This Week’s Matches
RISE (6-10) vs. Dallas Pulse (12-5) // Wed., March 18 // 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: 0-2 Overall, 0-0 Home. Third of four meetings overall, first of two at Van Andel Arena
All-Time Regular Season Series: 0-2 Overall, 0-0 Home
Noteworthy: The Pulse won the first two matches of this four-game series in Dallas, taking a 3-1 victory on Feb. 8 and a 3-0 sweep on Feb. 22. The Rise captured the first set on Feb. 8 before dropping the next six sets. Dallas holds a league-best 7-1 record on the road, its only loss coming Jan. 31 at the league-leading Indy Ignite. The Pulse are riding a four-match winning streak, including three consecutive sweeps over Orlando, Columbus, and Atlanta.
RISE at Omaha Supernovas (9-9) // Fri., March 20 // 8 p.m. // CHI Health Center
Watch: CBS Sports Network at 8 p.m.
Season Series: 1-1 Overall, 0-0 Away. Third of four meetings overall, first of two at CHI Health Center
All-Time Regular Season Series: 2-8 Overall, 0-4 Away
Noteworthy: The Rise defeated the Supernovas for just the second time in franchise history in their most recent meeting on March 7, a matchup between the two inaugural-season finalists. Grand Rapids, however, has yet to beat Omaha on the road in its history. The Supernovas snapped a six-match losing streak last week, including a five-set home win over Indy witnessed by a record crowd of 16,838 – the largest attendance ever for a U.S. professional volleyball match.
Heating Up: Grand Rapids has won three of its last four matches to improve to 6-10 overall after dropping seven of eight. The last time the Rise won three of four was during a three-match winning streak from March 2-9, 2025. The Rise enter the week two matches back of the final playoff spot with 12 remaining on the schedule. The Omaha Supernovas and Orlando Valkyries currently hold the final two playoff spots at 9-9, while the Atlanta Vibe and San Diego Mojo sit one match back at 7-9.
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 seven matches (25 sets) with the Rise. She has totaled 106 digs (4.24 per set) and 27 assists during that stretch. Grand Rapids is 4-3 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 (216), kills (191) and double-doubles (10) this year. The 5-foot-10 outside hitter is averaging 13.6 kills and 13.1 digs per match while adding 19 blocks, seven assists and six aces across 14 matches (54 sets). She has recorded double-digit kills in 16 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 20 double-doubles while sitting second in points (476) and third in both kills (417) and digs (423).
First Time at Van Andel: The Pulse are making their first trip to Grand Rapids and Van Andel Arena in franchise history. The Rise are still seeking their first win over the new franchise after dropping two matches in Dallas earlier this season.
Monster Blockers: In the 3-1 win at Atlanta on March 13, the Rise recorded 18 blocks, the most in a four-set MLV match this season. Grand Rapids has posted 10 or more blocks in four of its last five matches and leads the league in blocks per set (2.68). Dallas ranks second at 2.63 blocks per set. In the last Rise home match, Grand Rapids outblocked Omaha 15-3.
Even more impressive, the Rise have done it without leading blocker Rhamat Alhassan (30 blocks), who has missed the last five matches due to injury. Grand Rapids also lost its second-leading blocker, Leah Meyer (26 blocks), to a season-ending injury on March 8. Middle blocker Alyssa Jensen has stepped up in their absence, recording a career-high six blocks at Atlanta on March 13 and tallying 19 of her 23 blocks over the last five matches.
Longevity Leader: The longest-tenured member of the Rise, having been with the team all three seasons, Jensen now holds the franchise record for most matches played with 45. She passed former middle blocker Marin Grote (44) and is holding off current teammates Carli Snyder (43) and Briggs-Romine (41). Jensen also recently surpassed Grote for the most blocks in team history, 106–95.
A Berkeley, Candela Breakout: Both middle blocker Berkeley Oblad and outside hitter Candela Alonso-Corcelles had standout performances against the Atlanta Vibe on March 13. Oblad recorded a season-high 10 kills on a .348 hitting percentage in just her third match of the season, while Alonso-Corcelles posted a season-high nine kills (.240) and added five blocks, five digs, and an ace in her fifth match seeing extended playing time this season.
Approaching #500: Team captain Snyder needs 16 more kills to become the first Rise player to reach 500 career kills, and 40 more digs to become only the second player in team history to reach 500 career digs. She has already become the only Rise player to reach 500 points, with a total of 585. Briggs-Romine needs 24 points to join her in the 500-point club.
Avoiding Service Miscues: The Rise committed a season-low five serving errors on March 13 at Atlanta while recording four aces, just one shy of the season high. The five errors are tied for the third-fewest in a match in franchise history.
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 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.
Rise-Supernovas Connections: Notable shared history between the two teams:
· Second meeting after Feb. 13 trade between the two teams that sent libero Morgan Hentz to the Rise and libero Elena Oglivie and the Rise 2026 first-round draft pick to Omaha;
· Rise libero Camila Gómez played for the Supernovas last season, tallying 349 digs and 82 assists;
· Omaha setter Sydney Hilley and Rise opposite hitter Lauren Jardine-Clark were both on the Wisconsin squad that won the 2021 NCAA National Championship. Hilley also played with outside hitters Briggs-Romine and Mayfield when Omaha won the 2024 league championship;
· Supernovas middle blocker Toyosi Onabanjo played two seasons in college at Kansas (2023-24) with Rise setter Camryn Turner.
Photo by Nicolas Carrillo/Rise