand Rapids is 1-2 in matches where the first set extends beyond 25 points, including a 31-29 win at San Diego on Jan. 23 and a pair of 29-27 road losses in Atlanta (Jan. 11) and Omaha (March 20). When dropping the first two sets, the Rise are 1-15 all-time, with their lone reverse sweep coming on Jan. 26, 2025, at Columbus.
Double-Digit Streak Stays Alive: Briggs-Romine tallied 10 kills on Friday in Omaha, extending her active streak of 18 consecutive matches with double-digit kills. The 5-foot-10 outside hitter from Ortonville, Michigan, has reached double digits in every match she has played this season.
Efficiency Dips: Last week, the Rise offense was held to a .159 hitting percentage against Dallas on March 18 and .123 against Omaha on March 20. Grand Rapids is 2-9 this season when hitting under .205 and has never won a match hitting below .172. Conversely, the Rise are 10-5 all time when hitting above .275, and 2-1 when getting above .300.
No Aces: For the fourth time in franchise history, the Rise recorded no aces in their March 20 loss to Omaha. Three of the previous instances also ended in 3-0 losses, with the lone exception being the five-set semifinal upset over the top-seeded Atlanta Vibe on May 15, 2024.
Coaching Legacy: Rise head coach Cathy George is closing in on two major career milestones in her 38th season, and third with the Rise. She needs just three more wins to reach 700 and four more matches to hit 1,200 coached. Nearly half of those totals came during her 17 seasons at Michigan State (2005–21), where she notched 302 wins in 535 matches.
Fan Support: Fan enthusiasm remains strong in Grand Rapids, with the Rise drawing an average of 3,719 spectators per match through the first eight home games of the 2026 season despite only three weekend matches (Friday, Saturday, or Sunday) being played so far. Weekday match attendance is up, averaging 3,682 compared to 2,713 last season, putting the Rise on pace to surpass last year’s overall average of 3,899 fans per match. The final six home matches feature two Wednesdays, two Fridays, a Saturday, and a Sunday.
Rise-Ignite Connections: Notable shared history between the two teams:
· Rise rookie outside hitter Alexis Shelton played alongside Indy rookie Emoni Bush (2025) and middle blocker Lydia Martyn (2023-24) during her collegiate career at Oklahoma;
· Rise setter Saige Ka'aha'aina-Torres and Indy libero Emma Halter won the 2022 NCAA National Championship with Texas;
· Indy opposite hitter Camryn Hannah played with the Vegas Thrill last season with Lauren Jardine-Clark, Berkeley Oblad, and Allison Mayfield. Oblad also played with Ainise Havili with the Thrill during the 2024 season;
· Rise middle blocker Leah Meyer and Indy opposite hitter Azhani Tealer were teammates at Kentucky during the 2019 season.
Photo by Nicolas Carrillo/Rise