GRAND RAPIDS, Michigan, April 12, 2026.- The Grand Rapids Rise delivered a milestone-filled performance Sunday afternoon at Van Andel Arena, combining a strong team effort with multiple historic achievements in a 3-2 victory over the Columbus Fury by set scores of 28-26, 20-25, 25-18, 21-25, 15-9.
Rise head coach Cathy George secured the 700th win of her 38-year coaching career, while second-year setter Camryn Turner surpassed Ashley Evans for the most assists in franchise history. Outside hitter Paige Briggs-Romine also reached a major milestone, joining teammate Carli Snyder as the only players in Rise history to record 500 career kills.
Both Turner and Briggs-Romine reached their feats in the opening set. Turner’s record-breaking 1,075th assist came on a kill by opposite hitter Elizabet Inneh, giving the Rise a 16-14 lead at the second media timeout. Later in the set, Briggs-Romine slammed down an overpass for her 500th career kill, putting the Rise ahead 21-20.
Grand Rapids created three set-point opportunities with back-to-back kills from Inneh and middle blocker Berkeley Oblad to take a 24-21 lead. The Fury responded by forcing extra points and even earned a set point at 26-25. A timely first block by Oblad, followed by a Columbus attack error and a Briggs-Romine ace, swung momentum back to the Rise as they scored three straight points to win the opening set, 28-26.
Inneh totaled seven kills in the opening set and finished with a match-high and season-high 21 kills while hitting .300. She also added seven digs and an ace. Rise middle blocker Alyssa Jensen was also perfect with three kills on three attack attempts in the opening frame. She finished with six kills (.500), two digs, and a block.
Turner opened the second set with a setter dump kill, but Columbus turned the match around with a stronger defensive showing that featured four blocks in the frame. The Rise fell behind early, 11-6, and didn’t recover as Raina Terry’s 10th kill capped a 25-20 win to even the match at one set apiece.
Terry led the Fury with 18 kills (.203) and 11 digs. Columbus also got double-digit kill contributions from Megan Lush (16, .255) and Regan Pittman-Nelson (12, .346).
Rise middle blocker Rhamat Alhassan made her long-awaited return to the rotation in the third set after missing the previous 11 matches due to injury. She last played Feb. 22 at the Dallas Pulse. Alhassan recorded her first kill at 9-4 and added her first block at 16-10 to help keep the Rise in front. Alhassan finished with four kills (.500), two blocks, and two digs.
Grand Rapids posted its best hitting percentage of the match in the third set at .444, along with a 71% side-out rate, to win 25-18. Inneh laced the set-winning kill to the center of the court.
The Fury broke open a tight fourth set late with consecutive blocks from Megan Lush and Kashauna Williams to take a 22-20 lead and fuel a 5-1 run to win 25-21.
Following a back-and-forth split of the previous sets, the Rise scored four of the first five points in the tiebreaker set to take control. They remained ahead 8-4 at the side switch and powered through for a 15-9 win, converting their first match point on a transition kill from Inneh.
Inneh’s 21 kills were one shy of the team-high this season, with Briggs-Romine (Jan. 29 vs. Orlando) and Snyder (Feb. 12 vs. San Diego) both recording 22 kills earlier this year.
Both teams finished with 66 kills, but the Rise were more efficient (.291 to .232). They also matched Columbus with 81 digs, while the Fury held a 11-10 edge in blocks. Grand Rapids added three more aces, 4-1.
Grand Rapids plays Indy Ignite on Friday, April 17, while the Fury will head to Dallas next Friday.
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