Ember's Nest

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...

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 ove...

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 t...

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...

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 tal...

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 si...

There's plenty to cover for the Rise in this one-- in 48 hours the Rise not only sign 3 coaches for this season but potentially draft their future as well. It's a flurry of moves and there's no better place to hear about it and voice your opinion than the Ember's Nest podcast. Write the show at embersnest@gmail.com to have your opinion voiced!

Hello Grand Rapids Rise fans! The dust has settled on the free agency period for now and I’m excited to start thinking volleyball again. This episode dives into the Grand Rapids Rise newest (and oldest!) members alongside my enthusiasm and questions for this upcoming season. More to come on PVF vs LOVB, but for now it’s all Grand Rapids Rise! Let me know what you think by writing embersnest@gmail....

Live from Omaha, I discuss my impressions of Omaha the town, discuss how well they pulled this event off (even if there are areas of improvement) and of course talk about the Grand Rapids Rise falling 3-0 to the Omaha Supernovas in the PVF Championship. Ultimately, the ability to be here was a privilege, but carrying the torch of fandom is also a privilege as well as a curse of its own. The fact t...

Grand Rapids comes away with the upset victory behind fantastic defense and key contributions from Marin Grote, Kayla Caffey, and Ashley Evans alongside the usual stalwarts of Dimitrova and Chaussee! This rollercoaster of a match was back and forth, but in the words of Ashley Evans, the pressure was on Atlanta and Grand Rapids just made their adjustments to win the game. The Bolt6 challenge system...

Grand Rapids Rise prevail over Omaha for the first time this season in Dimitrova's final match as a member of the Grand Rapids Rise. With the win, Grand Rapids has at least one victory over every playoff team. What lessons can be learned from this one and what does Grand Rapids need to score the upset over Atlanta? I discuss it here, but I'd love to hear from you by writing the show at emb...

The Rise started sharp and then came back to Earth with a 1-3 loss to the Mojo but find a way to flip the script and clinch a playoff berth the next day with a 3-0 sweep of the Mojo. The Rise briefly lost control of their playoff destiny before Columbus fell to Omaha. That granted the Rise control (again) heading into the second game of the series against the Mojo. The Rise had to figure out how t...

The Rise nearly fail to show up in this one, falling to Columbus in a 3-0 sweep. What is the reason for the poor performance? Feel free to sound off! Beyond that, the PVF inexplicably is not allotting any tickets for the PVF championship to media. Why?

Ember’s Nest is on the road for this one! I’ll be back to my usual recording setup by the next pod! Here I talk a bit about LOVB vs PVF, (more to come there in the offseason), the rumors over players already deciding to leave after the year, and the match against Omaha yesterday. Great play by Gomez, Podraza, and Chaussee wasn’t enough to push the Rise over the top in this one!

The Grand Rapids Rise prevail against the Vegas Thrill, but lose star player Emiliya Dimitrova to injury. What did you think about the performance? If you're on Spotify you can sound off and might get your feedback read on the pod! This podcast is family friendly, but I also encourage you to check out my other work investigating an unsolved serial murder in Michigan (viewer discretion advised)...

In a bit of a 2 for 1 special here the Rise lose to Atlanta (who isn't losing to Atlanta these days?!) before emerging victorious in what is proving to be a series of matches at breakneck speed for the Rise.

Big shout out to the Rise who stayed together as a team and avoided their second reverse sweep against Vegas and came out on top 3-2. With the win the Rise move to 3rd place in the PVF as the playoff race heats up! This podcast is family friendly, but I also encourage you to check out my other work investigating an unsolved serial murder in Michigan (viewer discretion advised): ⁠The Forever Childr...

The Grand Rapids Rise snap their 3 game losing streak against the Orlando Valkyries and get revenge against Orlando! This was a total team effort to get the W, with big contributions from Erika Pritchard! Track: Ode to Joy Music by https://www.fiftysounds.com

Grand Rapids Rise played a thriller at home in front of over 5000 fans-- the most attended game outside of the home opener! Unfortunately, they weren't able to come out on top. Big thanks to the Grand Rapids Rise for allowing me to attend a game as a member of the press. Please rate and share this to grow the Ember's Nest listenership!

The Grand Rapids Rise this week reignited my true sports passion-- crusading against unreviewable calls! The team played pretty well all things considered, and I am bouncing-off-the-wall excited for Saturday's nationally televised game against Orlando! This podcast is family friendly, but I also encourage you to check out my other work investigating an unsolved serial murder in Michigan (viewe...

A non-triumphant post-game recap here as the Grand Rapids Rise lose 3-1 to the dominant Omaha Supernovas. A boatload of assists from Ashley were not enough to propel the Rise to 5 sets or a win. What can the team do to win close sets? This podcast is family friendly, but I also encourage you to check out my other work investigating an unsolved serial murder in Michigan (viewer discretion advised):...

The Grand Rapids Rise get revenge after previously becoming victim to the first ever reverse sweep in Professional Volleyball Federation history! It was a great showing from the Rise, Sarah Sponcil and Emilya Dimitrova led the way! What did you think about the performance? If you're on Spotify you can sound off and might get your feedback read on the pod! This podcast is family friendly, but I...

Welcome to the inaugural podcast of Ember's Nest, a fan podcast covering the Grand Rapids Rise Professional Volleyball team! Here I set some expectations for the podcast, and also discuss the last 2 games that the Rise played against the Vegas Thrill and Columbus Fury! Join the fun! This podcast is family friendly, but I also encourage you to check out my other work investigating an unsolved s...