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The Rise fall to Orlando by a more convincing margin than the first time and then follow it up with a Carli Snyder-less loss to Omaha. The postgame press conference was quite interesting and seemed to indicate to me that the team may not be firing on all cylinders. Am I making something out of nothing, or is there more to do, even when Carli Snyder returns to the lineup? Get months FREE with Surfshark: ⁠⁠⁠https://surfshark.club/friend/fFP9U5Sh⁠⁠⁠ Sign up with Rakuten (it's always free) and get money off the things you were buying anyway: ⁠⁠⁠www.rakuten.com/r/EDWARD22078?eeid=28187⁠⁠⁠ Let me know what you think on Reddit, Instagram, Spotify, or by writing the show at [email protected]. The Ember's Nest Podcast is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

The Rise even up their season record at 2-2 after starting 0-2. The've proved that they can win in a multitude of ways, both spreading out the offense and concentrating the offensive power. What do you think about the Rise's start to the season and fresh win against San Diego? NOTE: I know the audio is not as good as usual here. This will be fixed by next episode. Get months FREE with Surfshark: ⁠⁠https://surfshark.club/friend/fFP9U5Sh⁠⁠ Sign up with Rakuten (it's always free) and get money off the things you were buying anyway: ⁠⁠www.rakuten.com/r/EDWARD22078?eeid=28187⁠⁠ Let me know what you think on Reddit, Instagram, Spotify, or by writing the show at [email protected]. The Ember's Nest Podcast is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

The Rise returned with players both new and familiar as the 2026 MLV season opened. Despite some back and forth action and strategic substitutions, Grand Rapids dropped the season opener to the defending champion Valkyries 3-2. What do you think of the Rise performance? Listen to hear my thoughts, but in short I wasn't going to overreact to a 1-0 or an 0-1 start. It will be interesting to see how the team gels over time. Get months FREE with Surfshark: ⁠https://surfshark.club/friend/fFP9U5Sh⁠ Sign up with Rakuten (it's always free) and get money off the things you were buying anyway: ⁠www.rakuten.com/r/EDWARD22078?eeid=28187⁠ Let me know what you think on Reddit, Instagram, Spotify, or by writing the show at [email protected]. The Ember's Nest Podcast is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Hey there Rise fans! I was really excited to record this episode as Katie was such a fantastic guest. In this episode we dive into Katie's journey from a standout volleyball player to a respected voice in sports broadcasting as color commentator for the Grand Rapids Rise. It was incredibly exciting to hear her thoughts on volleyball strategy, the MLV as a whole, the Rise team, and the vibrant volleyball culture in Grand Rapids. The number of variables in any given volleyball rally are astounding, not least of all air pressure! Get months FREE with Surfshark: https://surfshark.club/friend/fFP9U5Sh Sign up with Rakuten (it's always free) and get money off the things you were buying anyway: www.rakuten.com/r/EDWARD22078?eeid=28187 Let me know what you think on Reddit, Instagram, Spotify, or by writing the show at [email protected]. The Ember's Nest Podcast is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Season 3 of the Rise has begun in Major League Volleyball (MLV). After a tumultuous offseason Omaha is back in the fold, Dallas is the new kid on the block, and Vegas is out. Beyond that there's a flurry of signings as Grand Rapids sees faces new and old join the ranks! What do you think about the MLV and the new Grand Rapids signings? Sound off on Reddit, Instagram, Spotify, or via email at [email protected]

The Rise concluded their second season in emotional fashion, and I tried my hardest to find out what players and coaches are thinking about next season. I also get on my soapbox to stress my personal belief that the league needs less roster turnover year over year. Give this pod a listen to hear from me, coach Cathy George, Camryn Turner, Eleanor Holthaus, and Carli Snyder at the end of an up and down year for the Rise. What did you think of the episode? What did you think of this season? Sound off in the comments on social media or by writing the show [email protected]! The stage is set for the PVF finals in Vegas-- got any good recs? Ember's Nest is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Grand Rapids's slow starts continued, and this time it was fatal. The Rise fought hard to complete the reverse sweep but couldn't make it happen. That loss, plus the Indy win eliminated Grand Rapids from the playoffs. Do you think they were a team that was good enough to make it but just didn't play well enough, or do you think Grand Rapids lacked the talent to get it done? Listen to hear my thoughts, but I want to know your thoughts! Comment on Reddit, Spotify, Instagram, or write the show, [email protected]

Against the Ignite the Rise win to keep their playoff hopes alive. The Rise are 1.5 games back with 3 to play while Indy drops their 4th straight. Newcomer Holthaus provided a boost, Jensen seemed like she'd hit the ceiling of Van Andel, and seemingly all went right for the Rise as they answered the call. Plus, a big announcement! Sound off regarding your thoughts on Spotify, Instagram, Reddit, or by writing the show [email protected]. Ember's Nest is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Eleanor Holthaus made her impact immediately felt against Vegas after only joining the team earlier in the week from Germany! She was second on the team in points in a dominant Rise sweep over the Thrill. The Rise are desperate to get back in the playoff hunt, and have a chance to make things interesting with upcoming matches against Orlando and Indy. A listener had also written in regarding the PVF attendance year over year, so I offer my thoughts on that. What do you think? Write the show [email protected] or comment on Spotify, Reddit, or Instagram. Ember's Nest is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

The Rise playoff hopes grow dimmer as they prevail in an exciting 3-2 match against Columbus, but then fall 3-1 to the Supernovas on the road. If that wasn't enough to discuss, the Rise added Devyn Robinson off waivers but may (or may not) have dropped Naya Shime from the roster entirely. What happened? No one knows! If you know, comment on Reddit, Spotify, or Instagram or write the show, [email protected]. Ember's Nest is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

The Grand Rapids Rise drop their latest match to the Vegas Thrill and have fallen out of the playoff race. If they want to get back into it, they've got to start winning at a clip we have not seen this season. They've got the practice time to work some things out, but will that be enough to make things interesting down the final stretch of the season? I offer my thoughts in the podcast. What do you think? Comment on Reddit, Instagram, Spotify, or write the show [email protected]. Ember's Nest is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Grand Rapids drops the first two games of their 4 game home stand in entirely different ways. A great defensive performance but sub par offense spelled doom against Atlanta, while an offensive resurgence wasn't nearly enough against Indy as the Ignite hit .405 against the Rise's vaunted defense. I recap both matches, offer a silver lining, and we hear from coach George, Oglevie, Snyder, Pritchard, Raske, and Bastianelli. With the two losses, they fall squarely out of the playoff picture and have to go on a run to get back in it. What do you think the Rise can do to claw their way back into contention? Ember's Nest is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Grand Rapids finishes up their season series with the Mojo in San Diego by way of a 3-1 victory. Jensen and Briggs-Romine led the way in this one, but it required a total team effort to earn the victory as well as a PVF record 18 blocks (again)! This sets up a massive showdown against Atlanta and Vegas as all 3 teams battle for playoff positioning. Grand Rapids took care of business, but it's hard not to look ahead to those big matchups. What did you think in this one? Let me know by commenting on Reddit, Spotify, Instagram, or by writing the show at [email protected]. Ember's Nest is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Ember's Nest is back! While some personal obligations prevented me from making episodes after the last 2 matches, I'm locked back in for a 3 match recap episode! It's interesting looking back at these matches together; I felt as if I was uncovering just how many clues were left behind regarding the team's strategy going into this latest match against the Mojo. Are the Rise back on track? Shime is on track to return, reinforcements are on the way! Listen in for full commentary. What do you think? Sound off on Reddit, Instagram, or Spotify! Ember's Nest is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts!

The Rise drop a heartbreaker to Columbus 3-2 in Van Andel Arena despite several changes to the lineup. I thought most changes were positive, but the team seems to tense up in tight moments. Do they have the yips? Let me know by writing the show [email protected], or commenting on Spotify, Reddit, and Instagram. After we hear from the players and coaches I talk about the biggest event of the PVF season: The All Star Game. What are your thoughts on the game? Ember's Nest is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.