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. Hopefully Shime returns soon, I will update on socials when I hear anything!

What do you think the Rise need to do to stop the slide? Let me know by writing the show embersnest@gmail.com, commenting on Reddit, Spotify, or Instagram, or perhaps sending a carrier pigeon to the next home match. Go Rise!

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 seems to really be missing Naya Shime despite what I view as good play from Kaleigh Nelson in relief. The rest of the team seems to need to find a way to elevate their own game in response. What do you think the Rise need to do going forward to get back in the win column? Write the show embersnest@gmail.com, comment on Reddit or Instagram, or perhaps send a carrier pigeon! Go Rise!

Ember's Nest is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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 we play Atlanta at home on Thursday!

What did you think about this one? What are you looking for from the Rise against Atlanta to get back into the win column? Sound off on Spotify, Reddit, Instagram, or by writing the show embersnest@gmail.com.

Ember's Nest is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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 really solid contributions from Carli Snyder and Naya Shime cannot be overlooked. The Rise ride their 4 game winning streak into an upcoming showdown with the Columbus Fury.

What do you think led to the victories? What will you be looking for going forward? Sound off on Spotify, Reddit, Instagram, or by writing the show at embersnest@gmail.com. Ember's Nest is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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 be looking for going forward? Sound off on Spotify, Reddit, Instagram, or by writing the show at embersnest@gmail.com. Ember's Nest is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Now, time to rest up for both the Rise and me!

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 plagued the team against Vegas and Omaha continued into this match against Indy. Listen in to hear more about that.

This was the first episode of the podcast to get some community feedback and thoughts discussed, and it was my favorite segment! If you want to share your thoughts on the team, email the show embersnest@gmail.com, or comment on Instagram (Ember's Nest Podcast) or Reddit!

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 trending in the right direction but we still have too many plays out of system and too few attacks from the back row. I break down both games in this episode of Ember's Nest.

What's your takeaway from the opening weekend? Sound off by writing the show, embersnest@gmail.com, commenting on Spotify or Reddit, or giving the show a shout on Instagram @embersnestpod!

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 much as I enjoyed making it. As always, leave your feedback on Reddit, Spotify, or write the show at embersnest@gmail.com.