Rise Upended in Straight Sets by Mojo
Published on February 26, 2026 under Major League Volleyball (MLV)
Grand Rapids Rise News Release
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - The Grand Rapids Rise defense delivered several strong stretches Thursday night inside Van Andel Arena, but the San Diego Mojo came away with a 3-0 road victory.
Grand Rapids recorded 10 more digs and held the Mojo to a .179 hitting percentage, their lowest mark in a win this season. Still, San Diego secured the sweep by set scores of 26-24, 25-21, 25-19, winning its fifth match in the last six.
Rise second-year setter Camryn Turner made her first start of the season. Turner, who made nine starts during her rookie campaign with Grand Rapids, had appeared in seven matches (nine sets) this season, recording 28 assists, nine digs, and one kill.
Turner doubled her kill output for the season in the opening moments of the match with a well-timed setter dump. The former Kansas Jayhawk went on to finish with 32 assists and eight digs. She also surpassed 600 career assists during the match, joining former Rise setters Ashley Evans (1,074) and August Raskie (660) as the only players in franchise history to reach the milestone.
Rise outside hitter Paige Briggs-Romine recorded 12 kills (.222) and 12 digs for her 17th career double-double with the Rise, setting a new franchise record. She entered the match tied at 16 double-doubles with teammate Carli Snyder and inaugural-season standout Claire Chaussee. Snyder was limited to six kills and added 11 digs. Briggs-Romine also had the lone Rise ace of the match.
San Diego narrowly won the opening frame, 26-24, with Grace Loberg notching a kill and setter Marlie Monserez putting down a set-ending block. The Rise are now 2-11 in sets decided by the minimum of two points.
The Mojo raced out to an 8-3 lead in the second set before the Rise responded with a 6-1 run to even the score at 9-9. Rookie outside hitter Candela Alonso-Corcelles entered on the right side during the stretch and provided a spark. Fresh off recording her first professional kill in Sunday's match against the Dallas Pulse, Alonso-Corcelles finished with five kills, 14 digs, and two blocks.
The Rise went on another mini run with Alonso-Corcelles serving at the end of the set, cutting a 19-14 deficit down to 22-18, but the Mojo kept the final margin to four points, 25-21.
San Diego closed out its first sweep win this season with a 9-5 spurt after the second media timeout to win the third set, 25-19. Mojo opposite hitter Jovana Brakočević had four of her seven kills in the final set.
Grand Rapids totaled 10 blocks in the match, led by Leah Meyer and Alyssa Jensen with three apiece. Jensen increased her career total to 90 blocks in a Rise uniform, moving past Ali Bastianelli (89) for second place in franchise history. She now sits five blocks behind franchise leader Marin Grote (95), who now plays for the Mojo.
Grote had five kills (.267) and one block against her former team on Thursday.
Notes
Rise middle blocker Rhamat Alhassan, who had started the first 11 matches of the season, was inactive for the contest due to an injury. Alhassan leads the Rise with a .339 hitting percentage and averages 7.2 kills per match.
Mojo outside hitter Maya Tabron had a match-high 13 kills on 42 swings for a .190 hitting percentage. She also had nine digs.
Former Rise players Kayla Caffey and Shannon Scully didn't play in the match for San Diego.
This was only the third time the Rise have been swept at home in team history. The other two occasions being Jan. 29 this season against the Orlando Valkyries and Jan. 12, 2025, against the Omaha Supernovas.
Rise libero Morgan Hentz collected a match-high 20 digs, marking her third match this season with 20 or more digs and her first reaching that mark with Grand Rapids.
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