By Annie Walker

RISE at Columbus Fury (7-11) // Sun., April 28 // 2 p.m. // Nationwide Arena

Watch: YouTube at 2 p.m.

Season Series: 3-0 Overall, 1-0 Away. Fourth of four meetings overall, second of two at Nationwide Arena

Noteworthy: The Rise have won all three previous meetings over the Fury with a 9-2 set record. It’s the final regular-season road match for Grand Rapids. Columbus had lost six straight matches before upsetting the League-leading Atlanta Vibe on April 19. The Fury will host the Orlando Valkyries two days prior to this contest, on April 26.

Playoff Push: With four wins in their last five matches, the Grand Rapids Rise are closing in on securing a postseason berth. The top four Pro Volleyball Federation teams will make the playoffs, with the Atlanta Vibe already claiming a spot. The Rise have a magic number of two (wins) over seventh-place Vegas, four over sixth-place Columbus, and three over fifth-place Orlando. The magic number decreases by one every time Grand Rapids wins or that opponent loses. When the magic number reaches zero, that team can no longer catch the Rise in the standings. (All magic numbers include one extra win, to avoid a tiebreaker.) Therefore, Grand Rapids needs three out the seven teams to reach zero to make the playoffs. The magic number table can be viewed below:

* Grand Rapids has clinched individual tiebreaker

In the simplest terms, the Rise will clinch a playoff spot with three more wins and Columbus losing one of its seven remaining matches. If Orlando drops one more match and Columbus loses twice, then Grand Rapids would need to win only two out of its remaining five matches.

Fingall to the Rescue: Rise opposite hitter Morgahn Fingall was called off the bench late in third set against the Vegas Thrill on April 20 after star player Emiliya Dimitrova went down with an ankle injury. Fingall rose to the occasion and helped Grand Rapids close a four-set win over the Thrill. She set a Rise single-match record bolstering a .733 hitting percentage (minimum 10 attack attempts) with 11 kills and no attack errors on 15 swings. For comparison, Fingall entered the match with only four kills and seven attack errors on 16 attempts (-.188) in seven sets played.

Fingall was drafted by the Rise in the first round, fourth overall, of the 2023 Pro Volleyball Federation draft that was held in December. She is the only Rise draft selection (out of five) that remains on the team.

Go Go Gómez: After primarily being used as a defensive specialist and substitute server, Camila Gómez has started the last five matches for the Rise at libero. The Rise are 4-1 in those matches with Gómez averaging 17 digs per set. She has 89 digs and 16 assists in 43 sets played this season.

Mini Milestones Tracker: The following achievements were accomplished in the April 20 match against the Vegas Thrill:

• Fingall: First match with double-digit kills, first pro block;
• Gómez: Fifth-straight match with double-digit digs;
• Dimitrova: Fifth match with 15-plus digs;
• Ashley Evans: Fifth match with 50-plus assists.

Set-By-Set Breakdown: A look at how the Rise have fared across the different sets:

• First Set: 14-5 with a +55 point differential (470-415);
• Second Set: 11-8 with a -4 differential (434-438);
• Third Set: 7-12 with a -2 point differential (450-452);
• Fourth Set: 8-9 with a -4 point differential (402-406);
• Fifth Set: 2-3 with a -5 point differential (60-65).

With five regular-season matches remaining, Grand Rapids has a +40 point differential (1,816-1,776) and is 42-37 across all sets played. The Rise are 9-15 in sets decided by the minimum of two points and 19-13 in sets decided by five points or more.

The Last Time a Rise Player…:

• 25 or More Kills in Single Match: Dimitrova (26) at ORL (March 1);
• 50 or More Attacks in Single Match: Dimitrova (51) vs. ORL (April 16);
• 50 or More Assists in Single Match: Evans (51) at VG (April 20);
• 20 or More Digs in Single Match: Gómez (20) at VG (April 20);
• 5 or More Blocks in Single Match: Kayla Caffey (6) vs. VG (April 13);
• 3 or More Aces in Single Match: Evans (3) vs. VG (April 13);
• Hit .400+ (min. 10 attempts): Fingall (.733) at VG (April 20);
• Double-Digit Kills 5+ Straight Matches: Dimitrova (19), Active Streak;
• Double-Digit Digs 5+ Straight Matches: Gómez (5), Active Streak;
• Ace in 3+ Straight Matches: Claire Chaussee (4), From March 26 to April 6;
• 3+ Blocks in 3+ Straight Matches: Alyssa Jensen (3), From March 20 to March 28.

Rise – Fury Connections: Former college teammates between the two squads include:

• Rise setter Mac Podraza played four seasons (2019-22) with Fury outside hitter Jenaisya Moore at Ohio State.
• Columbus middle blocker Kaitlyn Hord and Rise outside hitter Erika Pritchard played at Penn State together in 2021. Pritchard also played with Fury middle blocker Rainelle Jones at Maryland (2018-20).
• Columbus setter Tori Stringer and Chaussee played together at Louisville (2019-21).
• The Columbus Fury’s first overall pick in the 2023 college draft, Asjia O’Neal, was on the 2022 NCAA championship Texas team with Rise middle blocker Caffey. O’Neal has been made exempt from the Fury roster to train with the U.S. national team in preparation for Volleyball Nations League (VNL) and the 2024 Olympics in Paris.

COURTESY GRAND RAPIDS RISE COMMUNICATIONS