By Michelle Richardson

2 20 2025

This Week’s Matches

RISE (4-6) vs. Columbus Fury (2-8) // Thu., Feb. 20 // 7 p.m. // Van Andel Arena

Listen: 96.1 The Game at 7 p.m.

Watch: WXSP-TV and YouTube at 7 p.m.

Season Series: 1-1 Overall, 0-0 Home. Third of four meetings overall, first of two at Van Andel Arena

All-Time Regular Season Series: 4-2 Overall, 2-0 Home

Noteworthy: This is the third matchup of the season between the Rise and Fury. The teams split their previous two meetings in Columbus, with Grand Rapids securing its first-ever reverse sweep on Jan. 26, while the Fury responded with a five-set victory on Feb. 7. The Rise have never lost to the Fury at home and hold a 14-10 all-time set advantage, outscoring them 520-511 in total points.

PVF All-Star Match // Sat., Feb. 22 // 1:30 p.m. // Fishers Event Center

Watch: CBS at 1:30 p.m.

Noteworthy: The first-ever Pro Volleyball Federation All-Star Match will be played at the Fishers Event Center in Indianapolis, home of the Indy Ignite, and will be televised nationally on CBS.

Trio of All-Stars: Three Rise players have been selected to compete in the first-ever Pro Volleyball Federation All-Star Match on Saturday, Feb. 22. Middle blocker Marin Grote and setter August Raskie will play for Team Collier, while outside hitter Carli Snyder will represent Team Shondell. The teams will be coached by two volleyball legends in Purdue’s Dave Shondell and Georgia Tech’s Michelle Collier.

Grote has tallied 43 kills (.330), 22 blocks, 19 digs, and four aces across 33 sets. In her second season with the Rise, she leads the franchise in career sets played (139) and blocks (91).

Raskie has recorded 376 assists, 122 digs, 33 kills, seven blocks, and four aces this season. She has notched a double-double in nine out of 10 matches, and her .363 attack percentage ranks fourth in the League.

Snyder currently leads the Rise with 126 points (104 kills, 12 blocks, and 10 aces) and has added 106 digs. She had a season-high 23-point, 20-kill performance against the Columbus Fury on Feb. 7.

Building Block-by-Block: The Rise lead the League in total blocks (109) and blocks per set (2.79), anchored by two of the League’s top blockers. Ali Bastianelli is tied for second with 29 blocks, while Grote ranks sixth with 22. Grand Rapids set a franchise record with 18 blocks in a five-set win over Orlando on Jan. 30. Bastianelli also matched Grote’s team record for most blocks in a single match, recording seven in a 3-0 sweep of San Diego on Feb. 2.

Crunch Time: The Rise have shown resilience in tightly contested sets, going 10-6 in those decided by 3-5 points. However, they have struggled in the narrowest margins, posting a 2-7 record in sets decided by the minimum of two points. Their strongest frame has been the fourth, where they hold a 3-2 record with a +11 point differential (115-104). The third set has been the most challenging, with a 3-7 record and a -17 point differential (222-239).

Offense Runs Through: Grand Rapids has distributed its offensive workload across multiple players this season. The team’s leaders in attack attempts are Snyder (334), Erika Pritchard (287), Naya Shime (143), Grote (112), Bastianelli (88), and Paige Briggs-Romine (84).

Due an Ace: In two previous matchups against Columbus, Snyder has been a force from the service line, racking up four aces, including three on Jan. 26. The Rise have maintained an aggressive serving approach, which has come with some risks, totaling 41 errors across those two matches against the Fury. However, their serving remains a key asset, ranking fourth in the League with 0.92 aces per set.

Opportunity at OPP: Following an injury to rookie opposite hitter Shime, the Rise have turned to Kaleigh Nelson to fill the position. Nelson, playing professionally for the first time since the 2017-18 season, has made her return to the court after having two children. She began the season on the Rise practice squad but has since appeared in three matches (12 sets), tallying 21 kills (.169), 32 digs, one block, and one ace. Middle blocker Alyssa Jensen has also stepped into the role on occasion, providing the offense with a different look.

Busy Night Around the League: All eight PVF franchises will take the court on Thursday, Feb. 20, marking the second time this season the league has hosted four matches in a single day — the first being on Sunday, Feb. 2. Along with Columbus at Grand Rapids, Atlanta is at Indy, Omaha is at San Diego, and Vegas is at Orlando. The final instance of all eight teams competing on the same day this season will be Sunday, March 30.

Not Four Us: Through eight matches, Grand Rapids had yet to finish a match in four sets. Atlanta broke the streak on Thursday, Feb. 13 by defeating Grand Rapids in four. Last season, exactly half of the Rise’s contests (13 of 26) ended after four sets. After winning four straight matches, the Rise aim to avoid the franchise’s first four-match losing streak.

Rise-Fury Connections: Familiar faces meet again:

• Rise libero Valeria León goes against her former team after playing for the Fury in PVF’s inaugural season.
• Western Kentucky graduate Kaylee Cox played a season with Rise outside hitter Briggs-Romine in 2023 and was coached by Rise libero Jena Otec for two seasons (2023-24) with the Hilltoppers.
• Rise middle blocker Bastianelli and setter Raskie played with Fury opposite hitter Morgan Lewis with the San Diego Mojo last season.

COURTESY GRAND RAPIDS RISE COMMUNICATIONS