Atlanta Vibe Fall, 3-1, at Home to Grand Rapids
MLV Atlanta Vibe

Atlanta Vibe Fall, 3-1, at Home to Grand Rapids

Published on March 13, 2026 under Major League Volleyball (MLV)
Atlanta Vibe News Release


The Atlanta Vibe fell 3-1 at home Friday to the Grand Rapids Rise.

"That was a tough loss. We had an opportunity to get a tiny little bit of stability in the standings and unfortunately we didn't capitalize," Vibe Head Coach Kayla Banwarth said. "Congrats to Grand Rapids, I think they played really well and they made some really nice adjustments after the first set and unfortunately we couldn't respond."

Atlanta got out to a hot start with a 25-19 win in the first set behind seven kills from Opposite Hitter Aiko Jones and 14 assists from Setter Averi Carlson.

Grand Rapids battled back in the second set, topping the Vibe 25-23 in a tight contest.

The Rise took the lead in the third set in another close competition, 25-23.

Grand Rapids closed out the proceedings with a 25-19 win in the final set and an overall 3-1 victory.

Jones finished with a career-high 24 kills and a double-double with 11 digs and one block.

Jones said she was focused on getting her feet in the right spots on the floor and how to improve from serve to serve as a team rather than her individual performance.

"Averi has just been continually putting me in really good positions, firing me the ball and getting it on my right shoulder so I can hit line, which has been working for me," Jones said. "I'm giving her her props, I'm giving our defense props that we dig balls, she can set and I can hit."

Carlson finished one assist shy of tying her career-high with 49 and a double-double of her own after she added 14 digs. She has seven matches with 40 or more assists this season.

Carlson highlighted Grand Rapids' tough serves and getting hands on blocks as challenges, but said the game is slowing down for her midway through her first pro season.

"At first, I felt like a freshman in college again, it's a whole new speed times 100," Carlson said. "Coming in was definitely tough, but my teammates are amazing, my coaches are so awesome and really trust me."

With three matches in six days starting against Grand Rapids, Banwarth said her team needs to tap into resilience and mental toughness while staying in the moment.

"You just have to be in the moment and be focused on the task at hand," Banwarth said. "That's off the court mentally, on the court when they're playing, it's present moment, what's my job right now, how do I need to be great today."

Atlanta takes to the road for the team's next match against the Dallas Pulse on Sunday, March 15 at 4 pm ET.

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