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PODCAST

Ember"s Nest

This is the official fan podcast of the Grand Rapids Rise, or the unofficial Grand Rapids Rise podcast depending on how you look at it! A lot of sports depend on how you look at it, and here we"ll get a look at all things Grand Rapids Rise!

sports volleyball

All Episodes

00:41:09

Air Pressure: An Interview with Katie Olson

Ember"s Nest ·

2025/10/15

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

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00:23:10

A New Beginning in MLV

Ember"s Nest ·

2025/08/18

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 embersnest@gmail.com

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00:44:36

Tears, The Off-season, and the Importance of Two Year...

Ember"s Nest ·

2025/05/05

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

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00:17:57

Eliminated: Who's Back Next Season?

Ember"s Nest ·

2025/04/29

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

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00:32:14

The Rise Keep the Hope Alive + A Big Announcement

Ember"s Nest ·

2025/04/20

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 embersnest@gmail.com.Ember's Nest is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts,

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00:30:22

Overseas Reinforcements

Ember"s Nest ·

2025/04/08

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

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00:25:44

Rise Split the Weekend 1-1, and the Detective Hunt...

Ember"s Nest ·

2025/04/01

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, embersnest@gmail.com.Ember's Nest is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your

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00:37:59

Low on Time

Ember"s Nest ·

2025/03/24

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

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00:57:25

Falling Out of Contention

Ember"s Nest ·

2025/03/16

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

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00:22:53

Block Party

Ember"s Nest ·

2025/03/10

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

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00:45:12

Grand Rapids Reclaims Their Own Mojo

Ember"s Nest ·

2025/03/06

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

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00:53:00

Do the Rise Have the Yips? + All Star Game Discussion

Ember"s Nest ·

2025/02/21

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 embersnest@gmail.com, 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,

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00:40:24

Offensive Woes Continue as Grand Rapids Falls to...

Ember"s Nest ·

2025/02/16

Grand Rapids journey from the cold winter to the sunny skies of Orlando did not go as planned as the Rise get swept. Orlando had great performances from Ambercrombie, Foster, and others, while the Rise just could not get going offensively in this one. They held Orlando to a .207 hitting percentage, but the Rise in turn only hit .161 as a team. In my estimation, the Rise have to find another source of offense to free up Snyder and Pritchard-- defenses are really keying in on those two players

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00:38:14

All Out of Sorts

Ember"s Nest ·

2025/02/14

In this one the Rise and I are all out of sorts! The Rise cruise to victory in set 1 but cannot overcome Atlanta's adjustments and fall 3-1 to the Vibe. Meanwhile, I left all my notes and post game questions in the press box! When I sat down to record the podcast, I used the wrong mic! I fixed as much as possible but as a result I sound quite... interesting. Can we call it method acting? I don't know, but join me in this one to break down this match against the Atlanta Vibe. Grand Rapids

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00:32:00

Fury of Points Proves Too Much for Grand Rapids

Ember"s Nest ·

2025/02/08

Grand Rapids visited Columbus fresh off their four game winning streak and fell to the Fury, earning Columbus their first victory of the season, while the Rise fall to 4-4. The Rise were out blocked, out dug, and out hit in this 5 setter. The attack errors in sets 4 and 5 really stuck out to me as the nail in the coffin. Still, I may be blinded by fan optimism but I think Grand Rapids is more like the team that won 4 in a row than the team that dropped this one in Columbus. We'll find out when

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00:39:43

Monster Block

Ember"s Nest ·

2025/02/03

I am finally recovered from the Flu, but I still needed assistance in this one from the wife, friends, and listeners like you! You'll have to listen to this one but I think it's safe to say: the wife knows ball! Listen for her thoughts, my thoughts, and post game interviews!Monster Blocks were the name of the game(s) as Grand Rapids continued their defensive ways en route to victories over the Orlando Valkyries and the San Diego Mojo. Erika Pritchard really had a coming out party, and

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00:31:32

Grand Rapids Rise to 2-3 (Pun Intended)

Ember"s Nest ·

2025/01/27

Unbeknownst to me at the time of this recording I was coming down with a hard case of Influenza A, so forgive my less coherent thoughts than usual! In this episode I discuss both Grand Rapids vs Atlanta and Grand Rapids vs Columbus. It was interesting to me how very little carried over from the Atlanta win to the Columbus win, even with some exciting things along the way like holding Leah Edmond to just 11 kills or the debut of Raven Colvin! What do you think led to the victories? What will you

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00:34:56

Rise Fall to 0-3, and the Omaha Thing

Ember"s Nest ·

2025/01/17

The Rise falling to 0-3 were somehow not the biggest story of the night for the team as what is in my mind the bell-weather franchise of the PVF, the Omaha Supernovas, announced their departure. I have many thoughts on this, some of which you can hear here, but most of which I'll share when I have more time to compose my thoughts. The original recording of this episode was perhaps a little too passionate!There were some positives once again from Grand Rapids, but some of the problems that

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00:44:44

Grand Rapids Rise Start 0-2: Mad as Hell

Ember"s Nest ·

2025/01/13

The opening weekend of the PVF is here! Attendance is up, matches are competitive, and all is well for the league... just not the Rise! After getting reverse swept in Vegas, the Rise return home to a record crowd only to be swept by the defending champs. Despite the results I see encouraging signs from this Grand Rapids team, and luckily they still have time to figure out how to best fit these talented players together. The matches were still full of surprises, good and bad. I thought blocking is

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00:19:09

Marin Grote Interview Ahead of The 2025 Season

Ember"s Nest ·

2024/12/18

In an Ember's Nest first, here I had the absolute pleasure of interviewing Marin Grote who is entering her second season as Middle Blocker for the Rise. Marin had a strong season last year as she was #3 in the PVF in blocks, but it's clear in my time with Marin that the focus is squarely on next season. It was a joy to chat with Marin about the new squad, how she feels about playing against her sister in the PVF, and Sarah J Maas of all things! I hope you the listener enjoy listening to the pod as

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