MLV-Leading Ignite Prevail Over Rise in Four Sets

INDIANAPOLIS, February 6, 2026.- The Grand Rapids Rise pushed the league-leading Indy Ignite to four sets on the road Friday, but Indy held on for a 3–1 victory (25-18, 18-25, 25-17, 25-22).

Rise team captain Carli Snyder returned to the starting rotation Friday after missing her first match with Grand Rapids last Sunday, while fellow outside hitter Paige Briggs-Romine was sidelined by illness. First-round draft pick Alexis Shelton made her first professional start in her place.

Shelton made an immediate impact, tallied her first pro block and following it with a kill to give Grand Rapids a 4-2 lead early in the opening set. Indy responded quickly, hitting .321 to take the set 25-18, with nine of its 15 kills coming from Azhani Tealer and Leketor Member-Meneh.

After committing five service errors in the opening frame, the Rise cleaned things up in the second set, committing none while hitting .370 to even the match at 1-1. Three Rise players hit above .370 with at least three kills: middle blocker Rhamat Alhassan (.600), Snyder (.400), and opposite hitter Lauren Jardine-Clark (.375). A momentum-building kill from Jardine-Clark pushed Grand Rapids ahead 16-13 at the media timeout, and out of the break the Rise closed the set on a 9-5 run to claim a 25-18 win, reversing the score from the opener.

The Ignite scored the first four points of the third set and never looked back. Indy recorded five of its seven blocks in the frame and moved the ball around, with five different players posting two or more kills. Trailing 19-11, the Rise showed resiliency with a 4-0 run fueled by two Indy errors, an Allison Mayfield ace, and a Jardine-Clark kill. Indy responded with a 6-2 surge, capped by kills from Blake Mohler and Member-Meneh, to take the set 25-17.

Shelton came out strong in the fourth set, recording three kills on her first four swings to give the Rise an early 4-2 lead as they tried to extend the match. Grand Rapids built a three-point cushion at 11-8, but lost Jardine-Clark after she landed awkwardly on a kill and was sidelined for the remainder of the match.

The Rise last held the lead at 15-14 following a block and ace from middle blocker Leah Meyer. Grand Rapids tied the set several times at 16, 17, 18, 19, 21, and 22 before Indy closed it out with a 3-0 run, powered by Tealer’s match-high 16th kill, Cara Cresse’s third ace, and a Rise attack error.

Member-Meneh added three aces as Indy finished with eight overall, alongside nine service errors, while the Rise had four aces and seven errors on serve. Grand Rapids has committed fewer than 10 service errors in six of seven matches this season.

Both Jardine-Clark and Shelton finished with a team-high 14 points for the Rise. Jardine-Clark contributed five of Grand Rapids’ 13 blocks and added nine kills (.240), while Shelton led the team with 11 kills (.133) alongside two blocks and an ace.

Snyder recorded nine kills (.133) and seven digs in her return to the starting rotation. Setter Saige Ka’aha’aina-Torres contributed 34 assists, five digs, one block, and one kill. Libero Elena Oglivie was the only Rise player to reach double-digit digs, finishing with 10.