GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — The Grand Rapids Rise were denied in their bid to secure a third win over the Atlanta Vibe this season. The Rise suffered a 3-1 loss at Van Andel Arena on Monday night by set scores of 25-23, 25-10, 18-25, 25-13.
Atlanta, sitting on top of the Pro Volleyball Federation standings with a 12-4 record, has now won three consecutive matches and beaten every team in the League. The Rise (6-7) were the last team the Vibe hadn’t conquered, as Grand Rapids won the first two meetings on Feb. 9 and Feb. 18.
Rise outside hitter Erika Pritchard got her first start on Monday and her second appearance of the season. It didn’t take long for Pritchard to get involved, delivering her first Rise kill to tie the score at 2-2. After the Rise recovered twice to even the first set at 12-12 and 16-16, Grand Rapids finally took the lead with a pair of blocks from Marin Grote and Pritchard, 20-19.
Atlanta, however, closed out the opening frame 25-23 following a pair of Leah Edmond kills, a controversial ball that the Rise argued was on the wrong side of the antenna but wasn’t reviewable, and a block touch that didn’t happen (verified by video review) on an Emiliya Dimitrova attack to close out the set.
Edmond had nine kills on 13 swings in the first set for a .750 hitting percentage.
The Vibe jumped out to a commanding 16-3 lead in the second set, which included a 10-0 run. Grand Rapids never recovered and suffered its largest set defeat of the season, 25-10. The Rise hit a season-low -.093 hitting percentage in the frame while the Vibe had two hitters over .500 in Edmond (.565) and Anna Lazareva (.526) through the first two sets.
The Rise used a 3-0 burst to take a 15-12 lead into the third-set media timeout. Two more Rise points off kills from Claire Chaussee and Grote forced Atlanta into a timeout, trailing 17-12. Grand Rapids maintained that cushion all the way to the end for a 25-18 win and avoided being swept for the first time this season.
After going down 4-0 to start the fourth set, the Rise rallied by winning a couple of hard-fought points with a handful of dazzling digs to eventually even the score at 8-8. Chaussee snuck in her second ace of the match to put Grand Rapids ahead 13-11. She then surfaced again with a timely pancake dig that led to a Dimitrova kill off the Vibe block to keep the Rise up 20-18.
The score stayed tied at 21-21, 22-22, and 23-23 with another controversial call going against the Rise when a key point was replayed. Grand Rapids would have taken a 24-22 lead had the rally went in the Rise’s favor. Atlanta scored the final two points of the match on a block from Edmond and a kill from Lazareva, 25-23.
Unofficial final stats had Edmond with 21 kills, 13 digs, and four blocks. Lazareva finished with 18 kills and 16 digs. Dimitrova was the only Rise player in double figures with 20 kills and a team-high 14 digs. Grote chipped in with four kills and four blocks.
Notes
- In the six sets that the Vibe have defeated the Rise this season, half of them have been decided by the minimum of two points.
- Symone Abbott and Kayla Caffey both got extended playing time after not being involved in the first set or the Rise’s last match at Omaha. Both picked up three kills, while Abbott collected six digs as well.
- With Pritchard playing in two sets on Monday, every Rise player on the roster has now featured in at least three sets this season.
ATL 25 25 18 25 — 3
GR 23 10 25 23 — 1
Team Leaders
ATL: Kills — Leah Edmond 21, Anna Lazareva 18, Leketor Member-Meneh 6, Shelly Fanning 6; Assists — Marlie Monserez 45, Morgan Hentz 7; Aces — Member-Meneh 1; Blocks — Edmond 4, Fanning 3, Lazareva 2; Digs — Lazareva 16, Member-Meneh 13, Edmond 13, Hentz 12.
GR: Kills — Emiliya Dimitrova 20, Claire Chaussee 9, Marin Grote 4; Assists — Ashley Evans 41; Aces — Chaussee 2, Evans 1, Alyssa Jensen 1; Blocks — Grote 4, Evans 2; Digs — Dimitrova 14, Evans 11, Sarah Sponcil 10.
A — 2,614
Record / Next Match
Grand Rapids: 6-7 / Sat., April 6 vs. Orlando Valkyries, 7 p.m. EDT
Atlanta: 12-4 / Mon., April 8 at Vegas Thrill, 10 p.m. EDT
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