By Annie Walker
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Columbus Fury (7-11) will close out a three-match homestand this weekend when they welcome (7-12) on Friday night the Grand Rapids Rise (10-9) on Sunday afternoon. Columbus is coming off a week’s rest after an upset last Friday over Atlanta in four sets. The Fury 0-3 against the Rise and will look to string together a few wins as they push for a spot in the postseason playoff.
Notes on the Rise
- Grand Rapids will have a quick turnaround as well this weekend as they play in Omaha on Friday night before getting to Columbus for Sunday’s match.
- Emiliya Dimitrova and Claire Chaussee lead the Rise with 340 and 318 kills, respectively. They also rank second and third in the league for total kills.
- The Rise have won four of their last five matches with their only loss coming at the hands of first-place Atlanta.
Friday’s Match: GRAND RAPIDS RISE 2 at Omaha Supernovas 3
April 26, 2024
OMAHA, Neb. — Mere hours after multiple destructive tornados ripped through Omaha, Nebraska, and across the Great Plains, the Grand Rapids Rise had to weather a second storm against the Omaha Supernovas Friday night inside the notoriously loud CHI Health Center.
In a potential Pro Volleyball Federation playoff semifinals matchup, the Supernovas prevailed in an intense five-set win over the Rise by set scores of 25-22, 23-25, 25-20, 16-25, 15-7. Omaha continued its streak of being the only Pro Volleyball Federation team that hasn’t lost consecutive matches all this season.
Grand Rapids played without opposite hitter Emiliya Dimitrova for the first time this season after she injured her ankle against the Vegas Thrill on April 20. First-round draft pick Morgahn Fingall started her first professional match in Dimitrova’s absence. Rise outside hitter Symone Abbott also got her first start in the rotation since March 26 at Vegas.
After the Rise used a 4-0 run even the opening set at 14-14, the Supernovas regained a three-point lead at 21-18 after kills from Stephanie Samedy and Brooke Nuneviller. A kill and block from Claire Chaussee got Grand Rapids back within a point, 22-21. Fingall did the same when she knocked down her fifth kill of the first set, 23-22. Omaha, however, scored the next two points on kills from Nuneviller and Hristina Vuchkova to take the frame, 25-22.
The Supernovas used that set-winning momentum to score the first four points of the second set. The Rise countered by bringing in setter Mac Podraza to provide a spark, and Grand Rapids went on to tie the score at 10-10 with a 6-2 spurt. Omaha then broke away again with five straight points to take a 15-10 lead. The Rise rallied once more to knot the score at 19-19.
Podraza played the rest of the match and set a new personal best with 33 assists.
Tied at 23-23 after a Fingall kill, the Rise pushed on to win the second set 25-23, with a solo block from Podraza and a clutch ace from Fingall following an Omaha timeout. It was Fingall’s first ace of the season, and the only Rise ace in the match.
The third set saw the Supernovas jump out to another early lead, going up 3-0 and 8-2 by the first media timeout of the stanza. But, just like the second set, the Rise stormed back. Podraza delivered back-to-back dump kills before a Marin Grote block forced an Omaha timeout with Grand Rapids now only trailing by two points, 10-8. However, the Rise never managed to pull even for the remainder of the set. Omaha extended its advantage out to five points at 19-14 and held that margin to the end, 25-20.
The fourth set flipped the other way as Grand Rapids seized control with an 8-2 run in the middle of the frame to go ahead 20-12. Podraza had two of her team-leading four blocks in the set. Chaussee also had seven of her match-high 24 kills (.305) to help the Rise force a fifth by winning the fourth frame rather convincingly, 25-16.
Chaussee tied her season-best mark of 26 points (24 kills and two blocks) and made 59 attack attempts, tying her own mark for the second-most attempts this year.
Fingall opened the tiebreaker set with a kill, but it was all Supernovas after that. Omaha, with the crowd behind them, powered away for a 15-7 set victory to pick up their 13th win of the season and moved one step closer to clinching a playoff berth. The Supernovas were led offensively by Samedy (21 kills), Nuneviller (20), and Bethania de la Cruz (17). Tori Dixon contributed six of the nine Omaha blocks.
The Rise finished with 11 blocks, and 86 digs with three players reaching double figures: Camila Gómez (20), Fingall (15), and Chaussee (15). Fingall and Chaussee both finished with double-doubles.
Notes
- The Rise are now 2-4 in five-set matches this season with a -13 point differential.
- Grote hit .370 with 11 kills and one attack error on 27 swings. It’s the fourth match in a row that Grote has had a hitting percentage above .300.
- Grand Rapids is now 0-3 against Omaha this season with a pair of losses inside the CHI Health Center. The Rise are scheduled to play the Supernovas one more time on May 12 in the regular-season finale. If the season ended today, the Rise would match up against the Supernovas in the League semifinals with the Pro Volleyball Federation playoffs also being held at the CHI Health Center.
GR 22 25 20 25 7 — 2
OMA 25 23 25 16 15 — 3
Team Leaders
GR: Kills — Claire Chaussee 24, Marin Grote 11, Morgahn Fingall 10; Assists — Mac Podraza 33, Ashley Evans 19, Camila Gómez 4; Aces — Fingall 1; Blocks — Podraza 4, Grote 3, Chaussee 2; Digs — Gómez 20, Fingall 15, Chaussee 15.
OMA: Kills — Stephanie Samedy 21, Brooke Nuneviller 20, Bethania de la Cruz 17; Assists — Sydney Hilley 56, Cruz 4, Kendall White 3; Aces — Cruz 2; Blocks — Tori Dixon 6; Digs — Samedy 18, Hilley 18, Cruz 17, White 16, Nuneviller 16.
Record / Next Match
Grand Rapids: 10-10 / Sun., April 28 at Columbus Fury, 2 p.m.
Omaha: 13-7 / Sat., May 4 at Columbus Fury, 7:30 p.m.
COURTESY COLUMBUS FURY AND GRAND RAPIDS RISE COMMUNICATIONS
