The Rise's First Serve
January 24, 2024 - Pro Volleyball Federation (PVF)
Grand Rapids Rise News Release
Grand Rapids Rise prepare for opener
(Grand Rapids Rise, Credit: Nicolas Carrillo)
This Week's Match
RISE vs. Columbus Fury // Thu., Jan. 25 // 7 p.m. // Van Andel Arena
Listen: 96.1 The Game at 7 p.m.
Watch: Stadium and WXSP-TV at 7 p.m.
Season Series: First of four meetings overall, first of two at Van Andel Arena
All-Time Series: 0-0 Overall, 0-0 Home
Noteworthy: Grand Rapids plays its inaugural match in franchise history. Thursday's contest will be the second-ever Pro Volleyball Federation match, following the League's debut match between the Atlanta Vibe and the Omaha Supernovas in Nebraska on Wednesday night.
From The Ashes: A timeline of the foundation of the Grand Rapids Rise:
Dec. 5, 2022: DP Fox Sports & Entertainment announces the launch of West Michigan's newest sports franchise, a women's professional volleyball team that will begin play at Van Andel Arena in January 2024 as a member of the newly formed Pro Volleyball Federation.
March 13, 2023: West Michigan Pro Volleyball introduces Cathy George as the team's head coach and director of volleyball operations.
April 14, 2023: DP Fox Sports & Entertainment announces the name of West Michigan Pro Volleyball as the Grand Rapids Rise.
June 1, 2023: The Rise sign their first three players in franchise history, as Claire Chaussee, Emiliya Dimitrova and Alyssa Jensen join for the inaugural season.
June 5, 2023: The Rise sign Camila Gómez, Marin Grote and Holly Toliver to contracts for the first season.
June 7, 2023: Rise sign former All-Americans Symone Abbott and Kayla Caffey.
June 9, 2023: The Rise ink former Big Ten Conference standouts Erika Pritchard and MacKenzi Welsh-Vazquez.
June 20, 2023: The Rise sign former USC Trojan Shannon Scully and current Team USA member Ashley Evans.
July 27, 2023: The Rise announce the hiring of Bill Walton as associate head coach.
Aug. 28, 2023: The Grand Rapids Rise sign two-time NCAA national champion Nia Grant.
Sept. 6, 2023: The Grand Rapids Rise hire Denis Dimitrov as an assistant coach.
Sept. 18, 2023: The Rise announce the signing of setter/libero and U.S. Olympian Sarah Sponcil.
Sept. 26, 2023: Setter MacKenzi Welsh-Vazquez becomes the team's director of volleyball operations, assuming the role from Rise head coach Cathy George, who becomes VP of volleyball operations.
Nov. 22, 2023: The Rise announce the signing of experienced 10-year professional setter Taylor Bruns.
Nov. 28, 2023: Single-match tickets for the Rise's inaugural 2024 season go on sale to the general public.
Dec. 4, 2023: The Rise practice for the first time as a collective team as part of their Rise Mini-Camp.
Dec. 7, 2023: The Rise introduce themselves to the Grand Rapids community by hosting a "Meet the Team" Showcase inside Van Andel Arena.
Dec. 11, 2023: Pro Volleyball Federation holds the first collegiate player draft. The Rise make five selections: Morgahn Fingall (First Round, Selection 4), Sydney Bolding (Second Round, Selection 11), Kenna Sauer (Third Round, Selection 18), Emma Clothier (Fourth Round, Selection 25) and Karly Basham (Fifth Round, Selection 32).
Dec. 29, 2023: Morghan Fingall, Sydney Bolding, Kenna Sauer, and Karly Basham sign to the roster, along with free agent setter Mac Podraza.
Jan. 15, 2024: After holding preseason training camp for two weeks, the Rise waive Holly Toliver and Karly Basham to trim the roster down to 17 players.
Jan. 18, 2024: The Rise waive setter Taylor Bruns.
Jan. 23, 2024: The Rise assign "practice player" spots to Sydney Bolding and Kenna Sauer to finalize the 14-player active roster.
Roster Breakdown: The Rise's roster includes 16 players total, with 14 players on the active roster: outside hitters Symone Abbott, Claire Chaussee, Erika Pritchard, and Shannon Scully; middle blockers Kayla Caffey, Nia Grant, Marin Grote, and Alyssa Jensen; opposite hitters Emiliya Dimitrova and Morgahn Fingall; setters Ashley Evans and Mac Podraza; liberos Camila Gómez and Sarah Sponcil; practice players in middle blocker Sydney Bolding and outside hitter Kenna Sauer.
Retirement Recall: Rise head coach Cathy George announced her retirement when the Michigan State volleyball team concluded its 2021 season. George departed the Spartans as the winningest coach in the history of the volleyball program. She was the MSU head coach for 17 seasons (2005-21) and totaled 35 years as a collegiate head coach, including 11 seasons (1994-2004) at Western Michigan University. Upon her retirement from MSU in January 2022, her 667 career wins (667-457, .593) ranked 15th among active Division I coaches and third in the Big Ten. George began her DI coaching career at UT-Arlington in 1989, reaching the Final Four in her first season at the helm and winning three Southland Conference titles (1989, 1990 and 1992) in five years. She was the first female head coach to lead a team to the NCAA Division I Final Four. George got her start as a collegiate head coach at the NCAA DII level at North Dakota State University, serving from 1987-88.
Images from this story
 Grand Rapids Rise prepare for opener (Nicolas Carrillo) |
Pro Volleyball Federation Stories from January 24, 2024
- First Pro Volleyball Federation Match Sets Attendance Record - PVF
- The Rise's First Serve - Grand Rapids Rise
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